Chinoiserie Show House Gala

Tis the season for design show houses, with many bloggers featuring gorgeous rooms done by some of our top interior designers. I am going to the Washington, D.C. Design House today and will be attending Kip's Bay in NYC next week. I had saved these stunning photos from Veranda of the Beverly Hills Show House from last November at historic Greystone Estate. I adore anything Chinoiserie, and for the Gala, co-chairs Mary McDonald and Nathan Turner were inspired by one of my favorite books Chinoiseries by Bernd H. Dams and Andrew Zega. The real life version of this book that they called "Chinoiserie au Jardin" featured sixteen foot high pagodas, green and white striped poles, and twelve foot high banners of geisha silhouettes. Many of the recipes for the food they served are included in the Veranda article. Guests drank cocktails of lime, a ginger liquer Domaine de Canton (one of my favorites and a drop-dead gorgeous bottle), vodka, mint, and a garnish of fresh gardenia. Enjoy!

The Artesian Bar

Everyone seems to be showing purple rooms these days. I found photos of a stunning bar with an unexpected use of purple that I think is wonderful. This bar, called the Artesian Bar at the Langham Hotel in London was done by the brilliant interior designer David Collins. He also did the iconic Blue Bar at the Berkeley in London. I have a thing for chinoiserie and especially pagodas and I of course love the pagoda bar and chandeliers. What is a bit unexpected is his use of purple leather chairs and love seats with the Chinese Chippendale. Although you cannot see it in these photos, the bar is marble in lilac! I also like the purple rugs. The purple gives the space a very modern and glamourous look without overdoing the Chinese thing. This would be a great idea for those of us who might not be ready for a whole purple room-maybe one great chair or vase or lamp in purple.