Ruggable X Mrs. Alice

Ruggable's Mrs. Alice Collection

 

If you are a fan of Mrs. Alice, the popular English socialite, interior designer, and tablescaper, you will be delighted to know she has a collaboration with Ruggable, the wonderful machine washable rugs.

Parrots & Gracie

Scarlet McCaw

 

Yesterday, my next door neighbors, who are snowbirds and not in town, had someone working at their house. The entire time he was there a Scarlet McCaw rode on this shoulder including as the man went up and down large ladders. Keep in mind these parrots are about three feet in length. It's Florida....

It's A Small World

Carolyne Roehm

I of course am planning on using lots of blue and white at CCC II, my dollhouse beach house I have just started. I wanted to share two pieces I just found and they arrive tomorrow.

Chinoiserie for the Guest Bedroom

Faux Bamboo Luggage Rack

 

I have been looking for a nice folding luggage rack for the guest bedroom for ages and I finally found it.

A Chinoiserie Chic Induction Range

The CC Range

 

I was looking at appliances yesterday at a big box store to get ideas (not who I will be ordering from) and stopped dead in my tracks when I opened this range. And it is one of the top two induction ranges I was already considering. SOLD!!! Winner winner, chicken dinner.

Favorite Rugs for the Chinoiserie Home

Serena & Lily

My favorite look in rugs is elegant and understated, in neutrals or blues, and my favorite source is Serena & Lily. Their rugs are so easy to work with and don't fight with what's going on in a room. They are a wonderful choice for the chinoiserie home, especially one with blue and white Chinese porcelain.

The Florida Dining Room

Shelley Johnstone - Frederic Magazine

 

This dining room is in the Naples condo of interior designer Shelley Johnstone. She is a favorite of mine and is based in Lake Forest, Illinois where I grew up. 

I found this dining room intriguing because she uses a lot of the same elements I have in my Venice, Florida dining room. BTW, Naples is about an hour south of here. It occurred to me that there are fundamental differences in decorating in northern versus tropical climates. I have neighbors here who have used their furniture from their former northern homes and it looks so wrong.

Let's look at some examples.

Porcelain tiles used here that look like marble. My floors are limestone. I know several of you go nuts about no rugs, but bare tile floors in Florida are THE way to go IMHO - they keep the house cooler and cleaner. If you want some area rugs go with seagrass, sisal, or jute. And please - no carpet anywhere.

CCC

From My Garden

 A beautiful hibiscus blossom in my garden. It looks like red velvet.

Tory Burch

Like everyone else, I adore this iconic Tory Burch sunroom. A favorite piece of mine is the quirky orb. When I was in HG yesterday, I saw this jute one. Not exactly the same, but very similar. And likely a fraction of the price as the things in her home tend to be crazy expensive. My lanai is becoming a favorite space in my home.

My Lanai

I mentioned in an earlier post getting a Dash & Albert Catamaran indoor/outdoor rug for the lanai. I had not seen this rug in person, and as luck would have it, I found a brand new Dash & Albert Catamaran runner on eBay super cheap and bought it. I really wanted to see the rug in person before deciding on a large one for the lanai. Now having seen it, I do think the quality is great and it does not look like an outdoor rug at all. 

My Foyer

Not sure if I will use this in the foyer or elsewhere, but it has convinced me to get a large one for the lanai. 

Yesterday at Lowe's I saw this amazing palm tree - it is Coccothrinax Crinita from Cuba - nicknamed the Old Man Palm because its trunk looks like an old man's beard. It it quite extraordinary and I have the perfect spot for it. My sprinkler guy is Cuban and his family in Miami is in the nursery business, so I will have him source it for me along with some other things.

Thank you for the advice on growing a gardenia. I am convinced to try one. I am very against using chemicals in the garden, so I like to make sure I am not getting plants that require spraying.

The Week of the Turtle

Gilded Tortoise/Turtle Shell

I posted a few days ago about the darling raffia turtle I found at HomeGoods for the lanai. Yesterday I found this gold tortoise or turtle shell on a lucite base - it is by Lamp Couture and retails for $260 and I got it for free with some T.J.Maxx rewards $ I had. I have been looking for something like this for ages.

Thanks for the input on the Dash & Albert rug. I am thinking about the Catamaran in the platinum and white stripes for the lanai - my lanai has a British Colonial vibe and is reminding me of my favorite Bunny Williams room just a tad so I was thinking about this rug similar to hers.

Bunny Williams 

Dash & Albert Catamaran Stripe

I'm still playing around with the sizing, but the colors would be perfect with my walls and floors. I do not want to cover up my beautiful floors in the house, but the lanai floor is not tiled and this would be a nice look.

Do any of you have blogs on Blogger? They are forcing everyone into a new interface that is absolutely dreadful with all sorts of glitches. It's like New Coke. If it ain't broke....

Sisal, Seagrass, Jute & Chinoiserie

One project I am planning in my own home for this fall is replacing the carpet in the lower level. The carpeted areas include stairs, a hallway, the family room, my office, my dressing room, and a sitting room. I had one of those moments of enlightenment yesterday and decided to carpet it all in seagrass. I absolutely love the combination of the textural, neutral, organic, natural fiber rugs/carpet with Chinoiserie. The seagrass will also be perfect for layering other rugs I want to use like my Ben Ourain in my office. Here are some great examples and I have many more in my new Pinterest board on the subject here. Have any of you used sisal, seagrass, or jute as wall to wall?