wallpaper removal

Ashley Whittaker

 I am midway through my One Room Challenge laundry room makeover, and I should just be concentrating on it, but my mind it already wandering, thinking about what room in my house I will attack next. I have been thinking that my entryway could use some work. Why are there so many names for it - foyer, entry, entryway, entrance, entrance hall? Mine is definitely not an entrance hall - it is more like a postage stamp, with very high ceilings, but little floor space. These are some entryways with Chinoiserie that are small but loaded with style that are inspiring me. A great mirror and blue and white Chinese porcelain are musts. Stay tuned for this developing story.

Caitlin Moran

Jane Feldman

Sara Tuttle

Katie Rosenfeld

Michael Smith

Vintage laundry sink inspiration

I had a great week working on my laundry room - so much progress to tell you about. My perfectionist wallpaper hanger did an incredible job and the room has really been transformed. If you have an ugly room, it is amazing what great wallpaper will do. I love it.

My new washer and dryer were installed and they are fantastic. I actually love doing laundry.

I am especially happy with my laundry sink DIY. Everyone told me to get rid of my antique concrete laundry sink. It was really ugly. But it is so useful for washing the dog, rinsing off muddy wellies, washing out paint brushes and the like. Not to mention the fact that my washer drains into it and that it weighs a ton.

I also researched and learned that vintage concrete and stone sinks are very collectible, selling for hundreds of dollars. People love them in kitchens and laundry rooms. Above is an inspiration photo. With some elbow grease, I spent a couple of hours cleaning mine until it was spotless. Then I had my painter use paint left over from my powder room One Room Challenge  to paint the exterior - it's Benjamin Moore Aura Kitchen and Bath Matte in Stonington Gray - my "go to" gray, and it came out great.

I also spent a good amount of time cleaning my black and white tile floor. With lots of vinegar and water and a splash of Ivory Dish Liquid, I avoided harsh chemicals and it looks amazing.

I now have a laundry list (hahahahahaha) of things to accomplish -

*window treatment
*table and seating
*hamper
*runner
*mud room area
*blue and white accessories
*Chinoiserie




A special thanks to my sponsors and friends of CC for their support of Chinoiserie Chic and this One Room Challenge -



Now go check on what progress the others have made -

My gold pagoda chandelier is being installed in my dining room today and I am so excited. You can read more about its journey to my Chinoiserie home here and here. Tomorrow I will be posting on my progress in my One Room Challenge laundry room. The laundry room is quickly becoming one of my favorite rooms in my house. I even love doing laundry. How many people can say that?

I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and bought a whole group of beautiful heirloom pumpkins for my entrances. I've always disliked the traditional orange pumpkins, but the heirlooms in peach, celadon, white, and gray are stunning. I even have two on a pair of Chinese garden stools at my side entrance. The heirlooms have a subtlety and elegance to them, I think.

I also decided to add a couple of pumpkins to my dining room sideboard - a vintage orange sequined pumpkin and a gold leaf one.

I hope you'll come back tomorrow to see my laundry room with the Brunschwig & Fils wallpaper up. If you'd like to catch up on the One Room Challenge, you can click on the link in my sidebar.

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

My dining room patiently awaiting the new addition

Lots of you read my post "I Love You HomeGoods" on Thursday about how I found my dream Chinoiserie chandelier for my dining room at HomeGoods, but that it was missing its ceiling canopy. My electrician is coming on Tuesday to hang it, so this weekend I needed to deal with that issue.

Yesterday morning, I received an email from a follower of Chinoiserie Chic. She had seen what she assumed was the chandelier in question at her HomeGoods, even though I didn't identify the store location or show the chandelier. She had considered it for her home, but it didn't work. She knew it had a bag with the gold leaf canopy, hardware, crystals, and instructions.

She drove to the store in the pouring rain, hunted down the missing bag and pieces, and emailed me that she was waiting there for me if I was available. I threw on a raincoat, raced up in the still pouring rain, and found her waiting patiently at the door. I alerted the manager as to what was going on, so as to not just walk out of the store with it. The manager loved the story so much about my blog and HomeGoods and human kindness, that she asked for my info and link to Chinoiserie Chic to forward the story to corporate headquarters. She hugged me and was in tears over the whole thing.

I have lived in Washington, DC the majority of my life and cannot imagine ever leaving. I think it's the greatest city in the world. But the past month, between the Navy Yard shooting, an incident at the Capitol last week that ended in violence, the government shutdown, and the pending debt ceiling crisis, these are trying and increasingly stressful and uncivil times in DC. That lovely act of kindness by Jane yesterday restored more than my chandelier, it helped restore my faith in people and my city. Much needed right now in our nation's Capital. Thank you so much Jane.

The Glam Pad

Linda at Calling it Home has invited bloggers to play along at home with a new board game version of the One Room Challenge called the One Room Challenge Linking Party. There are something like 72 participants and some serious talent. I suspect Linda is secretly scouting talent from this group for the next One Room Challenge. Three have caught my attention as ones to follow. Above, a favorite blogger of mine already, Andrea from The Glam Pad, lover of all things Palm Beach Chic and Chinoiserie, is creating a "faux de Gournay" powder room and I am so excited. You can check out her first two posts on it here and here. This is going to be fabulous.

Below, Kim of Kim Macumbers Interiors, a past participant in the One Room Challenge, says she caught the bug from Chinoiserie Chic and The Pink Pagoda to have some Chinoiserie of her own. Her powder room will have a pagoda mirror, elephant prints from The Pink Pagoda, Leontine linens, and a gold chevron wastebasket. You had me at hello. Check out her first two posts here and here.

Kim Macumber Interiors

This Chinoisy Safari Chic master bedroom from Chez V has all the makings of amazing, with its Chinoise Out of Africa British Colonial vibe and my favorite pillows in the whole world - the leopard pillow by Dana Gibson. Here and here are her two posts to bring you up to date.


I will be so happy to watch these three fabulous Chinoiserie rooms come together as I work on my own Chinoiserie laundry room makeover.