I know I said I’d be back Friday, but I couldn’t wait to share this with you all! So here we go.
This design board is going to feel so far removed from my usual style, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I love black and white, and it’ll be prevalent in any space I design, but it’s good to expand horizons. Ever since painting my dining room navy, I’ve been obsessed with injecting more colors, patterns and textures.
Naturally, this led me to be completely in love with chinoiserie, which is “the imitation or evocation of Chinese motifs and techniques in Western art, furniture, and architecture, especially in the 18th century,” according to Webster. What I love about chinoiserie influenced decor is that it’s bold, glamorous and slightly feminine with its use of birds, florals, colors, and gold finishes.
I started a chinoiserie chic Pinterest board to gather my inspiration and here’s my top three faves:
I love this vignette from Dimples & Tangles because I think it perfectly mashes up several styles. The blue and white ginger jars are a stark contrast to the green decorative boxes. The chiang mai dragon throw pillows also pack a punch. There’s a lot going on yet it’s all fabulous together.
Both of the images below evoke my love of florals and pinks set against bold patterns. Chinoiserie is all about expertly mixing elements together for an eclectic chic look and tends to have high contrast.
Looking at all those images led me to put together this inspiration board. Sources listed under the photo.
SOURCES:
Some links below are affiliate links which means I earn a small commission if you buy using my link.
This helps keeps the site running and the projects flowing.
Graham & Brown Chinoiserie Wallpaper | Bamboo Instagram Frame | Pink Lamp
Foo Dogs | Chiang Mai Pillow | Dayna Chair | Deco/Imperial Trellis Napkins | Dinner Plate
Gold Footed Vase | Gold Console Table
I’m so excited that both Minted (check out my curated store here with my faves) and Graham & Brown have generously come on board to help provide pretty things for my dining room. I’ll be getting some napkins, pillows and lamp shades from the kind folks at Minted.
Graham & Brown is sending me some of their gorgeous chinoiserie wallpaper featured in my inspiration board to DIY some panels. I’ll be doing a full DIY tutorial on that hopefully by the end of August. They’ll also be giving away $200 of their wallpaper to a lucky reader, so stay tuned for that. If you can’t wait, use code “MWI15” to save 15% on your online order.
I think the biggest challenge with this dining room makeover will be restraint. It can easily go overboard with too much color or too many patterns so I’ll have to refine and edit as I go along.
I also don’t want to spend too much money since I may very well get tired of this in a few months, and I want to work with the furniture I have, which means my very rustic dining table is definitely staying. If I had endless amounts of money, I’d ditch my current dining chairs and get chippendale style chairs so I could pull off this look (I’d choose white chairs):
Those wing chairs though… <3
My mind is spinning with inspiration and ideas. I can’t wait to narrow it all down and get this room DONE. What do you all think? Does it seem me or does it seem not like me? I think it’s a dash of both. Have a fantastic weekend and thanks for being a reader. I appreciate you so much.
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Marty@A Stroll Thru Life
Thursday 28th of July 2016
I love that you branch out a little. I love this design. Can't wait to see it all come together.