New Charlotte Moss Book

Charlotte Moss: At Home in Virginia

 

I am a big Charlotte Moss fan and am thrilled that she has a new book coming out soon. Celebrated interior designer Charlotte Moss now calls Charlottesville, Virginia home. She purchased and renovated a country residence there to serve as her Southern base, and documented her gardens and the property in her book, Charlotte Moss: At Home in Virginia. She has written 10 previous books on style, flowers, and entertaining at home.

A Favorite Book

Bunny Mellon Style

One of my passions is collecting books on interior design and on gardening. I get such inspiration from them. A favorite in my collection is Bunny Mellon Style. It is unfortunately gettting hard to find.  

Bunny Mellon Style, by Bryan Huffman, Linda Jane Holden, and Thomas Lloyd, is a 2021 book that offers an intimate look into the life and design aesthetic of American style icon Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, focusing on her homes, collections, and personal style beyond her famous gardens. The book, published by Gibbs Smith, features professional and archival photography, personal writings, and interviews with those who knew her, revealing her self-taught, unpretentious, yet disciplined approach to design in her homes, fashion, and art. It provides a unique perspective on her influence, collaborations with designers like Givenchy, and her relationships with figures like the Kennedys. 

Kate Spade

Kate Spade

I bet many of us remember well our first Kate Spade handbag. Mine was a leopard calf hair with red wool lining. I still have it and every Kate Spade handbag I ever bought and still love them all. My closet has many of her handbags, shoes, clothes, and jewelry. I loved her style so much - I can't believe she's been gone 7 years. What a shame.

Old School

Charm School by Emma Bazilian & Stephanie Diaz

A new interior design book is about to be released that many of us will be adding to our library.

Styling The Rattan Bar Cart

Meg Braff Designs - Coastal Living

 The rattan bar cart is one of my favorite items for the home and it is one of the most versatile pieces you can own. Use it as a bar for liquor of course, or as a water bar, a coffee bar, for towels and toiletries in the bathroom, as a console in an entryway, or as a bedside table; the list is endless. 

Anna Spiro - Absolutely Beautiful Things

At the top of my own Christmas wish list this year is the just released first book of Brisbane interior designer Anna Spiro of the blog Absolutely Beautiful Things and the store Black & Spiro.

It is available in the U.S. exclusively through Furbish here.

In Absolutely Beautiful Things, successful designer Anna Spiro shows you how to create an interior that's just right for you. To her, it's all about the mix, not the match, and, with her help, you'll find beauty in unexpected places. She'll give you the confidence to put together a layered and very individual home using elements you love, and make you see your old belongings in a new light.

As well as lavish photographs of rooms Anna has created, she shares many of her secrets from a life in decorating, gives practical details on how to work with pattern and colour, and provides a room-by-room guide to furniture choice. "I always endeavour to create happy, interesting, layered and uplifting spaces. That means mixing everything: colour and pattern, old and new, square and round, quirky and conservative. It's the imperfections and surprises that make a space interesting."

If you love color, pattern, and Chinoiserie, this book is a must. Below are some favorites of mine that I hope made it into the book.

One Man's Folly

Some of you may recall this cover from Veranda with a dining room in one of the homes of Furlow Gatewood. It is a great favorite of mine. A new book on Furlow Gatewood by Julia Reed called One Man's Folly is at the top of my book list.

One Man's Folly

Here are some photos of the wonderful homes of Furlow Gatewood filled with dogs, peacocks, and Chinoiserie.

Thanks so much for all of the emails and comments I received on yesterday's post about the death of my dearest friend. They mean so much to me.

Chinoiserie Cabinet

From The Book of Decorative Furniture by Edwin Foley (1911)

News from Chinoiserie Chic

Three little news tidbits from CC to start the week. First, many of you have requested receiving Chinoiserie Chic by email, and I have now had that added to my sidebar. By signing up, you will receive my new posts by email. Second, you will also see added to my sidebar a link to my Ideabooks on Houzz. Each month I will add a new Ideabook with my favorite Chinoiserie products out there in the marketplace. Third, I know how fun it is to see photos of each other's homes, so each Friday my post will be Friday From My Chinoiserie Home, showing you different rooms and vignettes from my house. Today we start with a new addition to my Pagoda Bedroom. I just got this darling little vintage faux bamboo side table at Grant K. Gibson's Tastemaker Tag Sale on One Kings Lane. I have added a lamp from my daughter's nursery, a Charlotte Moss silver pagoda topped candle, iomoi matches, a Chinoiserie John Derian button mirror, a vintage seashell clock, a Jeanne Reed ginger jar I just found at a thrift store for $12, and a copy of House Beautiful's new book Blue (that you need to get).

House Beautiful Blue

Above is a gorgeous email I received for a book signing of House Beautiful's new book Blue. Has anyone checked out the book? I wonder if it really adds much to their March 2010 Blue Issue, which didn't really blow me away-what is more classic than a room with blue and white Chinese porcelain, yet the issue was oddly devoid of Chinoiserie. The book cover below is certainly far less attractive than the book signing invitation from Pagoda Red.