Palm Fronds

Collection Beaded Skirt in Crinkle Chiffon

There's nothing more Florida than its palm trees and this wonderful Collection skirt from J.Crew is covered in beaded palm or fern fronds. This will be great for here in Florida and it's perfect if you have an upcoming beach vacation. And it has an elastic waistband that I love!

Vignette

Danielle Rollins

 

A lovely vignette in the Palm Beach home of Danielle Rollins. It includes so many of my favorite things. A blue and white Chinese vase is filled with palm fronds from the garden.

Tropical Rothy's & Pink Light Bulbs Found!!!

 Palm Rothy's

As you know if you follow Chinoiserie Chic, I am a huge fan of Rothy's shoes. They are chic, flattering, incredibly comfortable, completely machine washable, and eco - friendly. To date, Rothy's has converted 158,965,875+ single use plastic bottles into Rothy's signature thread. 

I find them them the perfect Florida or summer shoe. They come in dozens of fun colors and patterns. I was absolutely thrilled when they came out with these new palm print flats last week. I ordered the burnt orange and navy - it has a peach insole. They arrived yesterday and could not be cuter. Rothy's are so much more put together looking than sneakers, flip - flops, or crocs, yet still super comfy.

Coral & Palm Fronds

Coral Embroidered Raffia Tote

 

Coral and palm fronds are such elegant motifs and are beautiful to incorporate in your home and your wardrobe.

Decorating with Palm Fronds

Bunny Williams

If you are fortunate to have palm trees in your garden as I do, you will save a fortune not buying fresh flowers at the grocery store. They also look wonderful and last forever - cut fronds last weeks to months!

January Refresh

Island Palm Wallpaper

This is such a great wallpaper combining two of my favorite things - palm fronds and blue and white. I have these same real palm fronds in my great room at all times, courtesy of the many palm trees in my garden. 

CCC

Chinoiserie Chic Beach Towels

Matouk Schumacher Leaping Leopard

 

A beautiful beach towel is the perfect finishing touch for your pool and beach attire. These are available in iconic Schumacher prints and luscious colors.

Decorating with Palm Fronds - Real & Faux

Bunny Williams

I really think that the combination of palm fronds and chinoiserie is a marriage made in heaven. I am so fortunate to have more than a dozen palm trees and massive philodendrons in my garden for cutting. They are gorgeous and I am saving a fortune not buying flowers every week at Trader Joe's. For those who don't live in a topical venue, I have some great faux picks. (Or move down here, and we can all chinoiserie shop together). Here is some stunning inspiration.

Perfection

Amanda Lindroth

Rarely do I see a room that captures precisely my taste. This is definitely it. I would not change a single solitary thing about it. Let's look at all the amazing elements.

*A pink velvet sofa with bullion fringe - it is actually a corner sofa - see the photo below. I ain't calling this a sectional - LOL. The fabric and trim are Mary McDonald for Schumacher.

Amanda Lindroth

*The walls are covered in fabric - Schumacher's Great Barrier Reef. 

*That incredible pair of Singerie Blanc de Chine monkeys.

*Layered rugs - a black and white stripe over seagrass matting.

*Palm frond lighting fixture. 

*The pale green ceiling.

* A lucite coffee table.

*The oversized faux bamboo sconces.

*The zebra - I am still searching for one of these guys.

*Wicker.

*Seashells.

*Orchids.

This is the perfect color palette of pink and green with touches of black to ground it and a mix of chinoiserie, Hollywood Regency, Palm Beach, island style.

This room is featured in a wonderful interior design book - S is for Style:The Schumacher Book of Decoration.

PS - I found another shot of this room and you can catch a peek of a Slim Aarons photo "Sea Drive" above the mantel.

Amanda Lindroth

Summery Blue and White

Alessandra Branca

 This lovely space is from last year's Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse Palm Beach. It includes so many of my favorites - a blue and white palette, seagrass matting, faux bamboo furniture, a rattan bar cart, a wicker hurricane, palm fronds, stripes, wicker lampshades, and a pair of very unique garden stools. The navy piping on the white cushions is a lovely detail. I may attend this year, but I believe one also has the choice of a virtual ticket. 

Blue and White

Ellen Kavanaugh - Southern Home

 Lots of great inspiration here for styling a console with blue and white, chinoiserie, Palm Beach, tropical, island style. Palm fronds from the garden make beautiful floral arrangements in blue and white Chinese vases. A pair of large ginger jars adds drama. I saw birds like these at HomeGoods last week.

 I especially like the sea fans in the wicker handbag. I got a beautiful collection of sea fans at HomeGoods yesterday and this is a fun idea for displaying them - I have a large collection of wicker handbags that would be perfect. Many of my wicker handbags are vintage Kate Spade that I love.

Garden Stools

Amanda Lindroth - Coastal Living

 I'm not sure what this space is or how it's used with its intriguing furniture arrangement. But I am taken by the exuberant use of rattan, the pops of coral, and FOUR Chinese garden stools. The table is topped with beachy staples - books, seashells, and hurricanes. 

I was thinking just yesterday as I cut palm fronds and monstera leaves from the garden, how I am saving a small fortune not buying fresh flowers from Trader Joe's weekly as I did in DC. And the cut philodendron and monstera leaves last 3 or 4 months! I think I would lose that small circular rug though or go bigger. There are also ten pairs in this space - lots of symmetry!

Palms for Pups

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I decided to upgrade the puppies' bowls and they arrived yesterday. As you can see, they are hand painted with palm fronds. The stainless steel inserts pop out for running through the dishwasher. I love supporting local businesses and I ordered them from Feed Pet Purveyor in Tampa in blue and in pink - free fast shipping and beautifully packaged. Margot seems to approve.

 

Holiday Decorating

Amanda Lindroth

 Yesterday was an interesting day here - my first tropical storm in Florida. We got about 6.6 inches of rain, but no damage or flooding or any problems, and it was actually very pretty with all the palms swaying. It has all moved out, and should be a gorgeous day here.

The highlight of my day was reading all the comments on Christmas decorating. Thank you! I absolutely loved them and it has gotten me so excited about decorating. Here is a great idea from Amanda Lindroth - the wicker console and pagodas and bone boxes are all from her collection. So pretty with the backdrop of the chinoiserie wallpaper. But what I am copying is using palm fronds from my garden in lieu of Christmas greenery. In Virginia, I did traditional Christmas decorating for decades and am excited about having a fresh start here with a very tropical chinoiserie look with flamingos, seashells, and palms. Flamingos are going to play a big role indoors and out.

These faux palm frond wreaths below were from Frontgate and are no longer available there at any rate, but they are a great look. My front entrance is completely protected from sun and rain, so I have a lot of flexibility as to what I use.

Frontgate

Frontgate

Saturday Inspiration

Amanda Lindroth

As you may recall, I bought a new pink velvet sofa for my study that I really love. I was thrilled to find a room that uses a pink velvet couch, as it is for sure rare. 

This Amanda Lindroth room incorporates a stunning pink velvet corner banquette with bullion fringe, dramatic coral wallpaper, a lucite cocktail table, a Chinese Chippendale chair, a palm frond lighting fixture, bamboo blinds, wicker sconces, and a seagrass rug topped with a striped flatware rug. These rugs made out of seagrass squares are very well priced and a signature item of hers. She loves juxtaposing high and low end pieces. Note the pale green ceiling. The wallpaper is Schumacher's Great Barrier Reef.

I just found a second shot of this room with a vintage Blanc de Chine Chinoiserie monkey and a white faux bamboo sconce. I love this room.

Amanda Lindroth

Tropical Styling

Danielle Rollins

 I love this bar styling - a palm tray and using palm fronds in a silver ice bucket. With all this craziness, drinking seems like a good idea - LOL. BTW, it's amazing how long cut fronds from my garden last - as long as four weeks. I love the look and they are free and last so much longer than flowers.

Danielle Rollins

Does anyone have a source for coral handled flatware? Horchow used to sell a darling set, but no longer. I'm looking for something fun and casual and well priced. 

Horchow

Tropical Chinoiserie

Genevieve Faure - Architectural Digest

This wonderful living room is in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Does it remind you of anything? To me, it is reminiscent of the Bunny Williams/John Rosselli home, also in Punta Cana. The walls and floors look virtually identical to mine. Note the blue and white ginger jars on pedestals and the large jar with tropical fronds. The pup is on an Oscar de la Renta collection trellis chair.

A fascinating feature is that the sofas are on concrete bases.

Genevieve Faure - Architectural Digest

Here is the Bunny Williams and John Rosselli living room.

Bunny Williams/John Rosselli

 

Amanda Lindroth and Old Florida

Tommy Bahama/Kayu

I had a lovely day in the garden yesterday and got lots done. I did take an hour to come inside for a great Zoom presentation by Amanda Lindroth. I find many of these interior design zooms I get invitations to are a waste of my time and I either leave it or multi-task, but this one was wonderful. She spent much of it talking about growing up in Florida in the sixties and seventies and Florida style and of course the Bahamas where she is based now. She talked about....

*Jack Rogers sandals that I live in - 

Jack Rogers - Southern Living

*Slim Aarons photography and vintage Lilly Pulitzer. Amanda mentioned the smell of the Lilly Pulitzer store because of the unique smell of the fabric and how when you shopped at Lilly in Palm Beach they would wrap your purchase in a cellophane bag with ribbons matching the fabric you chose. 

Slim Arrons - Vintage Lilly Pulitzer

*The John Deering estate in Miami that I would love to visit -

Vizcaya

*I was fascinated to learn that she grew up in a stark Danish modern house as did I as our styles now are very similar and not at all like the homes we grew up in. She said she had to learn about pattern and color because her mother slipcovered everything in white cotton duck. The house I lived in during law school was very grand and in the summers the owners pulled up all the antique oriental rugs and covered all the furniture in white cotton duck. It's a great look. Bunny Williams does this in light blue in her Punta Cana home.

Bunny Williams

*Since moving to Florida, I rarely buy cut flowers and Amanda mentioned how in the Bahamas they are very hard to come by and very expensive, so she cuts palm fronds and bougainvillea and gardenias from the garden. I have lots of palms and bougainvillea, and would love a gardenia bush, but have read they are difficult. I would love to plant one near the lanai to enjoy the smell while sitting out there.

Gardenia

 *That every room needs books even if you don't read them  - I'm not sure she meant the kitchen and bathrooms - LOL - but I agree.

Bunny Williams

There are so many more gems to share I think I will do a Part 2 of this post. Hope you enjoyed it. And that cute little raffia pouch pictured at the top arrives today in the mail.

The Library Dining Table

Bunny Williams

Yesterday I planned a lovely day with delivery of my new dining table and styling it. Unfortunately, my day began at 8 am with a series of phone calls from the police, and after the table arrived around noon, I needed to get out and decompress. I will provide more details when I can but there is an ongoing issue. So table styling got "tabled" until today. The table size and style are perfect for the space and I will take photos today.

Here are more great examples of library/dining tables with Chinoiserie to inspire me and perhaps you as well.

McCann Design Group

William McClure

Lance Jackson and David Ecton - Traditional Home

Miles Redd - House Beautiful

What styling elements to do you like? The lamps with the hidden cords are too weird and aren't practical with a glass table anyway so I'll pass on that. I have plenty of light and don't need to go the battery lamp route. I love lots of coffee table books. An orchid is a must. Blue and white Chinese porcelain of course. And the palm fronds are so dramatic. We'll see what progress I make today hopefully.

Styling My Mercer Table

Schumacher Bukhara Ikat Ginger Jar

My delivery woes continue. With the exception of Amazon, everything I order seems to have delivery problems and interminable delays. But perhaps the strangest has been Williams Sonoma Home losing a 240 pound glass top to my Mercer Table. Now I am still waiting for the replacement. If you recall, I am using it like a library table with inspiration from the Bunny Williams table in these photos. I decided to start planning my styling of it and hope that the table arrives soon. But to be honest with you, the house looks wonderful and I have accomplished tons, and I am not going to sweat getting the rest of it done. It will happen when it happens.

Williams Sonoma Home Mercer Table

I love how Bunny Williams plays around with what is on the table. Note how the books, ginger jar, accessories, and foliage change. I do the same thing in my home. I am always moving things around. I just ordered this ginger jar above from Williams Sonoma Home. I think it will work great on the table. I like how she has elevated the ginger jar with fronds on a rattan stand too. I will definitely be using lots of interior design and gardening coffee table books and potted orchids as well. And it is wonderful having a garden filled with tropical plants. I have not bought cut flowers once with all these fronds for the taking.