CLAYDON HOUSE

This gorgeous image from England's Claydon House has been making the rounds on the web for a while, and it's such a fantastical, compelling scene, I was curious about the rest of the room.

 Well, it does not disappoint. 

The rococo icing is perhaps best left to palaces, but the bamboo furniture could grace any chic home today and not look a stick out of place. Master Craftsman Luke Lightfoot carved the fabulous woodwork (and as Luke Lightfingers, he also set about carving out a large portion of Lord Verney's fortune, nearly destroying the future of his greatest creation). The stunning wall color was a later addition by 20th century decorator John Fowler.

More of those marvelous chairs.

Fantastic detail.

Of course, there are other grand rooms, too. This ballroom was featured in the Gwyneth Paltrow version of Emma.

We are lucky to have any of these exquisite rooms with us today; in fact, there used to be quite a few more of them. When the ill-fated Lord Verney, employeer of Luke Lightfoot, died, his heir was niece Mary Verney, an apple that certainly fell far from the tree. Far from being a big spender, Miss Mary (later Baroness Fermanaugh), tore down two other wings of the house, reducing it to its present more economical size. Indeed, the exterior doesn't give anything away! Would you expect such extravagant treasures inside? 

/Images/ Claydon House doorway/ Yellow couch view/ Full room view/ Second full room view/ Pediment detail/ Plaster bird detail/ Carved niche detail/ Mantel detail/ Exterior view/ 

CHINA RED... CHIPPENDALE

SHOPPING OPTIONS

Red Fretwork Tables, Horchow

Fretwork Table Lamp, Horchow

Ralph Lauren Red Pagoda China (Cookie Jar, Five-piece Setting, Salt & Pepper)

Chippendale Fretwork Settee, James and Jeffrey Antiques, First Dibs

Noble Excellence Red Fretwork Bedding, Dillards

Harris Rubin Red Bookcase, Dennis Miller Associates

Fretwork Pattern Candle Sleeves, Kaarskoker

Red Fretwork File Box, Neiman Marcus

Chinese Fretwork Lantern, Vaughan

And you can always wear it... Judith Leiber pagoda bag and Redux Charles Chang-Lima One-Shoulder Chiffon Ruffle gown, Neiman Marcus

Product images, companies as attributed.

Fretwork ceiling/Fretwork chair/Miles Redd living room, Elle Decor/John Loecke tablescape (via Peak of Chic)/ Woodson and Rummerfield red trim room (via Peak of Chic)/ Pagoda wallpaper room via CocoCozy/

POM POM FRENZY

It's not enough that we have trendy shoes, trendy hair styles, trendy decor colors (Pantone says it's turquoise!), and trendy hem lines. There are trendy party decorations too. Last year, it was the chinese lantern. Weddings had them, anniversaries had them, parties for one-year-olds with helicopter mommies had them. But 2010 is the year of the pom-pom. They're everywhere, hovering over baby showers like so many miracle-grow fed cherry blossoms, or turning up at weddings, dangling off pews like over-sized coconut balls. But they're popular for good reason:  inexpensive, adaptable, and they come in every size! What could be better? Here's your inspiration -

             

Want to learn how to make your own? It's easy! Visit HERE.

P.S. TODAY is the last day for THE HOUSE IN MY HEAD book give-away! Click HERE to enter!

{Images: gift: http://hellosandwich.blogspot.com/2009/03/wrapping.html. On sticks: http://media.photobucket.com/image/tissue%20pom%20poms/ljprincess/Picture232.jpg. white: http://sarahlambersky.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/tissue-paper-pom-poms/. black and white tree: http://heavenlybloomsflorist.blogspot.com/2010/01/kates-minnie-mouse-birthday-party.html. polka dot: http://www.weloveindie.com/topic/listview/15/for-the-home/page/106.html. Green: http://greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/2009/05/fun-tissue-pom-poms.html. hung on chandelier: http://aubreyroad.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html. black and gray: http://designismine.blogspot.com/2008/10/martha-stewart-halloween-pom-poms.html. In trees: http://pinkbyecho.wordpress.com/2008/08/. With chinese lantersn: http://chekdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/07/lanterns-and-pom-poms.html. Around napkin: http://the6chicks.com/2009/07/10/inspirational-boardflamenco-pink-yellow. mini ones: http://www.favorsandflowers.com/martha-stewart-wedding-favors.htm.}

I WANT TO BE MEG BRAFF

Remember when you were a child in school, and your teacher told you that you were as unique as a snowflake, that you were wonderful, that you should never want to change? It was all a lie. Because I want to be Interior Designer Meg Braff.

Let's get down to brass tacts. I've never met Meg (we'll just go ahead and get on a first name basis). I wouldn't recognize her on the street. But when I saw her color-saturated, pattern-intense chinoiserie-inspired rooms in House Beautiful, I was a goner, hook-line-and-sinker. I fell in love with those rooms the way anyone does who has struggled to perfect an ideal - and suddenly sees that ideal before them. To employ pattern, yet not be too busy; to use color, but not be too bright, to be tasteful, yet never pretentious. And to use copious amounts of chinoiserie, yet not look like one of those hapless Eastern market mall stores, with dusty fountains and moon stones for sale. In short, to look like this:  cheering, soothing, simple, and above all, harmonious. It's a beautiful thing.

East Hampton, New York

Clarke Avenue, Palm Beach

Newport, Rhode Island

Ritz Tower, New York

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Images, megbraff.com.

Plate Perfect: Setting the Table

First things (first): If you've noticed my online presence is a bit sparse this week, you aren't imagining things - it's been a hectic few days. But I promise I'll make it up to you with some GREAT posts planned for next week. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I'm really enjoying the latest House Beautiful issue on white china. You know how much I love white - if I had my way, my home would look like it was decorated by polar bears in a blizzard eating vanilla snow cones. Anyway, HB asked 15 different "tastemakers" to come up with a fresh way of mixing white china in with other pieces. The results are as varied as the names, and certainly proof that you don't have to go all vanilla, ALL the time (even if you're me).

My very favorite: interior designer Martha Angus does classic chinoiserie paired with an (almost bare) plate. Rather than a highly decorated plate on a blank canvas, Angus twists the look around (and how fabulous is that chair?).

Paula Dean's look. I love (love!) the postage stamp design, and twining leaves (faintly reminiscent of Kate Spade's Primrose Hill pattern). She's kept the setting simple, but richly textured (note the placemat). The mint julep cup and other layered silvers are a perfect compliment.

One guess where this design is from. Palm Beach! Writer Victoria Amory embraces the sunny South and balances a complex pattern with uniform color. The china is anything but boring though - note that the only standard shaped item is the charger plate.

Last (but most assuredly not least) marvelous designer Miles Redd. He deftly uses white as his accent, not his base, to create this eclectic and colorful look. And he's not above a good deal either. The tablecloth? Urban Outfitters.

With all those holidays coming up (oh, so quickly), I hope this inspires you with some new uses for your old china. Don't be afraid to mix up different china patterns, or even combine the good stuff with something fun found at Anthropologie or a tag sale. You'll appreciate your classic pieces in a new way - not to mention impressing the guests. Happy place setting!

All images, housebeautiful.com.

Kreativ Blogger Award

Many thanks to Sarah Klassen at exquisitely beautiful blog, Haute Design, for the KreativBlogger award!

SO... I'd like to thank Sarah, the Academy, my producer, my acting coach, my stylist, my choreographer, the technician that turns my terrible voice into something halfway plausible, and of course, Oscar de la Renta, who designed the haute couture, one-of-a-kind gown I'm wearing (this is a dream of course).

Here's my lovely gown. I look fabulous, but I'm apparently Spanish, and I forgot to put on a slip this morning. Anywho.

The conditions of the award are that I a) tell you 7 things about me, and b) nominate 7 others for the award. And now (envelope please), the Kreativ Blogger awards go to...

Odi et Amo

Laura Casey Interiors

Things That Inspire

From the Right Bank

Little Augury

Ticklish From a Distance

The Antiques Diva

Please visit ALL of these fabulous blogs - you'll be glad you did!

Now, the really hard part (picking fabulous bloggers was easy). 7 things folks may not know about me...

1. I'm addicted to all things cinnamon. For instance: I hate brushing my teeth (just like a little kid) but give me some cinnamon toothpaste and I'm a happy camper. I like cinnamon on my lattes, in my hot chocolate, sprinkled on some yogurt... . For me, it's the salt of sweet stuff.

2. I'm a compulsive picture straightener. It's genetic. My mom straightens pictures wherever she goes, and I likewise can't resist a good nudge to any wayward frame. No place and no person is immune. My friend's paintings get straightened as much as my dentist's.

3. Chinoiserie is my favorite style of decorating. I love Asian influence, and I grew up in a house stuffed with Asian antiques and books like "Japanese Stone Gardens" (not normal in the deep South).

4. I believe that Thomas Kinkade is a terrible person who should be prosecuted for crimes against taste. Kinkade's "art" (oh, how loathe I am to put those two words in the same sentence!) is as uninspired as a velvet Elvis painting and as common as the shopping cart. He has been terrorizing the good people of this country for too long with his pastel monstrosities: saccharine cottages, bizarre land-locked lighthouses, idiotic babbling brooks, and flowers in colors not occurring in nature. And his terror is spreading to every home in the land. If you can't afford thousands of dollars for one of his "exclusive" syndicated, copyright protected, fully licensed prints, you can still wallow in Kinkadia - throws, calendars, porcelain lighthouses, coasters, night lights, CDs, commemorative books, and pillows. What's next? Thomas Kinkade Painter of Light Cheerful Cottage Toilet Paper dispensers? Probably. There will be no picture for this entry.

5. The best cup of tea I've ever had was at the Old Parsonage in Oxford, on Banbury Street (Oxford, UK, for those of you in MS). They make their own exclusive brew, and it's heaven.

6. I despise grocery stores so much it's practically a phobia (Groceriophobia?). If I am ever kidnapped by terrorists, the best place for them to interrogate me would be the produce aisle. For some reason, I can't stand shopping for food, and I very much dislike cooking (but I have absolutely nothing against eating). Oh, and take note National Association of Grocers: it is always FREEZING in your stores. I do not shop in a parka in July, thank you very much.

7. FINALLY... I love blogging. I started this blog (for keeps) just this year, and after many months, much to my surprise, I'm still at it. I never expected all the good things that have come with blogging - meeting amazing people (both online and in person) and finding a world of beauty and style. Blogland is like an IV drip for inspiration. I also never expected the kind souls who leave comments, email me, or stop me in the street to say - YOU inspire ME! So I just want to say: Thank You!!!

Images: style.com, dragonartz.wordpress.com/2009/07/, www.bcacquisitions.com/pages/stand.htm, The Old Parsonage, www.msvu.ca/library/librarynews/2009_03_01_archive.asp.

If It's Wednesday, You Should Buy House Beautiful

Oh, a tug at the old heartstrings. I was in Wal-Mart yesterday, attempting to locate a suitably chubby mum (mums are like chickens - thin equals bad), when I started flipping through the October House Beautiful and completely forgot about seasonal florals. It's a gorgeous issue! Loads of beautifully colored spreads, genius tips, chinoiserie everywhere, a dreamy tablescape by William Yeoward - and the Barefoot Contessa does kitchens!!! Seriously, why are you still sitting at your desk?

My favorite pick - this bedroom by Meg Braff. I have an abiding love of green and white. Feelings run deep. I saw this spread not 45 minutes after purchasing a 5-piece green and white overlapping squares patterned desk set. Coincidence? I think not.

Another Braff bedroom. The five reasons this room excels: 1. Chinoiserie. 2. Toile. 3. Zebra. 4. Sky blue. 5. All together. Beautiful! Visit her website for more wonder.

That's all for teasers. You'll have to buy the issue!

Recessionista Tips:

If you're not a subscriber, but you ARE a Sam's Club member, get your HB (and Vogue, Victoria, etc.,) at the same time you're buying enough kleenex boxes to supply Bulgaria. They offer a discount off the cover price.

Be sure not to miss the Technophobia article on p. 48 of this month's HB. It includes a special reader's invitation to join the FABULOUS home discount sites Gilt, One Kings Lane, and Rue La La, with none of the usual "wait list" time. I'm a member of all three, and believe me, it's worth it.

All images: House Beautiful.