Distractions

Love Story: John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette

 

I kicked back last night and watched the Olympics - Women's Figure Skating and also the fourth episode of the new limited series Love Story: John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. Have you been watching it?

Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Speechless

There is so much to like about this dining room - navy blue grasscloth on the walls, the distressed Chinese Chippendale chairs, a dramatic brass pineapple chandelier, elegant tray ceiling and millwork, a classic table and sideboard.

I love the piece of art - Hunt Slonem from his cockatoos series.

But the styling is frankly horrible. All my eyes go to are those hideous gargantuan vegetables, those ugly lamps, and that awful vase. Get rid of all of it including all that little ditsy stuff on the sideboard. It's frankly hard to believe how ugly it is. It almost seems like a joke. BTW, I did find those veggies online and they run about $4,500 for the two. I looked at their dimensions, and it leaves diners about 8 - 10 inches of space at most.

Let's use a pair of either of these instead on the sideboard -

Bunny Williams

Or these -

Arteriors

I would leave the sideboard very simple so as to not block or distract from the piece of art by this important contemporary artist.

Love it? Hate it? Thoughts?

Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Scale & An Accident Waiting To Happen

I just had to post this. It made me cringe. The room is o.k., not great, but what in the world is that triple gourd Chinese lamp doing sitting on a Chinese garden stool?

*First, the garden stool is too small for any lamp.
*Second, the garden stool is too low for lighting while sitting on the settee or any piece of furniture for that matter.
*Third, the lampshade is too small and its style does not work at all with this lamp.
* Fourth, it must be a magical lamp, because there is no electrical cord.
*Fifth, it is an accident waiting to happen, one bump and the lamp is on the floor.

How could anyone think this looks right? They should have put the lamp on the desk in place of that dinky metal thing. The garden stool and the lamp are both nice pieces, but don't belong on top of each other. And those green pillows are ugly and don't work either. I think someone decided the room needed pops of green and didn't really think it through.

Love it? Hate it? Thoughts?

BTW, I love all the thought that has gone into your comments. Bright, funny, informative - a really nice diversion. Thank you!

A New Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

de Gournay

I received a great response to my new series on Chinoiserie Gone Wrong. Lots of comments, lots of emails, and some great ideas for upcoming posts. Thank you!

I am a huge fan of de Gournay wallpaper. My first post when I created Chinoiserie Chic more than 11 years ago below is of de Gournay wallcovering - a room by Ruthie Sommers. I still love this.

Ruthie Sommers - de Gournay

I had never seen a de Gournay wallcovering I have not liked. Until now. Yikes. Check out the green blobs.

Can you guess what this is supposed to be?

1. Melons?
2. Avocados?
3. Breasts?
4. Alien pods?
5. Green rainbows?
6. Rocks?
7. Exotic eggs?
8. Some strange fruit?

And the correct answer is Kiso Mountains. Wow. And the scale of those flowering trees? Some are as tall as the mountains. I cannot imagine decorating a room with this or living with it. I don't find anything aesthetically pleasing about this at all. Perhaps in a commercial space like a restaurant. Otherwise a hard pass.

Love it? Hate it? Thoughts?

Chinoiserie Chic in Florida

Artwork by Laura Mullaney

My favorite new blogger, Andrea at The Glam Pad, a transplanted Texan, is renovating a house in Coral Gables, Florida with her husband. She loves all things Chinoiserie, Hollywood Regency and Palm Beach Chic. A fabulous historic Chinoiserie property has just gone on the market in Coral Gables. Not their house, although I suspect she would love it. Andrea had the fun idea of me doing a virtual renovation and interior decoration of the property. It really needs work! Beginning Monday, I will choose a different room each week and create an inspiration board with my vision of the house. I will begin with the entryway and main hall.

Pop over and see Andrea's house tour today of Chinese Village House and then stay tuned to The Glam Pad for this fun new series.

New Series Starts Wednesday

Alessandra Branca

On Wednesday, we will begin a series on a Chinoiserie New Year's Eve filled with tips on setting up a bar with Chinoiserie Chic style, my favorite Chinoiserie cocktails, my daughter's bar cart that was featured in Washington Post Express, setting the New Year's Eve table for those entertaining at home, and much more. We will also have an exclusive preview of a Chinoiserie feature in the upcoming issue of House Beautiful.

One Room Challenge Chinoiserie Series

As you know, we have just wrapped up the One Room Challenge. I hope you have seen the reveal of my Chinoiserie Chic kitchen. I was so delighted to see how many of the room reveals included Chinoiserie. In fact, I think all of my favorite rooms had Chinoiserie elements. It shows what a trend Chinoiserie has become, but I hate to use the word "trend." Chinoiserie has been around for hundreds of years and has never been out of style. I thought it would be fun to do a series featuring some of these wonderful One Room Challenge rooms that people put so much effort into.

I begin this series with Jennifer from The Pink Pagoda. She transformed her family room using neutral walls, slipcovers, and curtains with pops of pink and blue. Look how beautifully the Chinoiserie elements work here - lots of blue and white Chinese porcelain from her new blue and white porcelain store and her Chinoiserie giclees from her Pink Pagoda Etsy shop, as well as blanc de Chine, pagodas, tea tins, and elephants. I love this room and think she has done an incredible job of incorporating lots of Chinoiserie elements in such a traditional, classic, and comfortable room. I also love her use of modern abstract art with Chinoiserie - a very hot trend in interior design I have featured many times.

Tomorrow I will be show you another great room from the One Room Challenge.

New Series for the New Year

Mark Sikes

To ring in the New Year, we are starting a new series on what's new in Chinoiserie. We will be looking at everything new under the Chinoiserie sun, including new Chinoiserie products, new Chinoiserie rooms, the hottest colors in Chinoiserie, and trends for 2012. One hot trend in Chinoiserie decor is beautifully illustrated here by Mark Sikes and Bunny Williams. Dining rooms with Chinoiserie wall treatments and blue and white Chinese porcelain can be quite formal. In the dining room above featured in the latest issue of House Beautiful, Mark Sikes tones down the glamour of the Gracie wallpaper, Venetian mirror, blue and white Chinese porcelain, and a grand chandelier, by combining it with gingham on the Cabriole chairs and a parchment finish on the Linwood armchairs. He even uses a very informal bamboo blind. So too, Bunny Williams tames this grand dining room in France below with its framed Chinoiserie, collection of antique blue and white Chinese porcelain, crystal chandelier, and massive antique table with twelve chairs by slipcovering the chairs in a very casual blue and white gingham. This trend of melding the formality of Chinoiserie with informal elements is a look we will see more of in 2012.

Bunny Williams