Blue Coral & Chinoiserie

I bought a beautiful pair of antique coral engravings in a gorgeous turquoise blue a while back and finally decided to frame them for my "pagoda bedroom." I picked them up from the framers yesterday and I think they add a great summery vibe to this space. Here also are more lovely examples of combining blue and coral, a perfect combination with Chinoiserie.

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.

Coral and Chinoiserie and My Redo

 I saw this vignette above and was absolutely smitten. I love the coral pink silk taffeta, the khaki Chinoiserie wallpaper, and the gold leaf table. I discovered it was by Nancy Pearson for the American Red Cross Designers Show House in Palm Beach - Traditional Home - 2013. Armed with this information, I wanted to see the whole bedroom.

I first found this enlarged view below and I thought - gee, I'm not liking the bed linens, the bed, the carpet, or the bed in front of the window.

Then I found this even larger photo and I'm still not liking the bed, the bed linens, the carpet, and the bed placement, and I also don't like the dinky chandelier and the fact that the Chinoiserie wallpaper is two unmatched panels.

This often happens to me where I see a beautiful close-up vignette but then don't like the rest of the room.

I would use my gold leaf Annie Selke pagoda bed (preferably not in front of the window), Leontine Linens with a coral monogram, a Marjorie Skouras Designs chandelier in pale blue, and a bound sisal rug. I would have either used one of the wallpapers for the entire room or as two matched panels.

Crazy day today - my painter arrives to start on my office, I need to work on my post for tomorrow's One Room Challenge update, and DC is bracing for its first snowstorm in two years starting tonight.

Speaking of Mary McDonald

Mary McDonald has changed my all time favorite office from this above, to this below. What's the verdict? Prefer the blue before or the coral and gray redo? I'll bet you can guess my answer.

A Chinoiserie Christmas - DIY Centerpiece

Oscar de la Renta

For a fantastic holiday centerpiece, collect knobby branches and spray paint them red - matte for a more subtle look, gloss for more glitzy. Arrange them in a large blue and white ginger jar sans lid or a large blue and white Chinese bowl. A fabulous faux coral look for about $5.00 for a can of paint.

A Chinoiserie Christmas - Tory Burch

Tory Burch

Christmas decorating Tory Burch style - an orange lacquered library gets dressed up for the holidays with a round library table skirted in purple festooned in coral red stripes and coral red bullion fringe and a magnificent Chinese ginger jar filled with coral red branches. This is a great tip - I am not a big red person myself and use instead in my own home a deep coral with pink and orange undertones for holiday decorating.