Baby Chinoiserie Chic

One can never be too old or too young for Chinoiserie! Serena & Lily has darling zebra crib sheets and even a sleeper that you can mix and match with their nursery bedding. Find it all here. And speaking of zebras and Chinoiserie nurseries, you have to see one of the cutest Chinoiserie nurseries of all time created by the very talented Daniela at Aesthetic Oiseau for her baby girl. It has curtains in the iconic Brunschwig & Fils Le Lac, a pagoda, a ginger jar, fretwork, zebras, faux bamboo, a pagoda chandelier - the list goes on and on.

Aesthetic Oiseau

Aesthetic Oiseau

Aesthetic Oiseau

Royal Chinoiserie Nurseries & Inspiration Boards

The Brits have always been Chinoiserie crazy, so as the world awaits the imminent birth of Princess Alexandra or Prince George, I thought it would be fun to look at nurseries with Chinoiserie, perfect for a royal baby. These include six inspiration bords that I created.

Ruthie Sommers - Domino

Melissa Rufty

Matter of Style

Lonny

Apartment Therapy

Inspiration Boards - Royal Chinoiserie Nurseries

For today's post, I have created a nursery for a royal prince of England. With a nod to British Colonial style, the walls are wallpapered in Scalamandre Zebras, and there is an elephant step stool in navy with gold edging and a dramatic Union Jack zebra rug by Jonathan Adler. The window treatments are linen with inset bands of navy linen. The crib is paneled in navy linen with brass nailhead trim. The red lacquered pagoda display cabinet is edged in gold. It is Chinoiserie, but also reminds me of a London telephone booth, now extinct. All furniture is from Art for Kids. The red scalloped lanterns are from Coleen and Company.

Below is also my inspiration board for the nursery for a royal princess from yesterday's post. Both nurseries are quite sophisticated, and could become rooms for a growing prince and princess by switching out the crib for a campaign bed. "Campaign" furniture was made to travel for military campaigns.

 "Any furniture specifically made to breakdown or fold for ease of travel can be described as campaign furniture. It was designed to be packed up and carried on the march. It has been used by traveling armies since at least the time of Julius Caesar but it is commonly associated with British Army Officers, many of whom had purchased their commissions. With the rise and expansion of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries the demand by the military, administrators and colonists increased. British officers of high social position in the Georgian and Victorian periods (1714–1901) often carried high quality portable furniture." --- Wikipedia

London telephone booth

Royal princess nursery

Campaign bed from Neirmann Weeks

Campaign furniture packed on camels

Inspiration Board - A Royal Chinoiserie Nursery

With the birth of England's royal baby imminent, I thought it would be fun to create inspiration boards for royal Chinoiserie nurseries fit for a princess and a prince. Today's nursery for a royal princess starts with hand painted on silk pink Chinoiserie wallpaper from A.L. Diament & Co. The gilded carousel lanterns are from the famed London lighting store Charles Edwards. I have used a pink cashmere egg chair with a queen pillow. A pink Union Jack rug is another fun twist. The stunning Serafina crib from The Well Appointed House is hand painted in pink and linen with crown molding and crown appliques. An English Regency armoire from The Well Appointed House will house some very pretty outfits. A gold Harry Allen pig bank holds 5,000 British Pounds. Stay tuned tomorrow for a nursery for a royal prince.

In the crazy column - a couple weeks ago I pinned the room below to my Pineapple Pinterest board because I liked the chandelier. The photo was already captioned as being a boy's room. Minutes later, someone commented on my pin accusing me of perpetuating gender stereotypes for not changing the caption. So to that person, if you would like the nursery above to be for a prince, go for it. ;-)

Navy Nursery Inspiration Boards

Yesterday we looked at an inspiration board for a Chinoiserie Chic nursery for a baby girl with my color of the year navy. This inspiration board is for a nursery for a baby boy with stylish parents. It features blue elephant wallpaper, the same navy crib I used yesterday in the baby girl's nursery to show how it can be used for a boy or a girl, navy and white striped wing chairs piped in red (Furbish), navy dupioni silk curtains, a red pagoda cabinet, a vintage palm chandelier spray painted Chinese red, an elephant step stool, and a child's size Chinese red Ming Dynasty chair. Note how the use of round bulbs in the chandelier gives it a more fun and young vibe - a great tip to borrow. I love the idea of a pair of wing chairs so both Mom and Dad can hang out in the nursery.

Parade by Lulu DK Child for Schumacher

Here is an alternative version using many of the same pieces including the crib with navy blue linen but with more use of red with the additions of the Scalamandre Zebras wallpaper, red silk lampshades, and Ikea Lack side tables.