Three Takes on Chinoiserie

I enjoyed this post from One Kings Lane's blog on Chinoiserie. Three of our favorite designers - Bunny Williams, Ruthie Sommers and Grant Gibson - share short sound bites on my favorite design style.

Photo by Fritz von der Schulenburg

Photo by Victoria Pearson

Photo by Grant K. Gibson

I think Ruthie's style of "Elegant and Eclectic" is most similar to my own. How amazing is that styled console pictured above? Her use of varying heights, colors and textures makes the vignette so rich and interesting.  

Click here to read what all three have to say on the subject of Chinoiserie...

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Dazzling Femininity by Ruthie Sommers

Image via ruthiesommers.com

Our house has two bedrooms upstairs, both with slanted walls very similar to this fantastic space by Ruthie Sommers. I've contemplated wallpaper and this room proves that it can look fabulous in a small, slanted space.

I would love to see what Ruthie did with those small nooks on either side of the room (I have one larger nook). Everything about this feminine interior is dazzling. The Chinoiserie influence is not lost and I can't stop staring at those pink stripes. The natural floor covering brings it all down a notch and the white light fixture against a white ceiling makes a quiet statement to complement the exuberant walls.

This seems like a great bonus space - perhaps a home office. Or somewhere to play cards with the girls. Or perhaps it's a guest bedroom. Either way, I want to be sitting on that daybed.

 

Good Loot Comes to Those Who Wait

I've been jonesing for some wheat sconces for a while (I want to say something like 9 months). Knowing that my fireplace mantel would one day be complete, I always had the thought of finding a great mirror and flanking it with some big sconces.

In deciding what these sconces should be like, I always turned to those jazzy coral sconces Ruthie Sommers used in her living room that we saw in domino:

Photo by Melanie Acevedo via domino

What I liked most about the sconces wasn't their coral-ness (although very nice) but actually how they projected from the wall. I liked that they were sculptural and quirky.

As I dove into a search for a pair of sconces to call my own, somewhere along the way, I fell in love with the wheat motif. I think the first time the wheat theme called to me was when I found an awesome pair of vintage white tole sconces on Etsy for a steal of $35. I debated and debated - still not fully confident that I could put large, sculptural sconces in our living room (perhaps too grand/traditional for the space). So as I thought and thought...someone else bought them. And of course, as soon as they did, I totally regretted my decision and doubled my efforts looking for wheat sconces.

A great example of these sconces via Lonny:

Photo by Patrick Cline via lonnymag.com

So, it's been months since my Etsy darlings passed me by and I've been scouring Etsy, eBay, flea markets, etc. to find a good vintage pair (within my budget - always key)...and finally, it was my day yesterday! And perfect timing since I'm making fireplace mirror decisions.

Behold my loot:

I found them on eBay for $35 (and a respectable shipping fee) - the seller had relisted them because the previous buyer hadn't paid up (and I had actually missed them the first go around). Woohoo! These are actually better than the Etsy pair because they are gold, which is what I originally wanted.

I think they might work well next to my free mirror, which I will paint gold to match. I think the traditional motif will work nicely against the geometrics and color of my living room.

Once again, patience wins. I need to remember that...

Chinoiserie Walls, Courtesy of Ruthie

Do you love Ruthie Sommers as much as I do? And I really do...she has the Midas touch with a room - I have yet to meet a Ruthie room that I didn't like. Girl can work some Chinoiserie and she went to U.Va...enough said.

I was recently exploring Ruthie's new website and portfolio and am LOVING her Chinoiserie wall treatments...these images were too gorgeous not to post:

I have seen the coral/black color scheme pop up a couple of places recently (fabric, for example) and I'm LOVING it. It works perfectly against the bluish-gray walls of this room which helps keep the combo grounded. Those wall panels are just perfection...perfection, perfection, perfection.

Yes, please. So feminine, glam and gorgeous.

Once you throw green in the mix, I'm in. And those sconces are making me light-headed - I have been on the search for similar ones (something in a brassy tone with a quirky shape) and have had no luck (and don't ask me to recount the story of how I found the perfect set on Etsy and let them go and then came back to purchase once I realized the specimen of perfection that I had at a great price and they were gone...no, don't ask me to retell you that story...I'm not bitter). The traditional furnishings are just beautiful but the wall treatments keep the room vibrant and fresh.

Of course, Chinoiserie maven Beth over at Chinoiserie Chic has done many posts on such gorgeous wallcoverings, including this one that shows some other examples from Ruthie...and it happens to be CC's blog bday - happy blog birthday Beth!