wallpaper removal

In September of 2013, I predicted that purple would be named as the color of the year for 2014. Indeed, Pantone's Color for 2014 is Radiant Orchid -


And Sherwin Williams has chosen Exclusive Plum.


I personally do not like these mid range purples. I like my purples either very pale and soft like lavender or very deep and dark like aubergine. I don't think either of their picks will catch on.

So now on to my choice.

Tony Duquette often said that coral pink was his neutral. I too love pink and especially coral pink. Lately, I have fallen for gray paint colors. Shades of gray have become my neutral as I tend to dislike white and beige walls. I also love soft lavenders and lilacs. So for my color of the year, I have combined -

*My love for the coral pink of flamingos
*My love for gray as my go-to neutral
*My love for soft purples like lavenders and lilacs
*My prediction of purple as the 2014 color of the year
*My discovery that newborn flamingos are born the most exquisite pale lavender gray color

My Chinoiserie Chic Color of 2014 is a Lavender Gray I have named Baby Flamingo. It is a soft pale heathered gray with lovely lavender undertones. It is a complex shade that changes colors depending on the time of day and the light. Lest you think the name is too weird, here are some of my favorite Farrow & Ball paint color names -

Cat's Paw
Smoked Trout
Mole's Breath
Elephant's Breath
Dead Salmon
Hound Yellow
Pale Hound

Here is the lovely color of baby flamingos -

Verandah House

Susan Dowhower

Charlotte Moss

Thomas Jayne

Velvet settee and silk taffeta curtains with hand painted Chinoiserie wallpaper

Amanda Nisbet

Phoebe Howard

Kimberly McCluskey

Aerin Lauder

Kendall Wilkinson

I always enjoy doing a post when I find photos of the same room styled by the interior designer and then restyled by a magazine for a photo shoot. I understand that magazine stylists have to earn their keep, but it is a bit funny in the case of an interior designer as talented as Alex Papachristidis.

Above is his own dining room as styled by him, and below as styled by Elle Decor. I prefer his, especially for a magazine shoot. On top of the Chinoiserie cabinet, they have replaced his bold coral pieces that really pop against the aubergine walls, with books, foo dogs, a Chinese figurine, and a black object. I think their choices are too small and too dark, blending in too much against the deep purple background.

In the photo at bottom, you can see that on the dining table, they have replaced his blue and white ginger jar and coral animal figurine with a pair of pagodas and a couple of other pieces apparently to pick up the purple and white. Stylists always have fresh flowers, or in a kitchen, staged fruits or vegetables. They have chosen to leave the politically incorrect blackamoor, perhaps feeling that since he is dressed as a flower child with a peace sign above it is OK.

This bedroom is in the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1722.  So much strikes me as relevant and even trending today -

*Toile
*Scallops
*Purple
*A flat weave patterned rug
*Green
*Checks
*Painted Chinese Chippendale Chairs
* The combination of purple and green
*White linens

These modern versions of purple and green Chinoiserie rooms below seem somewhat less bold when viewed against this, right?





An interior designer emailed me trying to identify this Chinoiserie wallpaper for a client. It may be discontinued. Can any of you help?

Update - I have the best followers. This is Brunschwig & Fils La Danse, still available as fabric but apparently no longer in wallpaper. Thanks so much Meg.

Brunschwig & Fils La Danse

I have posted several times lately about how I am seeing more and more shades of purple used in interior design and how beautifully purple combines with Chinoiserie. I especially like lilacs and lavenders and soft purples with gray or blue undertones. I have a Pinterest board on the subject here. I remember being at a Farrow & Ball party a few years ago and asking one of the F&B executives why there was not lavender or lilac in their color range. The response was, "We don't do pretty colors." Farrow and Ball has now added a lavender gray I love called Calluna that they describe as "a much requested pretty heather colour." I guess they changed their minds.

Above is another wonderful example of combining purple and Chinoiserie - Nicolette Horn's master bedroom in Oslo in violet. I suspect that we are about to see colors in the purple family named as hot colors for 2014 and perhaps even as color of the year by someone. We shall see. For lots more inspiration on combining purple and Chinoiserie, don't miss my September Houzz Ideabook here.

Farrow & Ball Calluna

Charlotte Moss

I see the color purple as an emerging trend in interior design. No longer relegated to the rooms of tween girls, it is popping up in stunning dining rooms, living rooms, master bedrooms, and powder rooms as a modern and sophisticated choice. Purple ranges from very soft gray with a hint of purple, to lavender, lilac, amethyst, all the way to deep plums and aubergine. The combination with Chinoiserie is amazing - purple is especially wonderful with blue and white Chinese porcelain. I also love it with Chinese red and coral. Please check out my new Houzz Ideabook for more inspiration on this very chic duo. And thanks to Houzz for featuring my Ideabook on "Chinoiserie to Put You in the Pink" over the Labor Day weekend. You can find it here.

Suzanne Kasler

Katie Riddder

Audrey Curl

Amanda Nesbit

Kelli Ford and Kristen Fitzgibbons

Kimberly McCluskey

This new colorway lilac/purple/cream in China Seas Trellis Background is going to be a big hit -

Suzanne Kasler - Veranda - Gracie Wallcovering

I must admit that purple was never a favorite color of mine in fashion or interior design, but, as with most things, combine it with Chinoiserie, especially lavender or lilac and I love it. This bathroom by Suzanne Kasler with its Gracie wallcovering is absolutely gorgeous. Here is more inspiration on combining purple and Chinoiserie and my Pinterest board on the subject.