A Blue & White Christmas

Traditional Home

 

This lovely blue and white vignette has lots of great ideas for Christmas decorating. The mantel is festooned with a garland with blue and silver ornaments and lots of blue and white Chinese porcelain.

Pastels

Matters of Style

 

I love these rooms and especially the color palette - the blues of the ceilings, fringed velvet sofa, and Chinese Chippendale chairs, the greens of the console table, chair, sofa pillows, and art, and the lovely coral and blue rug.

Blue and White

Alessandra Branca

A lovely blue and white room by Alessandra Branca with a modern Ming coffee table, a blue and white Chinese garden stool, wicker, blue velvet, and a wonderful large framed photograph by Italian photographer Massimo Listri. I really like the button tufted back on the wicker settee. I also love that tray.

Alessandra almost always uses lampshades in colors, most often her signature red. Here in blue. It always strikes me as more suited to a child's room - I am more of a purist with white or ivory personally, unless it is wicker or raffia or the like. Just a personal preference. What do you think?

Of Mice and Men

My Living Room

"The best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry" - Robert Burns

What I thought was going to be a bright and breezy day yesterday with my sofas brought in and a mini photo shoot started at 6 am with more drama and the police involved and pending criminal charges. I am fine, I'm just drained and fed up. I suspect things will not end well for Sandbagger.

So here are a few living room shots taken late last evening in the living room before a well deserved lights out and hopefully a better day all around today. Although I must squeeze in gas, food, and wine runs today with interesting weather projected in the coming days. I will take some photos later in the light including the pink velvet in the study.

My ace handyman did a wonderful job handling the sofas all by himself and they are safely ensconced in CCC.

Velvet & Chinoiserie

Williams Sonoma Home

I have posted about a zillion times over the years about the delicious combination of velvet and Chinoiserie. Velvet is so luxe, but with today's performance velvets, it is also a practical and durable choice.

So today is delivery of my two velvet sofas from Article. My only complaint so far is that they have instituted a contact free delivery, so they dump it at your front door, take a photo, and take off. Seriously? So I get to drag the boxes into the garage and pay my handyman to come over on Friday to unbox them and bring them in and assemble them and get rid of the boxes. Sorry, but I think delivery people with masks and gloves bringing your furniture in and setting it up would make more sense, but what do I know? If you are in the business of selling and delivering furniture, find a way to make it safe for everyone.

Then, as I mentioned before, Williams Sonoma Home lost my glass tabletop to the Mercer table somehow and it has been reordered, and I ordered some clothes from J. Crew weeks ago and they have been sitting at the Jacksonville, Florida postal facility for 2 weeks.

The USPS isn't the only one with delivery problems.

So, I have been waiting 2 months for the sofas and delivery is not going to be ideal, but hopefully by tomorrow they will be ensconced in my home finally.

Have you been having delivery problems? And do you use the word "sofa" or "couch" - it seems to be regional but I am curious.

Styling a Table - Chinoiserie/Tropical/Florida Version

Aerin Brass Sea Urchin Box

So, my favorite food in the world is sea urchin and it's also one of my favorite objects. Since I am in Florida, I figure I can let my seashell freak flag fly. I understand there are ecological issues with over collecting of seashells. I am talking sea urchin decor, not the real thing. I found a photo of this stunning Aerin Lauder sea urchin box, and was lucky enough to track one down online - crazy hard to find BTW. It is on its way to me from my home town of Chicago - a great city but I don't miss the winters.

And I will explain the key to surviving Florida summers. I learned this in Bermuda. You play tennis, golf, garden, run errands, etc. early in the day before it gets awful out. Then spend the afternoon indoors in the a.c., then a dip in the pool and cocktails in the lanai around 5 or 6 o'clock. It' a tough life, I know.

 The sea urchin box will go on my stunning Williams Sonoma Home Mercer table that I am ordering that I will be styling with blue and white Chinese porcelain and coffee table books and other beautiful objets like this. And guess what I tracked down as well?

Both of these gorgeous brass and acrylic palm tree sculptures from Williams Sonoma Home that were out of stock but I had to have them and I made it happen. I just picked them up - these beauties are going on my table for sure. They are so incredible I can't stop staring at them. Wow.

And the Amanda Lindroth book must be running low everywhere, because the $60.00 book is just discounted to $55.00 on Amazon. I just found it at HomeGoods for $29.99. Did you know the cover is actually wicker?

I might find a spot for her wicker Island tray I have as well on the table.

And I found a large wicker hurricane just like the Amanda Lindroth one at HomeGoods. For a fraction of the price.

And did I fail to mention that I just ordered this gorgeous navy blue velvet tufted sofa?

I have a feeling that even when it's safe to go out, I won't. I think I will just stay in my house with my puppies. Forever. Sounds like a plan.

Pick Your Quarantine House

This "pick your quarantine house" has many different versions that have been making the rounds on Facebook - there are ones with politicians, actors, singers, historical figures, and the like. This one I found you choose the style house you would choose to be quarantined in. Let's add a Chinoiserie Chic category. We need to come up with five design elements we would include in our Chinoiserie Chic home.

Here's mine:

7. Chinoiserie Chic
Gracie hand painted Chinoiserie wallpaper
A collection of blue and white Chinese porcelain
A pair of Christopher Spitzmiller  lamps
A tufted sofa in navy blue velvet
A collection of interior design coffee table books

Which of these 7 houses would you choose to be quarantined in?

Now let's see your version of the Chinoiserie Chic quarantine house list. I'd love to see what Chinoiserie you would choose.

She Wore Blue Velvet

Williams - Sonoma Home

One purchase I made for the Florida house was a new sofa for the living room, having repurposed my off-white couch to the master bedroom. This was really necessary, as my couch below is REALLY BIG, and would have taken over the living room and blocked the beautiful water views. I have really wanted a navy blue velvet ever since my daughter and her boyfriend bought a mid century modern one from West Elm a couple of years ago. I love the way the navy velvet looks with blue and white Chinese porcelain.

Now in the master bedroom

I found this Harlow Sofa at Pottery Barn on a fabulous sale and ordered it. I received it a couple of weeks ago. The size is perfect for the room. The Performance Velvet should make it quite durable.

Pottery Barn Harlow

And Here It Is!

Blue Velvet

Williams-Sonoma

I have been wanting a blue velvet sofa ever since my daughter got one last year. I love the way it pairs with blue and white Chinese porcelain and really any sort of Chinoiserie. It works as a great neutral.

Nick Olsen

Blue Velvet

Tory Burch Paris

 Green velvet sofas definitely were a thing in the past few years, but lately I have been noticing blue velvet couches, especially with deep fringe. I think it works so well with blue and white Chinese porcelain.

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