Blue and White Chinoiserie Jars for Cheap!

Every year around this time I start getting asked the same question I'm sure you all do too: "What do you want for Christmas?" I typically say "don't buy me anything" and end up with wine, but this year when I asked myself the same question, I had three answers:

1. More Blue and White Porcelain
2. An Hermes Avalon Throw Blanket
3. A 50" Smart TV For the Chinese Wedding Cabinet

It's a good list, right? I've been good, and since I'm my own Santa, I figured I'd spoil myself a little. However, when I started shopping for pieces online, I was scratching my head wondering what the hell happened.

You see, a short 4-years ago, I ordered the three piece Happiness Pot set from Wisteria for a client:

The set of three was just $239, plus tax and shipping. I get that it was 4-years ago, and prices rise, but the same set of jars is a whopping $469 plus tax and shipping today! What made the price double? You can buy the jars individually, as well. Months after I ordered the set of 3 for one client, I ordered two of the tall jars for another client. They were a reasonable $99/each. The very same jar is now a headscratching $249. They used to sell the set of three for less than that! 

So I started looking for another source, when I came across the very same pots from a major online retailer for SUBSTANTIALLY less money.

A $90 difference in price? For the SAME jar? And these aren't special prices from Frontgate, this is their everyday price! In fact, you can get the jar for cheaper than $159 right now, because they're offering 25% off the entire site! What gives?

If you're lucky enough to be able to shop wholesale for yourself with designer discounts, you could score the jar from Legend of Asia. But with the Frontgate promotion, it's even less - $119.25, and shipping is more reasonable!

A $70 difference in price for the small jars? This one looks to be slightly different in pattern and the lid Foo Dog is less shapely, but still - $70?

With the Frontgate promotion, you're saving more than $25 on the wholesale price! Frontgate has some interesting pieces in their blue and white collection, too. Including this vase:

Love this, and just $159! A lot of these patterns are pretty recognizable, and if you have a collection like I do, finding new pieces with different patterns isn't always easy! However, I did find some really pretty and very interesting pieces on Amazon, which are larger, more unique, and cheaper than the Wisteria options, too!

I love this one with the unique leaf pattern at the bottom of the jar! 19" tall and just $199!

Look at how cool this one is! With foo dogs painted on it ,and a beautiful wood stand! 19" tall on this one, too and a SUPER reasonable $169!

I think that a pair of these would be great to fill in a collection of smaller scenic oriental jars. They're a STEAL too! Just $46.78 each, and nearly 19" tall! 

So there are a few options for you, if you're looking for blue and white Chinese jars that won't break the bank! I've already ordered a couple for myself! Don't pay more when you don't have to! 

Why I didn't Tuft ...

WHOA! Ok, so first, let me start off by saying this: I LOVE GETTING YOUR EMAILS! I do, truly. I get such a treat opening up my email every day and seeing sweet little notes from my readers. I don't even mind when they're not so sweet - when you put yourself out there, you have to expect a few people to have differing opinions, that's what makes the world go round, right? RIGHT! But, I was shocked that so many of you were a little disappointed that the tufting didn't actually happen.

If you emailed me about it - I've already emailed you back, but for those of you who didn't email, who are curious, maybe even a little peeved, well - here's why!

The Apartment - No Tufts

 

Many of you have been long-time readers, something I haven't taken for granted. You've seen my work in a variety of ways, but mostly in my old home which I called CDLV. CDLV was dark and moody, mysterious even. Masculine and linear. There was a lot of color in that house, it called for it. I tried white, linen, the dreaded dropcloth slipcovers, and it never worked in that house. That house needed color, it needed jewel tones to blend with the orange-y gumwood trim that I was forbidden to paint. So, when I moved into my own place, I wanted the exact opposite. No more dark, no more heavy. I decided light, bright, refreshing, and peaceful was the way I wanted to start my "new" life.

 

 

The Apartment - Light, Bright, Refreshing, and Peaceful ... Right? Oh - AND no zebra!

 

At the first apartment, I started with the sofa, then added two club chairs, both slipcovered in a sort of winter white heavy linen. Piece by piece I added, and while I added, I tried adding color. I would pull in gray and chocolate brown, orange, and once I even did blue - it never looked as good as it did with the simplicity of the white. So, I knew that was right ... for me, for now. So enter reason number one into evidence:

 

REASON NUMBER ONE

I couldn't, wouldn't go with any other color but white in the space. I looked at tons of fabric - and nothing seemed right. I knew that having a WHITE upholstered piece of furniture, with tufts, was a terrible idea! That thing wouldn't have lasted a month! 

 

The ottoman was a must for this space. And while it's huge, and there have been people who questioned me for adding a piece so big to a room that size, I don't think I made a poor decision. Not yet, anyway.

 

The Apartment - Ottoman's First Night 

 

The day that the cushion was finished and I brought it home and put it all together, I took a few pictures to show how much of a transformer this ottoman really was. Because I didn't tuft it, and instead decided to do a cushion - just like the sofa - I not only had an ottoman, I had a chaise.

 



The Apartment - Ottoman Serving Double Duty

 

Playing around with the awesome rectangular bolster pillow I designed with my slipcover maker, Michelle, the ottoman went from chaise, to tête-à-tête.

 





The Apartment - Ottoman Transforms Yet Again!

 

And the way that I've chosen to keep it, at least for the time being, the ottoman serves perfectly as a back to back armless sofa, giving me two separate seating groups, with the ability to comfortably host gatherings of 14 in a room that's less than 250 square feet.

 

The Apartment - Ottoman As Two Sofas? WHAT!? Oh yeah!! 

 

REASON NUMBER TWO:

This ottoman, this design, the separate cushion, the comfort of it makes the piece, already massive in size, more than just a fixture in the room for trays or the occasional pair of feet. It's functional beyond functional. It's an ottoman, a chaise, a tête-à-tête, a double sofa, a guest bed - oh yeah, A GUEST BED! A large tufted piece, even if I had gone with white would never have been so transformative to the space, and as useful as I need in this small but beautiful space.  

 

 

When I blog and ask for your thoughts and suggestions, I do take them into account. ALWAYS! And I weighed heavily the options for tufting and upholstery over separate cushion and slipcover. In the end, we all know which I chose. And while I loved the idea of a tufted piece just as much as all of you who voted YES to the tufts, my reasonable side looked at the two reasons above, and vetoed the buttons in favor of comfort and function. I hope, sincerely, you understand!

 

Now, onto the next controversial change in the apartment ...

 

The Red Door - I Think I'll Name Her Elizabeth Arden

 

After a few dozen coats, the closet door in the hallway is now red. That's only a mild exaggeration, by the way. I'm calling it, "I'm not a waitress" Red, after the OPI nail polish. Here it is in progress. I can't tell you how many people have told me they hate it. Just hate it. "It doesn't make any sense." "You don't have red anywhere else in your room." "I didn't think you liked red." And that's exactly why I did it. Because it doesn't make any sense. It's odd and qwirky, it's different, and conversational. AND ... IT'S PAINT! If I decide in a month, a week, hell, in the next 5 minutes that I don't like it, I grab a brush, and life as we know it is back to Dover White. Plus, you can totally blame it on Miles Redd, and his new project that was featured in this month's Veranda!

 

Alright - so there you have it, answers, more to ponder, more to love ... or hate, and I welcome you to discuss, more to keep you tuned to how this little shell of an apartment that once looked like this:

 

 

Now looks like this. Thanks for taking part of the journey. For loving it, for giving your honest opinions, for the talk back and the chatter, and for being a part of this "new" life, much brighter and peaceful than before. 

 







To Tuft or Not To Tuft ...

As many of you know by now, I moved in September. This is the second move in 2015, a move instigated by this guy:

Arlo - French Bulldog and General Awesome Sidekick!

 

There were a few things that I needed in a new place, and finding it in my budget, with a dog, wasn't easy. In fact, it wasn't even nearly possible. Thankfully, I work for a great property management company with a diverse portfolio, including apartments that are dog-friendly, in a rather elite suburb of Buffalo.

 

It was, however, not without its fair share of challenges. Here's what the living room in the model apartment looks like:

 

 

Carpeted from wall to wall, void of any molding or architectural interest, and an eye-sore of an air-conditioning unit: it's not a dump - but it's not the ritz, either. I knew that I could make some improvements, thanks to my position with the company. They'd be out of my own pocket, but the positives far outweighed the initial ding to my pocket.

 

When I took my unit, it looked like this:

 

 

Pretty, right? I got permission to put down a different floor in the living room of the apartment than the carpet that they typically install prior to a tenant moving in. Thankfully! I still have carpet in the hallway and in the bedrooms, but for just a little over $350, the living room eventually looked like this:

 

 



Not too shabby, right? Once the furniture went into place, it became a little more obvious that in order to get a look that I wanted, I was going to have to spend some more money and create some architectural interest in the space. I started with a giant piece of art, which I did myself, a Cy Twombly inspired piece that I think I could have sold 15 times already:

 

At just over 6' tall and 8' long, it's a large statement in the room. Of course, I took the squat little window on the other side and visually raised the height of it by adding my bamboo roman shades and custom curtains. It wasn't quite enough though. So, inspired by mirrored walls I created a little mirror alcove of my own:

 

 

Using mirrors from the dollar store, (yes, they were $1/ea!) and doing a fun treatment on them to have them look like antique mirrors really added a beautiful and architecturally interesting piece to the room, for about $50 for the molding, mirrors, and glue.

 

So, this is really where the living room is today. This morning in fact. So why is this post called To Tuft or Not To Tuft? See those mouton leg French ottomans? They're moving on. The room is large enough to have a pretty significant piece of furniture there, and the opportunity to have the layout I want is worth the switch up. You see, the living room is 20' long! And there's plenty of opportunity for two seating groups. The sofa and two Bergere chairs create one group, and this large ottoman I'm creating for the center of the room creates another along with two additional Bergere chairs, serving as a backless sofa to both spaces.

 

So, the question is not whether or not to fill the space with a very large ottoman that will be multifunctional. That's happening. The question is whether or not tufting is the ticket, and I think it is. Take a look at a few inspiration pics, and let me know what you think!

 

Inspiration photos sourced on Pinterest

 

Charlotte & Ivy

There are hundreds of website/stores out there, selling a variety of home decor and accessories. What was once thought to be a niche market, has now exploded, and the internet drowns those of us interested in these sorts of things with more bad than good. That's why when I found Charlotte & Ivy when looking for accessories for the barn, I had to share my amazing experience ... and my find!

The library table in the barn was filled with books on interior design from my library, brass pheasants that another interior designer snatched up, and some gorgeous Ming Dynasty Baluster Jars from Charlotte & Ivy.

As you all know by now, I'm an avid collector of all things blue and white. I enjoy immensely the challenge of finding great pieces to add to my collection. When I saw these jars on Charlotte & Ivy, I knew they'd be perfect in the barn - and I crossed my fingers that when they arrived they'd be as beautiful in person as they were on the site. 

Boy were they! Heavy, large, and beautiful - they were everything that they promised to be and more. They have that wonderful antique patina, and a beautiful Asian scenery that is playful and romantic. They were perfect in the barn, and more than half of the 2,000 people who came to the show last weekend asked me where they could find them! I figured, if they loved them that much, you would too!

The jars can be found on the Charlotte&Ivy site here, and the rest of their lovely blue and white collection can be searched here. I promise, you won't be disappointed in their products - I sure wasn't and they'll be my go-to source for blue and white pieces for myself and my clients from now on! Shipping was quick and the pieces were perfectly packaged - not a thing out of place, and the quality - it CAN NOT be matched!

Now that I'm all cleaned out at the barn, I really want to show off some of the pieces that I used that I particularly found note worthy, like Charlotte & Ivy. If you're gonna shop - might as well shop the best places around, right!?

Talk to you soon!

Chinese Porcelains ...

When I cataloged the reason I loved the 20 Top Living Rooms on my list of 50, I showed you this room by interior designer Mary McDonald:

It's a lovely room - for so many reasons. I honestly love every last piece in this room - but beneath this picture in the Top 20 List, I wrote Blue and White is a must have for any great living room. A lot of people consider Chinese porcelains to be perennial. They bring them out in the spring, and put them away in the fall. Not me! Nor do some of my good bloggy friends ...

The Barn Room - Joan, For the Love of a House Blog

Probably the most amazing house I've ever had the pleasure of visiting, not to mention the sweetest owners and 4-legged resident, Ella, Joan and her husband Dan have a remarkable home. I'm sure you've all gone over and seen her house, I don't know many people in the blog world who haven't gotten inspiration from Joan! But, I digress, the reason for this picture, the blue and white Chinese porcelains on the bar. 

Joan's husband Dan could probably make a lamp out of anything. Not to mention a dozen other things! He's a gifted creator, and I walked around their house in awe of some of the things Joan and Dan collaborated on to build lamps from scratch! 

The Reading Room - Joan, For the Love of a House Blog

Dan has made Joan a couple of lamps from her collection of antique Chinese porcelains, including this temple jar. Joan's mix of high-end antiques and Ikea, painted furniture in fine fabrics with linen and burlap, it all appears to be effortless. In reality, it's crafted with great talent and care, a refusal to deviate from her own decorating advice: "Buy what you love!" Love Joan, Dan, Ella - and their blue and white porcelains!

Family Room - Joni Webb, Cote de Texas

If you don't immediately know who this room belongs to - you haven't been introduced to the amazing Joni Webb. Her home in Houston is probably one of the most coveted among the Houston-style lovers. Seagrass, white linen slipcovers, antiques and the random scattering of the most trendy things around - Joni has her finger on the pulse of interior design. So, when she leaves her blue and white porcelain out all year long - you know it's ok! 

Dining Room - Joni Webb, Cote de Texas

From the rustic luxury of Joan's barn room, to the feminine formality of Joni's dining room - blue and white porcelains can bridge any interior design style, and fit seamlessly into any room. 

Courtyard - Mark D. Sikes, Mark D Sikes Blog

Then there is the covetable courtyard of Mark D. Sikes. His home with partner Michael and HRH Lilly, has been featured in LonnyMag, House Beautiful, and about every interior design blog - including an interview he did with me, here. 

Like Joni, Mark has several Chinese porcelain garden stools, both inside and out, and a collection of pots, jars, bowls and planters that would make your head spin! 

Living Room - Mark D. Sikes, Mark D Sikes Blog

As you can see, each of these three bloggers have a different design aesthetic, but blue and white porcelain works in each of their houses without fail! And they're all in different climates, too! So while Mark and Joni might enjoy their blue and white porcelains on their patio's year round in California and Texas, Joan spends a long New Hampshire winter enjoying hers in the cozy comforts of her barn room. How many other design accessories can you pay that compliment to? 

Our Dining Room

At our house, I have blue and white ginger jars in every room. Some of them hide little things I don't want to leave out - but definitely need, and others are empty. 

Our Bar

I use plates, bowls, and saki cups for vignettes with other things, like wicker, crystal, silver, and bamboo. 

Our Living Room

And I use my blue and white garden stools to hold books, bowls, the occasional glass of wine or cheese plate ... even as additional seating. Bowls and the cutest little trinket boxes are atop my antique leather trunk turned coffee table, and the list goes on and on. 

Recently I purchased these temple jars to add to my collection: 

I got an email a couple of days after I posted my Top 20 rooms, asking me if I could give sources for budget friendly blue and white porcelain. Of course, there are the jars at Wisteria: 

Collection at Wisteria is $239

I've used this set for clients, and purchased the small and large ones individually. They're really great, and have a vintage look, far better than the cheaper ones you can find at HomeGoods. If you have a design friend who can buy at wholesale, you can count on Tozai Home to have good deals. Then, there's eBay. 

I like to buy my porcelain from the seller, RoyalYorkArt. Their collection ranges from the truly antique, to the 20th century vintage, to even new made to look old. (Like Wisteria's). But the prices are fantastic! Many of their listings are Buy-it-Now with Free or very inexpensive shipping, and some auctions start out at just 99 cents!!!

My favorite listings at the moment include these vases, which I've decided if they aren't snagged by one of my reader friends, they'll be coming home with me on Friday:

Buy it Now for just $199, Free Shipping ... FOR THE PAIR!!!

These ginger jars, at just $30 with less than a day left in the auction!

And this pair of temple jars for just $109.99 plus $30 shipping! 

So there you go - my source!! Now, off to dream about those vases ... have a great week!!