Chinamania in the 21st Century

DC friends - if you are a lover of Chinese porcelain, head over to the Ring Auditorium at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden this Sunday, October 2, from 3 - 4:30pm. The Smithsonian Freer|Sackler Gallery is putting on a panel discussion - Chinamania in the 21st Century - about the West's enduring fascination with our beloved blue and white vessels. And it's free!

Artists, scholars, and critics explore the West’s enduring fascination with Chinese porcelain in this moderated panel discussion. Listen in as the group discusses Chinese porcelain’s influence on such areas as the global trade economy, collecting, production, and contemporary art and scholarship. 

This program is held in conjunction with Chinamania, the last in a series of special exhibitions organized in conjunction with Peacock Room REMIX. Along with Kangxi porcelains, the exhibition includes works by contemporary sculptor Walter McConnell that were inspired by his travels to China and by the nineteenth-century British craze for Chinese ceramics.

Unfortunately, I can't go, but I would definitely be there otherwise. This sounds quite interesting. Do attend if you can!

Happy Friday - see you next week!

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Seven Years

image source

Have you been reading my blog for seven years? If so, thank you.

This date snuck (sneaked?) up on me. I feel like I just wrote the six year post. But I'm glad this milestone has arrived, as this date (technically yesterday's date) always makes me reflect on how I feel about this little slice of internet I have carved out for myself. A time to take a pulse check about my passion for design.

And though the reality of daily life often gets in the way of elaborate, consistent posts, I love being here. I love taking the time to jot down thoughts...and sharing them with you. I'm hoping year seven gets me back to doing more of that.

Onward, friends. Thanks for being here!

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Peachy Plum Table

Photo by James Wojcik for Town and Country Magazine

FALL! REJOICE!

Nothing gets me going for the new season like the promise of sumptuous table arranging! 

And this example is HIGH on my radar. Because peach. Mixed with plum (always a favorite), emerald green, and orange. It's so very good.

I'm also writing a note to self about hunting down a good vintage silver basket - the height and interest one can offer is lovely.

Now go take inventory of your boots. 

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Friday Crush

Photo by Emily Gilbert for Luxe, who knows the designer?...

I will never ever tire of the combination of green, black, and white. I especially love a good aloe green...like this lacquered ceiling (Benjamin Moore's Parsley Snips, FYI). 

Sidenote: I think a ceiling is a great place to take a risk. Maybe you don't want to deck your walls out in a wild wallpaper...but you want some zing. Paint your ceiling something fun. Like this. 

I am also digging the oversized, scalloped lanterns...hung in a "too many" fashion. If this was your home, and the designer said "Oh, I think we should hang three large lanterns in this teensy hallway!"...you would probably question them. Because three big lanterns in a small hallway doesn't make sense. But don't listen to yourself. Listen to your designer. Because designers know these things. 

I'm also into the black doors. Ok, I'm done.

Happy weekend! See you next week!

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Dining Room Color Study

This home by Jeffrey Bilhuber is one of my favorites. I have blogged about it before, but I had not seen the dining room.

And it's pretty awesome:

Photos by Chi Chi Ubiña for Cottages & Gardens

Aside from being a great mix of everything - pattern, texture, style - it's also a wonderful color study.

So many colors...and yet they all work. Why???

I think JB succeeds because the center of the space - chairs, bench, rug - are all using color tones that match in saturation. Bold orchid, bright peacock blue, and energetic apple green. The colors are all different, but this jewel range that they all fit under makes them work together. And in solids. No pattern here. Because the dimension is offered by the range of color.

Now lets fade to the back, where the colors are more muted. And patterned. And mainly white with colored backgrounds. Again, the color family is the same in saturation. So that the curtains and walls can create a cohesive unit against which the bold colors can take center stage. And the patterns are very repetitive...so as not to create too much noise behind the bold dining table colors.

Although this is an extreme implementation - not something you will likely try at home unless you are fearless - it offers a great blueprint for how to create a mix in a space.

Carry on.

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Friday Crush

How fun is this?? One of my readers, Merlyn, took my coral bedroom from yesterday's post and brought it to life!!  This tickled me in so many ways. I'm always hoping that the little nuggets I give you here and there can inspire bigger things, so I LOVE seeing how Merlyn took it all the way. Those lamps are killer! Thank you, Merlyn!

Hope you have something fun on tap this weekend. This week was nuts, so I'm happy for some downtime. See you next week!

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Coral Bedroom Starter Set

Can we do another make-believe bedroom pairing? Thanks for indulging me.

What about this Polka Dot Sissy Headboard:

With this coral wallpaper called Summer Nights (C-194-05) from Waterhouse Wallhangings:

And this chippendale chair in the corner:

Tremendous, right? Throw in an antelope-patterned rug for good measure. And maybe some blue/white porcelain lamps. This would all suit me just fine.

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Friday Crush

I have been on a kick recently with the work of Suellen Gregory and colleagues out of Richmond, VA - my hometown. I LOVE her use of color and pattern (you may have seen her fab work in the latest House Beautiful) and this image feels like the perfect embodiment of late summer style. Still crisp and bright, but the warmer tones are inviting fall. I'm crazy for those skirted chairs and Mac would lose his mind over that puppy. And a striped painted floor always wins in my book.

FALL. Halle. Lujah. But it's still not quite here...I have to trudge through several more weeks of heat before I get to fully pull out my leggings and boots. We have one more beach hurrah and then life starts back up, with every minute scheduled. Good in a way. Horrible in a way. But boots. And leggings.

Enjoy your Labor Day. See you next week!

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Blue Bedroom Starter Set

I pinned these things for different reasons and realized they all coalesce into the delightful beginning of a blue-hued bedroom:

Art / Headboard / Pillow / Table / Lamp / Rug

Bedroom-in-a-blog....like bed-in-a-bag. You're welcome.

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