wallpaper removal

Mary McDonald uses African drums with Chinoiserie

Yesterday we looked at #1 of our Top Ten Chinoiserie Trends for 2014 - Mixing Gold, Silver, and Chinoiserie. Today's Trend #2 is Mixing African and Chinoiserie for a great global vibe. I believe that the passing of Nelson Mandela paired with the continued popularity of global decor will bring African arts into the limelight in 2014.

The feathered Juju Cameroon headdresses have been favorites of interior designers like Alexandra Branca for several years. Here are examples of juju hats and Chinoiserie.

Alessandra Branca

Alessandra Branca

Rose Anne De Pampleonne

Lonny

Also in 2014 we will see a branching out into the use of African fabrics like mudcloth. I plan to incorporate a chair upholstered in black and white mudcloth in my upcoming Chinoiserie Man Cave.  I think that mudcloth and Chinoiserie is a great combination. I love its simple black and white palette and its free form patterns. Mudcloth is a perfect graphic juxtaposition to Chinoiserie, like stripes that work so well with Chinoiserie. And like ikat and suzani that have been a popular mix with Chinoiserie, mudcloth adds an ethnic element that is so hot today.

Jamie Meares

Jamie Meares

I also see the emergence this year of African decorative art used with Chinoiserie for a wonderful modern global look.

I'm looking for an experienced writer/editor for Cup of Jo. Do you know anyone (maybe yourself?) who might be interested? This is a paid position based in NYC. Here are the details, below...Read More >

Layering a silver Chinese Chippendale mirror over a gilded mirror in my pagoda bedroom

 This week, in honor of the start of a new year, we will be looking at trends for 2014 in Chinoiserie. Let me start by saying that Chinoiserie is a timeless classic. None of it ever goes out of style, so you will not have to throw out your ginger jars! We will be looking at what will be especially popular this year in Chinoiserie in colors, paints, fabrics, new mixes, and hot pieces including the reveal of my Chinoiserie Chic Color of 2014.

#1 is Mixing Gold, Silver, and Chinoiserie. Back in the day, using silver and gold together was considered a faux pas in fashion and and interior design. Not so today. Combining silver and gold is modern, glamorous, and luxe, and never more so than when used together with Chinoiserie. Here is some inspiration.

I am super-excited to have decided on the two rooms in my home that will be getting makeovers in 2014. I have chosen to do a Chinoiserie Man Cave for my husband and an Elegant Garage for our cars.

For the Chinoiserie Man Cave, I am envisioning the styles of Michael Smith and Ralph Lauren - classic and masculine with Chinoiserie. I plan to include black, gray, abstract art, distressed leather, blue and white Chinese porcelain, and of course, lots of books and a flat screen TV. The photo above captures the style I would like. I should also mention that it needs to be very "guy friendly" with indestructible pieces impervious to red wine, newspaper print, and the like.

The garage is something I have had on my mind for a while. My garage has great bones - a wood ceiling, French doors, four windows, and antique brick. Since I have two large garden sheds and a lawn service, I don't need it to store lawn equipment. I would love it to be an elegant and sophisticated space to house our cars. Finding inspiration photos for garages is next to impossible, but this one below is perfect. I have a black Audi and my husband drives a gray BMW, and I love the idea of using black and gray with some black and white photos of classic cars.

So there you have it - my two interior decorating New Year's Resolutions for 2014.

Will you be entertaining at home on New Year's Eve? Here are some great decorating ideas to close out the year with style.

Last December 28, 2012, I did this post about my New Year's Resolutions for 2013 - the two rooms in my home I wanted to redo this year, my powder room and my laundry room. Here is that post -

Charlotte Moss

What would a New Year's Eve series be without New Year's Resolutions? Mine always seem to focus on home improvement projects. I have two rooms in my home I would like to redo this year. The first is a little powder room off the laundry room and the second is the laundry room itself. Here are my inspiration photos that I hope will inspire me to get these done. Of course both have Chinoiserie.

The Charlotte Moss powder room intrigued me because of the draped walls - wonderful if there are no architectural elements or things you need to hide. You will see what I mean when I post before pictures of my room.

The Draza Stamenich laundry room I saw in person at a DC Show House and I have never forgotten it - a tiny little space filled with luxury elements never seen in a laundry room like Gracie wallpaper and a Neirmann Weeks lantern.

It seems that I am always juggling so many balls that these two rooms never get attention. Hopefully this year they will. Do you have an home goals for 2013 that involve Chinoiserie?

Draza Stamenich

If you are a follower of this blog, you will recall that I did actually make over the powder room and the laundry room for this year's two One Room Challenges. Thanks to Linda of Calling It Home for inviting me to participate - nothing like competition and a deadline to keep one on track.

Here is a peek at my powder room. If you'd like to follow the entire powder room process you can click here and the final reveal is here.




I did my laundry room next. Here it is. You can follow the redo of it here and the reveal here.




Mission accomplished. I have decided on the next two rooms I will make over and both will be a decorating side of me you don't usually see. I will reveal them in a post soon so stay tuned.

If you have a room you would like to tackle, Linda of Calling It Home is hosting round two of the One Room Challenge Linking Party starting April 3, 2014. Perhaps you'd like to participate. A deadline is a wonderful way to keep a New Year's Resolution - trust me!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is getting ready to say goodbye to 2013. I thought 2013 was sort of a dysfunctional year for this country, but I have high hopes for 2014. Onward and upward, right?

This next week here at Chinoiserie Chic we have a fun week planned to close out the year with style.

*A look back at my 2013 New Year's Interior Decorating Resolutions - how did I fare?
*My 2014 New Year's Interior Decorating Resolutions
*The reveal of Chinoiserie Chic's Color of the Year 2014
*New Year's Eve Decorating and Entertaining Ideas
*Chinoiserie Trends for 2014

Happy Holidays! Can you believe 2014 is right around the corner?! Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Honestly, this year has has some ups and downs—long-time readers know that I'm not great with pregnancy hormones!—so I'm more grateful and touched than ever to have such incredible people returning to Cup of Jo. I love your funny, heartfelt and insightful comments and emails every day. I learn so much and can't express how happy I am to have you here. It's such a gift to have this warm and dynamic community of likeminded women.

Here's a quick look back over the past year, if you'd like...
Motherhood posts, such as co-sleeping with your children, six words to say to your child, five genius motherhood tips, naked babies at the beach, toddlers in the kitchen, a lullaby that really works...and the most moving post of my entire blogging career about a stillborn baby boy.
We also did a motherhood around the world series, where we interviewed mothers living in India, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Norway, Congo, Japan and Abu Dhabi. I was completely riveted by their answers and was inspired by parenting norms in different cultures. We'd love to do another series in 2014 with more countries.
Posts about toddler Toby, such as conversations with a two-year-old and three-year-old, playing his violin, his donut birthday cake, going on a babymoon trip for your older child, bringing his favorite book to life and preparing him for a sibling (thank you so much for the enlightening tips!)
Post about our new arrival, Anton, such as announcing our pregnancy, seeing his sweet profile, choosing a name, fast labors in cabs, introducing our two boys for the first time and decorating our very first Christmas tree.
Beauty posts, such as hair tutorials and nail polish trends, which are my secret favorite. We also did four reader makeovers (here are the afters!).
Fashion posts, such as a five-second trick for feeling pretty, my fall uniform, and the most flattering jeans.
TV posts such as the 101 best written TV series of all time, celebrity look-a-likes, casting auditions for The Office, SNL's spoof on Girls and a fantastic ballet documentary.
Design posts, such as natural home scents, how to arrange supermarket flowers, lost loves, the rain room and how to do...anything.
Home posts, such as a 500-square-foot San Francisco apartment, a vacation rental website for families and our own apartment makeover.
Career posts, such as a Q&A with the Girls costume designer and a Q&A with an animal photographer.
Food posts, such as crunchy roast potatoes, the beauty of eating dinner alone, 11 Nutella recipes, how beer's taste alone gets you a little high and three flavored waters.
Friendship posts, such as what to say when there's an awkward silence, how to say goodbye at parties, a spot-on personality test, the power of empathy, three things you're grateful for, wise words for when you're freaking out and the wobbly path to success.
Travel and NYC posts, such as 9 crazy things about living in NYC, what British people say vs. what they really mean, 11 untranslatable words from other countries, Swedish slides, a Positano travel fantasy and how to piss off every New Yorker in 36 seconds.
Relationship posts, such as making out in public, saying I love you, having sex on your wedding night, what marriage means, how to give a reflexology foot rub, having friends officiate your wedding, what you'd do differently if you got married again, celebrity crushes and a brilliant speech about the word "gay".
And, as always, random posts, such as a When Harry Met Sally prank, goats yelling like people, how a key actually works and how to walk on ice.

I hope you enjoyed this year on Cup of Jo, and thank you again for reading. Very much looking forward to new series and exciting adventures in 2014, and sending a big kiss to you. Happy holidays!!! xoxo

P.S. I'll resume posting on January 6th, if you're in a blog-reading mood:)