The Chinoiserie Blogger's Retreat

Longtime followers of Chinoiserie Chic may recall that last year, inspired in part by Miles Redd's iconic blue door, I painted my shed door in Farrow & Ball Chinese Blue and found a fabulous antique Tibetan dragon door knocker on eBay. I also spruced up the inside of the shed, painting the ceiling, staining the walls and shelves, hanging a chandelier, and organizing my gardening tools and flower arranging supplies. Here was the reveal. I was recently inspired by a gorgeous shed by interior designer Michael Devine to turn my shed into a spot where I can blog as well. Michael Devine was one of five designers involved in a great project at The Berkshire Botanical Garden called Living Stylishly in Nature: Re-Imagining the Humble Garden Shed. He imagined his shed as a spot where a garden blogger would sit and blog. By relocating a few items from my home, I have a great little spot to escape and blog. Stay tuned here over the next week for a series of posts on Chinoiserie ideas for furnishing your garden including more sheds, outdoor fabrics, furniture, and accessories.

My shed door

Mile's Redd's door

Michael Devine's shed

My shed-click on the photos to enlarge

The Chinoiserie Garden

After my post yesterday on blue fu dogs, I received a fascinating comment by Magnaverde on my reference to the Fu Dog Garden at Robert Allerton Park near Monticello, Illinois. Despite having grown up in Lake Forest, Illinois, I was unaware of this wonder. Robert Allerton was the only son of Samuel Allerton, founder of the First National Bank of Chicago. He was an art collector, philanthropist, and artist. He legally adopted as his son his life partner John Gregg. Their estate in Illinois is now the University of Illinois' Robert Allerton Park. Their home in Kauai, Hawaii is now Allerton Garden. He also donated over 6,600 works of art to the Art Institute of Chicago.

The early gardens of the 1,500 acre Allerton Park had a strong European influence, but as he expanded his travels it took on an Asian flair, from the Avenue of the Chinese Musicians, to the Chinese Maze Garden, to the Fu Dog Garden with 22 porcelain fu dogs. Few of you know that I am an avid gardener, a Master Gardener, and studied landscape design, and I would love to someday visit this garden of Chinoiserie delights. My own garden has a strong Chinoiserie influence-wisteria, Japanese quince, peonies, camellias, blue and white Chinese porcelain and my Chinoiserie shed with its Chinese blue door and dragon door knocker. I hope this tour of Robert Allerton Park may inspire you to plan some Chinoiserie features for your own garden this spring.

Chinoiserie Shed-The Big Reveal

If you follow Chinoiserie Chic, you may recall that my property includes an antique brick garden shed. The interior was very spartan, all pegboard walls and plywood shelves. I decided to combine my love of Chinoiserie and gardening to glam it up. Here you see the final results, all done at very little cost. The door I painted in Farrow & Ball Chinese Blue and found this antique dragon door knocker on eBay. More about that here. The shelves and walls I stained mahogany using Minwax. The lighting fixture was $5.00 from Habitat ReStore, a great source for inexpensive home remodeling items. All proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity. The ceiling I painted in Farrow & Ball Lulworth Blue. Then I had great fun outfitting it with gardening tools, garden decor, and Chinoiserie. For more great shed inspiration, pick up the new book Shed Chic by Sally Coulthard. My post on the book here. I think my little shed is a great example of making any area of your home a reflection of your own style.

The Chinoiserie Door

Here is a little update on my Chinoiserie garden shed project. I have now finished the interior and am moving on to the exterior. Since it is constructed of antique brick, it does not need me to do much, but the cover of Shed Chic with its stunning Chinoiserie blue shed motivated me to embellish the door. I decided to paint the door in Farrow & Ball Chinese Blue. I am completely sold on the quality and colors of Farrow & Ball, and have used their paint throughout my house. I then decided I wanted a Chinoisierie door knocker. I found this stunning antique dragon door knocker a couple of days ago on Buy it Now on eBay for under $40 and snagged it. I think he's wonderful! The paint sample below is of course the paint color I will use.  Then I saw these two black and gold antique door knockers and won these at auction on eBay last night for $44 for the pair. I'm not sure where these will all end up yet until I see them all in person. I will do a reveal of the interior and exterior of the shed when I finish it.  The point is that there are great deals out there on Chinoiserie items for your home just waiting to be snatched up. It doesn't require a lot of money-just some imagination and some hunting on eBay or flea markets.

The Chinoiserie Shed

A growing trend right now is turning a garden shed into your own personal retreat. It is like a tree house for grown-ups. A brand new book to give you inspiration is Shed Chic by Sally Coulthard. It is full of whimsical spaces for a personal getaway, a reading nook, a hobbyist's den, a child's play house, a home office, or a traditional potting shed. I love the cover photo of a shed that is modeled after a stunning Chinoiserie pavilion or folly.  Above is a photo of the inside of my own garden shed that I am having great fun filling with not only my gardening tools, but Chinoiserie inspired items as well. Although the outside is not as elaborate as this, it is antique brick and quite lovely and I am inspired to paint the door in Farrow & Ball Chinese Blue.