Happy Father's Day

Ralph Lauren

 

I hope many of you will be spending a lovely day today with your father and/or husband. For those who have lost a father, or husband, a brother, or son, may your day be filled with wonderful memories.

 I don't think anyone does a masculine version of chinoiserie better than Ralph Lauren, so I thought today I would share some favorites. His rooms are filled with navy and white, stripes, oversized pieces, and dark woods, giving them a more masculine vibe.

Blue and White Chinoiserie & Stripes

Ralph Lauren 

 

Ralph can do no wrong in my book and this is a master class. I so often mention how beautifully stripes work with chinoiserie and this is a perfect example. And no dinky blue and white Chinese porcelain - nice big pieces that make a statement. I love his frequent use of palm trees - even it's in a NYC apartment as opposed to a tropical venue. And lots of books - they give a room a soul. Gold/brass touches always look great with a blue and white palette. His use of brown furniture always looks classic and not dated. Is that a backgammon board on the coffee table? I use to love playing backgammon. 

Scale

Fun House Furnishings

Scale always fascinates me in interior design. I am sure many of you will hate this as out of proportion. Others will see it as fun and modern. This massive basket with a tiny oomph console.

I love playing with scale in interior design. It always involves a bit of risk and daring. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.

Do you like this?

I think most people would prefer this Summer Thornton design below, including me.

Summer Thornton

The baskets are virtually identical and the lamps and Chinoiserie wallpaper are quite similar. The styling of the Summer Thornton is so much nicer though. In the Fun House Furnishings, the lamp cords are visible (at least hide them for the photo shoot), and I don't like that unfortunate little plant and those two white sticks - are those candlesticks without candles? I also think those lamps are anorexic and sort of creepy they are so tall (too tall) and skinny.

Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Aerin Lauder - House and Garden

Today's Chinoiserie Gone Wrong is about scale. Above is a photo of Aerin Lauder's East Hampton home's foyer from a 2007 House & Garden Christmas issue. The scale of that short and wide palm in a blue and white Chinese porcelain pot does not work at all in that space. Perhaps it was just pulled in for the photo shoot, who knows, it is just wrong. Not to mention that the poor thing would have perished in that dark corner. Here below is the same space more recently with furnishings in scale.

Harpers Bazaar Arabia

I love a potted palm in a home. But please use a large blue and white Chinese fish bowl with a big palm and add some drama! Here is a perfect example in a Ralph Lauren room. If in doubt, go larger, as opposed to small. Dinky does diddly-squat in a room. I am not a houseplant fan anyway, with a few notable exceptions. I love potted orchids. Trader Joe's are the best quality and price. Feed your orchid three ice cubes a week and it will last for months. I love a large potted palm or a large potted fiddle leaf fig. Put them in either a blue and white Chinese fish bowl or a beautiful big basket. But with both, go bold or go home.

Ralph Lauren

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!

New Series - Chinoiserie Gone Wrong

Tree Root Coffee Table

Lots of people seemed to have enjoyed reading and weighing in on my post on Saturday on the Miles Redd living room.

I thought it might be fun to start a weekly series called Chinoiserie Gone Wrong - rooms done by interior designers with Chinoiserie elements that just don't work for a variety of reasons which we will explore. If you have a photo of an interior designer's room you think would fit, please send it to me at Bethaconnolly@aol.com. I am purposely not posting the interior designer's name as a general rule (although there may be a few exceptions).

I like much about this room above, but simply do not get the massive tree root coffee table - either the scale or the look. IMHO the blue and white Chinese porcelain looks bizarre on top of it. I don't get at all the velvet sofa, silk curtains, gilded mirror, and Chinese porcelain combined with a tree root. It looks to me like a tree might have fallen through the roof in a storm and they kept it. It is also so large it takes over the room. The scale is seriously off.

Love it? Hate it? Thoughts?

The Chinoiserie Dining Room

Home Bunch

These two Chinese lanterns instead of one are a great choice with a long rectangular dining table. I also like the scale.

Scale

William Eubanks

For me, bigger is almost always better with ginger jars.

Scale

Carloyne Roehm

I really believe that a sense of scale is what is most important to an interior designer's aesthetic. Here Carloyne Roehm has put an oversized Chinese vase in front of a fireplace. The scale is perfect - the piece is dramatic but in balance with the rest of the space.

One

Mark D. Sikes

One statement piece of Chinoiserie can transform a room, adding drama and interest. The scale of this blue and white Chinese fish bowl with palm is perfect.  I love to add lots of moss to the top as here adding textural interest.

Scale

Ralph Lauren

A lovely Ralph Lauren room with a plush red velvet club chair, ebonized cabinet, and touches of brass. The blue and white Chinese garden stool is a perfect choice, but my favorite piece is the oversized blue and white ginger jar.

Scale

Mary McDonald - Veranda

One of my favorite things about Mary McDonald's style is her sense of scale. In this beautiful dining room,  traditional furniture, rug, chandelier, and art are made much more modern and dynamic by the use of very oversized ginger jars on the skirted table, massive blue and white Chinese porcelain lamps and blue and white Chinese planter on the sideboard,  and a huge potted palm.

Secrets to Steal

Sam Allen - House Beautiful

Some great tips to steal here for a tiny Chinoiserie entryway -

Fresh flowers
Large ginger jars on a small table
An orange lamp shade really pops with the blue and white
A favorite neutral paint - Farrow & Ball Light Gray

Large Scale Wallpaper - The Vase

Tom Scheerer - House Beautiful

I think large scale wallpapers are the most dramatic in smaller spaces like powder rooms, hallways, and foyers. I love Tom Scheerer's use of Clarence House The Vase in the hallway and stairway of his waterfront vacation home in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Below are some other interesting examples.

Tom Scheerer - House Beautiful

Foyer - Source?

Powder Room - House of Fifty

Dressing Room - Source?