Elegant Marble for the Holidays

Marble Decorative Trees

I love marble in my home. I have a herringbone honed marble backsplash and marble topped island in my kitchen at CCC and they add such elegance. I also love marble decor. I have found some very chic marble pieces for the holidays. 

Elegant Fall Decor

Marble Pumpkin 

 

Although here in South Florida is the land of endless summer, I love seasonal decorating. I always look especially forward to fall and Halloween decorating. I am always on the lookout this time of year for fall decor. I have found pieces that will work all season and are quite elegant.

Scallops and Marble

Marble Candle Tray

 

Scallops continue to be very popular and of course marble is a timeless classic. This is a great idea - a marble tray to hold a candle.

The Chinoiserie Wet Bar

Mary Beth Wagner Interiors

Isn't this the most beautiful wet bar? The wallcovering is a custom colorway in Gracie Studio's French Deco. I love the gorgeous marble counters and brass hardware. The brass and glass bar is stunning.

Blue Marbleized Lamp High/Low

Christopher Spitzmiller Single Gourd Delft Blue Marble Lamp Pair

These Christopher Spitzmiller Delft Blue Marble Lamps are gorgeous. His lamps are without question works of art that elevate any room. But at $7,290 for the pair, they are not for most budgets. If you are wondering, the lamp is not marble, but his classic glazed ceramic in a marble design.

Fantastic New Candle Find

Tuberose

The scent of tuberose can be described as intoxicating, exotic, complex, sweet, and opulent. Its fragrance is reminiscent of gardenia, jasmine, and orange blossom. It is used in many sophisticated and expensive perfumes like Joe Malone Tuberose, Robert Piguet Fracas, Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia, and Chanel Gardenia to name a few. 

 

A Marbleous Blue and White Christmas

Amanda Lindroth

 

Amanda Lindroth's Holiday Collection features gorgeous blue swirl marble paper items just perfect for a blue and white Chinoiserie Christmas.

Kitchen Island Find

French Kitchen Island

I think I have solved a bunch of my kitchen "mini reno" issues. I actually love my kitchen cabinets, layout, backsplash, and countertops and have decided just to upgrade my appliances as you all know. The other issue was where and how to display my growing collection of Le Creuset and Staub cookware as I posted about yesterday. 

Happy Halloween

CCC

In honor of Halloween, a peek at my orange and black guest bath. The wallpaper is long discontinued Clarence House Chinoiserie Baroque left over from my dining room in Alexandria. The sink counter is black marble. The art and accessories are all from my Alexandria home. My painter used high gloss Benjamin Moore Tandoori on the wainscoting, crown molding, and door and he faux finished the column to look like silk. I love the room and that I was able to incorporate much loved wallpaper and things from my old home.

The Blue and White Kitchen

Gretchen Black

 It's very interesting, but back in the day, interior designers as well as design books and shelter magazines would tell you never to use blue in the kitchen. The rationale was that because there are so few blue foods, blue in a kitchen is subconsciously unappetizing and an appetite suppressant. If true, a great dieting idea - LOL. 

Fast forward to 2021, and blue in the kitchen is a very hot trend. You can't turn on HGTV without seeing a navy blue kitchen.

The Blue and White Powder Room

Amy Berry

 Beautiful blue and white chinoiserie wallpaper in this classic powder room with a stunning marble washstand, brass fittings, monogrammed hand towels, and my favorite flower - peonies. A simple gold mirror lets the wallpaper take center stage.

The Blue and White Powder Room

Courtney Blanton Interiors

This pretty powder room features Lee Jofa wallpaper, a silver pagoda mirror, and a marble washstand. The paneling provides framing for this beautiful chinoiserie paper. 

I do wish the hand towel had a blue monogram. I love white towels, but this looks a tad sad. And the staged flowers tied with a ribbon is just wrong. And is that a silver wine bottle coaster? The staging here is a distraction.

Please Help Me Choose

Bunny Williams

 I had an epiphany in the middle of the night regarding my new home. What to do with the dining room has been driving me nuts. Let me explain - there are four eating areas.

I am going to use my Platner table and Chinese Chippendale chairs in the breakfast room. There is also a breakfast bar for my stools and the lanai will host my Smith and Hawken dining set, and then there is the dining room.

I need a new dining table (the one here we found at auction technically belongs to Golf Guy) and my dilemma is that the dining area at the new house is 1. Not as large as I want, 2. Has a massive mirror that I don't want blocked with furniture, and 3. I rarely use a formal dining room, especially here in Florida.

So I have decided to get a massive rectangular dining table for the great room (not the dining room) and style it like Bunny Williams with coffee table books, orchids, blue and white Chinese porcelain, and the like. It will be a library table/dining table. It may float in the room or may be next to one of the walls; I think either will work. But I do not want a heavy brown wood piece, but rather something lighter. I have narrowed it down to my top three choices. For a rare large dinner party these below all seat 8. And they would make a killer bar setup for a cocktail party if we are ever able to have those again!

So here are my top three. All are huge and beautiful.

This first one from CB2 is four marble columns with a glass top. Very sexy.

CB2 Triple Dining Table with Rectangular Top

This next one also from CB2 is all marble. Very architectural.

CB2 Verona Marble Dining Table

The last from Williams Sonoma Home is a classic - the Mercer with a nickel base and glass top.

Mercer Rectangular Table with Nickel Base and Glass Top

O.K. my very savvy interior design afficiandoes. What do you think? As much as I love the all marble one, I hate to worry about red wine etching from dinner parties, but with occasional use, it probably would be fine. I have always wanted marble countertops, and this might solve my marble yearning. I also prefer the open bases of the other two, so as to not block the view. I am leaning towards the first one, but really really like all three.

I love this idea. I would really like your thoughts on which one. This was a great think outside the box moment for me. I have learned that if you can't find something you like, it's because you are asking the wrong questions. I was trying to find a dining table and chairs for a space that didn't work as a dining room for me, so I reimagined it all. And I have a wonderful idea on how to use the dining room that I will share down the road.

The Chinoiserie Kitchen

Bungalow 5

I love this kitchen. I will never ever tire of a beautiful white kitchen. I have dreams of a white kitchen with marble counters in my next house. In my last house in Virginia, I had Corian which was hot when we bought the home and is having a bit of a resurgence now. It is so easy to live with and I loved it. In this house I opted for quartz in a marble look-a-like - Silestone Calacatta. It is such a classic.

With my late husband who was a coffee drinker and red wine drinker, and then Golf Guy who is likewise a coffee and red wine drinker and messy as well, I was too nervous about marble. I have been really happy with how easy care the quartz is, but it's not marble.

This kitchen is gorgeous. I love the Bungalow 5 Frances Elkins style loop counter and breakfast table chairs, the white and brass pendants, and of course the blue and white Chinese porcelain filled with flowers.

I love the combination of Frances Elkins loop chairs and Chinoiserie and a bit of history. I grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois. My favorite store was Marsall Field's and most of my clothes as a child came from there. They opened their first branch in Lake Forest in 1928 because they lived there. Famous architect David Adler and sister Frances Elkins designed many of the great homes of Lake Forest and the first four loop chairs Frances designed in 1932 went to Mrs. Marsall Field's Long Island home.

I can't see what the counter material is, but I am not sure I like the visual of the black cooktop on the island. I think I might have chosen a white glass cooktop so as to not have that large rectangle of black in this white space.

Aerin Lauder - Elle Decor

Here is another wonderful white kitchen featuring Frances Elkins loop chairs. Also saving this for my new home file - I love the blue walls and pale blue ceiling and the lithograph by Ellsworth Kelly. This is in her East Hampton home.

Although you don't see a lot of blue walls in a kitchen, in a beach house I like this look a lot.

Did any of you choose marble countertops and are you happy with your decision?

Styling the Coffee Table - Florida Edition

My Coffee Table

I have enjoyed styling my coffee table in the new house. The pink marble slab was brought back from Italy by my late husband's parents decades ago and I have always loved it. The pair of gilded pagoda lanterns are from Charlotte Moss' Manhattan store that unfortunately did not stay open for long - it was wonderful. I found the brass monkey at HomeGoods shortly before moving to Florida. The pink coral is a new (yesterday) HomeGoods find. My HomeGoods store here in Sarasota is fabulous - filled with blue and white Chinese porcelain, Greek key, Kate Spade, and great art believe it or not.

I have now finished the entire first floor of the house and starting upstairs. This house is unusual for South Florida in that it has a second floor. It has two staircases that lead upstairs to two guest bedrooms, a full bath, a huge bonus room, and a large balcony.

The Chinoiserie Kitchen

Caitlin Wilson Design

Thank you all so much for all your lovely comments on all my recent travails. I decided I owed everyone an explanation for my sporadic posting and decision not to move, and I appreciate all the support. The entire story is quite crazy and could be a book, if I ever have the motivation. Stay tuned.

I am crazy in love with this kitchen. I am a sucker for a white kitchen with brass hardware and marble countertops. This range and hood are amazing. I did a little research and they are from Bluestar Cookery. And blue and white Chinese porcelain is the perfect finishing touch. The layout here is almost identical to my kitchen. I am tempted to go ahead now with changing my countertops. I have always wanted real marble, but did not pull the trigger with a husband prone to spilling coffee and red wine, etc. For the Florida house I had chosen Silestone Calacatta Gold Quartz, having substituted a messy boyfriend for a messy late husband, but now with nobody to spill things, I might just go for the marble. Thoughts?

The Chinoiserie Powder Room

Pinterest

Blue and white Chinoiserie wallpaper and a beautiful marble and brass sink in this powder room.

My Dream Bathroom

Eddie Lee - House Beautiful

This is it = Gracie Chinoiserie wallpaper, Calcutta Gold marble floor and wainscoting, freestanding tub, brass fitttings, and a vintage round mirror. I am saving this for my file for my new home.

The Chinoiserie Powder Room

Pinterest

Chinoiserie wallpaper pairs beautifully with a gold Louis mirror, marble and brass sink, and gold sconces.

The Chinoiserie Bath

Pinterest

Love the marble and brass sink with a fretwork design - modern Chinoiserie.