Another Easy Chinoiserie DIY

I love the way these yellow silk curtains have been dressed up even more with black velvet fretwork. Velvet ribbon would work great for this. There are lots of step by step instructions online for adding ribbon in a fretwork design to ready made curtains. M&JTrimming has a very wide black velvet ribbon here that would be very dramatic as well as lots of other widths and colors.

Budget Friendly Chinoiserie Monograms

People are always asking me about budget friendly Chinoiserie monogrammed linens, since Leontine Linens are gorgeous but quite costly. One choice is to print out an example of a Chinoiserie monogram - find many examples on my Pinterest board - and see if your local monogram shop can copy it.

Another great idea is to find pillows, sheets, or towels in Greek key fabric or with Greek key or fretwork embroidery and have them monogrammed in a traditional block or script. The Greek key and fretwork give you the look for far less! I did this with Greek key towels I found at Marshall's. I have shown examples below.

Paule Marrot Feathers Inspiration Board

I have always wanted to do a room using Paule Marrot's iconic work "Feathers" as the focal point. Here I have created a living room with a modern Crate and Barrel Aidan sofa, a pair of antique Chinese garden stools, fretwork pillows from Furbish, a Jonathan Adler pink zebra rug, a black marble Saarinen cocktail table from Room and Board, and a pair of Seville chairs from Room and Board inspired by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. I could be quite happy in this living room - feminine but sophisticated, with a mix of periods and Chinoiserie, just my style. To see more of the work of French engraver, painter, and textile artist Paule Marrot (1902 - 1987), visit my Pinterest board here.