2014 Color of the Year?

I have posted several times lately about how I am seeing more and more shades of purple used in interior design and how beautifully purple combines with Chinoiserie. I especially like lilacs and lavenders and soft purples with gray or blue undertones. I have a Pinterest board on the subject here. I remember being at a Farrow & Ball party a few years ago and asking one of the F&B executives why there was not lavender or lilac in their color range. The response was, "We don't do pretty colors." Farrow and Ball has now added a lavender gray I love called Calluna that they describe as "a much requested pretty heather colour." I guess they changed their minds.

Above is another wonderful example of combining purple and Chinoiserie - Nicolette Horn's master bedroom in Oslo in violet. I suspect that we are about to see colors in the purple family named as hot colors for 2014 and perhaps even as color of the year by someone. We shall see. For lots more inspiration on combining purple and Chinoiserie, don't miss my September Houzz Ideabook here.

Farrow & Ball Calluna

Saturday Inspiration

On Thursday I posted on the lounge and powder room that Shelley Johnstone Paschke created for the 2013 Lake Forest Showhouse.  This is the entryway she designed for the 2011 Lake Forest Showhouse. The wallpaper is a favorite of mine, Farrow and Ball's Lotus. The bottom two pictures show this wallpaper used in two other rooms I have posted on. Note how in all three rooms this wallpaper is combined with Chinese porcelain.

Ryan Korban

Charleston Dining Room

A Gorgeous Chinoiserie Powder Room

Having grown up in Lake Forest, Illinois, its great homes are still to me the most beautiful anywhere. The stage for the 15th biennial Lake Forest Showhouse was an Italian Renaissance 15,000 square foot estate designed in 1916 by famed architect David Adler.

Interior designer Shelley Johnstone Paschke designed the lounge and powder room. The lounge walls are lacquered in Farrow and Ball Saxon Green and are trimmed in gold. The ceiling is painted in faux malachite. Note the ivory silk curtains trimmed in Samuel and Sons Greek key, the Oscar de la Renta Zeus chair with tiger silk velvet, the sisal carpet, rustic baskets, lucite console, and antique Chinese export jars.

In the powder room area, she has papered the walls in Farrow & Ball Acanthus. I love the lucite stand with the blue and white Chinese jar and the starburst chandelier. All in all, a wonderful mix of many of my favorite elements.

Photos courtesy of Veranda.

Charleston Dining Room - Southern Chinoiserie

This Charleston dining room is a lovely example of "Southern Chinoiserie,"  a look that prevails in Alexandria, Virginia where I live. In this style dining room, crystal chandeliers, real Persian rugs, blue and white Chinese porcelain, and mahogany furniture are "required." The deep coral and turquoise blue of the Persian rug, the use of the dramatic Farrow & Ball wallpaper Lotus, the simple white curtains, and the oversized ginger jar make it "New Traditional" and keep it fresh.

Do you recall where we've seen Lotus wallpaper used before? In the NYC kitchen of Ryan Korban shown below, also with a large ginger jar. You can see how this pattern adds drama to any room. Another more modern approach used here is a single large ginger jar as opposed to a smaller pair. The Pink Pagoda has a lovely selection including large sizes that would make a real focal point.