The Chinoiserie Umbrella Stand

CCC Alexandria, Virginia

A blue and white Chinese porcelain umbrella stand is a perfect choice for your entryway, giving your guests a preview of the chinoiserie to come. They look great with umbrellas, sports equipment, or a collection of antique walking sticks. Mine here is filled with vintage polo sticks, my childhood badminton racket, and my vintage tennis racket with a rare Louis Vuitton cover.

The Chinoiserie Entryway

Alison Sheffield Interiors

This pretty entryway features the iconic Brunschwig & Fils Les Touches wallpaper in blue, a paper that mixes beautifully with chinoiserie.

The Chinoiserie Entryway

Tori Rubinson Interiors

A chinoiserie entryway is such a pretty introduction to your home. I saved this entryway a while back and thought it would be fun to look at ways to recreate it. 

The Olympics & Chinoiserie

Domino Magazine

I bet you didn't think I would do a post on the Olympics and chinoiserie. Oh ye of little faith. Well here we go. Especially after local Sarasota girl Emma Weyant medaled in swimming. Florida is second only to California for the number of summer Olympians. There are six Sarasota natives competing.

Vintage sports equipment and chinoiserie are a wonderful combination. I find this look especially charming in beach and vacation homes that tend to be more casual and outdoorsy. Perfect for an entryway or for a mudroom.

Here is some inspiration. These are my badminton and tennis racquets from camp when I was a little girl.

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HomeGoods Find

Pasotti Umbrella

I posted a while back about liking and collecting unique umbrellas. My favorites are a collection of Scalamadre Zebras.

In response to my umbrella post, I received a comment about the very beautiful Italian Pasotti umbrellas. They are pure luxury, hand made, limited edition and very $$$$. I had never seen one in person anywhere! The Flamingo is featured above. He retails for about $400. Imagine my surprise when I just found two Pasotti umbrellas at....................

HomeGoods - LOL. I was seriously floored. Here they are in my foyer in my blue and white Chinese porcelain umbrella stand. I am gobsmacked. Truly bizarre to find them there. They really are little works of art - the detailing is amazing.

I hope to find more like the flamingo but am delighted. This definitely counts as one of my most unique HG finds. It is right up there with my iconic Kate Spade Cloverdale gold dot vase and my stunning Ralph Lauren gold leaf pagoda chandelier. What is your most special HomeGoods find?

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The Chinoiserie Office

Erin Gates - Ballard Designs

This is the entrance to the interior design office of Erin Gates featured by Ballard Designs. The umbrella stand is actually from Ballard Designs. I love the skirted table with the oversized Greek key trim. Here is another shot below. I have an umbrella stand in my foyer filled with Scalamandre Zebras umbrellas. Do you remember those? Such a shame they no longer make them - they are so chic. I will post a picture when the sun is up. Her umbrella stand looks a little bare.

Scalamandre Zebras umbrellas

My umbrella stand

The Blue and White Entryway

Domino

A very chic blue and white entryway with a blue and white Chinese porcelain umbrella stand - I love the pop of the yellow umbrella.

The Chinoiserie Entryway

Pinterest

A darling look for a petite entryway with a vintage faux bamboo mirror lacquered in robin's egg blue and a blue and white Chinese umbrella stand with a vintage tennis racquet and cane.

Blue and White

Bachman Brown Clem - House Beautiful

A dramatic blue and white foyer with a collection of blue and white Chinese porcelain - the woodwork is in Benjamin Moore Twilight.

The Chinoiserie Entryway

Veranda

A couple of well chosen pieces of blue and white Chinese porcelain - here an umbrella stand and a vase add Chinoiserie style to this entryway.

The Chinoiserie Entryway

Cottages & Gardens

A small entryway with lots of well chosen Chinoiserie including ginger jars and an umbrella stand.

Walking Sticks & Chinoiserie

Chatsworth

A collection of walking sticks in a blue and white Chinese ginger jar or umbrella stand is a wonderful element in an entryway.

Ralph Lauren

Darryl Carter

Jamie Meares

Blue and White Chinoiserie

U.K. House & Garden

Here is a charming blue and white vignette, very British with its blue and white Chinese umbrella stand, blue and white striped umbrella, and blue and white floral festoon/balloon shade. I have always loved this window treatment and it has never gone out of style in England, although here the roman shade is considered more modern. The black and gold Chinese lamps and black and gold mirror ground the space.

The Chinoiserie Entryway

Lonny

Blue and White

Dee Murphy - Lonny

Rainy Days & Chinoiserie Never Get Me Down

Beth Connolly

Raise your hand if you remember the Carpenters singing "Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down."

It is a very rainy day here, but at least no snow or ice like lots of the country right now. When I was redoing  my laundry room for the last One Room Challenge, I decided to make it part mud room as this is the entrance off the garage and the door we use for walking Izzy, gardening, and such. I included a large ginger jar filled with stylish umbrellas, a copper boot tray with my rain boots, and an umbrella stand from The Pink Pagoda with vintage sports equipment.

Below you will see other great examples of how interior designers combine Chinoiserie, umbrellas, and umbrella stands in entryways, making rainy days a bit less gloomy.

Beth Connolly

Beth Connolly

Beth Connolly

Jamie Meares

Midwest Living

Lynn Morgan

Miles Redd

The Pursuit of Style

Darryl Carter

Gil Schafer

Sarah Winchester

Easy Living

The Seattle Times

House Beautiful

Nantucket guest house

One Room Challenge Revealed

I hope none of you missed the reveal of my laundry room and all the other participants yesterday. If you did, click here. I hate to see the One Room Challenge come to an end and I have a wonderful idea. Over the next week, we are going to have a One Room Challenge series here at Chinoiserie Chic. I will reveal my sources, delve into some of my design features, and feature some of my favorite rooms of the other participants as well as my favorites of the One Room Challenge linking participants.

Today we look at my umbrella stands. This stunning umbrella stand is available at The Pink Pagoda. I decided to use it for vintage sports equipment of mine. It holds my tennis racquet and my badminton racquet from my days at camp in Wisconsin. I spent 10 years going to 7 week sleep away camp in the summers and even became a counselor in training and then a counselor. These racquets hold very fond memories. The tennis racquet is housed in a vintage Louis Vuitton tennis racquet cover. The umbrella stand also holds vintage polo mallets. These were picked up on eBay several years ago and I previously displayed them in a large ginger jar in the family room.

I also use a large ginger jar I already owned for umbrellas. This is the entrance we use to walk Izzy, so it is very handy to have umbrellas at the ready for rainy dog walks. I have a pair of blue and white striped old school umbrellas I ordered from London and a beautiful pair of black umbrellas lined in orange.

Here is more inspiration on blue and white Chinese porcelain umbrella stands and how to display them. Note that large vases and large ginger jars work beautifully too. The Pink Pagoda has some great choices like this large vase here.

Darryl Carter

Jamie Meares

Today is the finale for the One Room Challenge Linking Participants and there are some great rooms. Go check it out.