Saturday Inspiration

John Stefanidis via The Peak of Chic

What can I say? I adore this. The attention to detail is amazing. I love the striped balloon shades with their arched tops and coral trim, the damask wallpaper, the gilded crown molding, and the incredible blanc de Chine man. Perfection! It's a shame that balloon shades are so little seen today in the United States. I think that if they are done well, they are lovely. Unfortunately, most are executed so poorly that it has turned people off to this style.

Spring Color Inspiration Board and Vignette

Spring is popping out all over in DC with star magnolias, camellias, and cherry blossoms in bloom everywhere. Bring these wonderful colors into your home all year long with a beautiful abstract floral painting by Kerry Steele. I love the idea of a striking piece of art above a bar cart - the "in" piece of furniture now. My inspiration board shows one of Kerry's paintings currently available - "Babylon" with a great pink bar cart from Furbish and a pink Chinese Chippendale chair from the Lilly Pulitzer home collection. Visit Kerry's Etsy shop to see the paintings below and more of her current work. Shown below are some of her abstract florals I love.

Update - Kerry just added this abstract floral below and I love it - it reminds me of cherry blossoms and the colors are gorgeous.

See it here

My daughter Kate sent me this last night from her iPhone and I had to share it. She has topped her blue and white Josef Frank chair with a coral pink Mongolian lambskin pillow. In the background you see her pagoda etagere with her collection of blanc de Chine - all white figurines including Chinese zodiac figures and foo dogs. Kate has wonderful Pinterest boards you can follow here.

A Chinoiserie Christmas Mantel

Donna Benedetto

An elegant and sophisticated look for your Christmas mantel. A pair of Chinoiserie blanc de Chine figures and a pair of white urns filled with moss balls are wonderful with the Chinoiserie walls.

Setting the Thanksgiving Table

Jennifer at The Pink Pagoda posted this fantastic table today that is from one of my favorite interior design books, Stephanie Hopen's Blue and White Living. This is a wonderful alternative to the harvest colors (that are not my favorites) for the Thanksgiving table. Blue and white with deep purple flowers and blanc de Chine singerie monkeys for a dose of Chinoiserie are a stunning combination. Any Chinoiserie figurines can of course be used. Here are other great examples below.

Eddie Ross

Alberto Pinto

Phoebe Howard

Hutton Wilkinson