Suzani and Chinoiserie ...

Who would have ever thought that a suzani, the beautiful embroidered textiles typically made by Central Asian brides as part of their dowry, would become so beautifully wedded to Chinoiserie pieces, the 17th century European movement inspired by Chinese artistic influence.

As many of you already know, I've been working on my bedroom now for a couple of months, and the piece de resistance is a huge antique Samarkand suzani that I had been waiting to arrive after ordering in Mid-June. Guess what was on my doorstep yesterday?

Yep, all wrapped up tight and secure it was everything I had hoped it be. I couldn't wait to get it upstairs and on the bed. I know you are probably thinking, yay, pictures of CDLV? Right? No! I'm not even nearly done with that room - but will be soon, and I promise I'll share them. Until then, you can virtually make decisions with me so we can get to the final product more quickly, sound good? Great!

Now, back to my original thought: Suzani and Chinoiserie. On either side of the bed I have a void. A friend, long-time blog reader, and very talented artist and I have been discussing options for custom work for the room, but I've not made decisions on where this work will go, or exactly what it will be. While I searched for inspiration I couldn't help but notice the natural connection Suzanis had with Chinoiserie elements when they're placed in the same space.

Michael S. Smith

 

Like this NYC bedroom decorated by Michael S. Smith. A beautiful Samarkand suzani draped over the foot of the bed plays perfectly against the large Chinoiserie screen used behind the bed. While the marriage of Suzani and Chinoiserie may have existed before Mr. Smith created this space here, he certainly ushered the use of both to the forefront of the decorating mind.

 



Miles Redd

 

In this dining room designed by Miles Redd, beautiful Chinoiserie wallpaper wraps the walls, Chinese porcelain and stone Foo Dogs pair up with this Samarkand suzani used as a tablecloth.

 

Mary McDonald

 

In this living room designed by Mary McDonald, she pairs Samarkand suzanis with Chinoserie jars and pottery, and framed Chinosierie papers.

 

Sid Bergamin

 

In this island home, Sid Bergamin did the same thing - pairing the blue and white Chinoiserie we all love with the bold pattern of a suzani draped over white upholstery.

 





Joni Webb

 

Blogger Extraordinaire, Joni Webb of the famed Cote de Texas uses a Bukhara suzani at the foot of her bed in a bedroom wrapped in hand painted Chinoiserie wallpaper by Simon P. Scott, owner of the the to-the-trade décor company, Jardins en Fleur. I love this room. I wish she had more paper to send to me.

 

Alex Papachristidis

 

In this New York apartment, Alex Papachristidis used suzanis as upholstery fabrics, pairing them up with this Bamboo Chinoiserie coffee table, and other Chinoiserie accessories.

 

Simply put - I need some Chinoiserie infusion in that room, and I couldn't think of any better way than with a big dose of it on either side of the bed, flanking the new tester canopy. As much as I love the papers of Gracie and de Gournay, they are way out of my budget. Even less costly wallpapers from Griffin & Wong are a lot more than I want to spend on panels for framing.

 

I went back to my friends at York Wallcoverings, and sure enough, they had a pre-printed Chinoiserie pattern that I think might fit the bill!

 

Asian Garden Mural - York Wall

 

The mural comes in two sizes, a small option (linked above) at 6' total height, and a large option at 9' total height. Because I'll only need it for framed panels on either side of the bed, the 6' height is sufficient, and the more than 10' of width is perfect for picking out complimentary scenes.

 

I used York Wallcoverings for a screen I created for the Christmas Barn I did for the Lewiston Tour of Homes this past Christmas. Their paper was easy to use, and of beautiful quality! Best part, it's affordable! We all want the look of high end designer rooms, right? But unless you've got deep pockets, affording some of the luxurious finishes, like hand-painted wallpaper might be out of reach. That's where York comes to the rescue with this gorgeous mural.

 

Imagine this framed, in large scale. Might it look like this:

 



Suzanne Rheinstein

 

 I think it just might work ... stay tuned! 

 

 





 





Suzani in the Bedroom

You might remember that I'm working on the master bedroom at CDLV right now, and it hasn't been the easiest room in the house to complete. First, the room is relatively large given the overall square footage of our house, and the age; but the windows are positioned awkwardly and placing furniture, art, and the rest of the necessities a bedroom requires has given me a headache.

I have, however, finalized my bedding choices with the help of my dear friend Deserae, who has a lovely blog you should definitely be reading: Peeking thru the Sunflowers. Deserae and I are both night owls, and spend hours sending inspiration pictures back and forth via email. A couple of weeks ago, I sent Deserae this photo, which I've shared on the blog a million times:

M. Elle Design

 

The bedroom is the beautiful master retreat of the designer Mary Lynn Turner's vacation home along the Big Wood River in Ketchum, Idaho. Yes, Idaho! You might remember this room as part of the feature spread in the Elle Décor cover story way back in December of 2010. I fell in love with this room when I saw it then, and I still love it now. Simple, elegant, sophisticated, and soothing - this bedroom is my idea of perfection. Emulating it for CDLV would be a challenge, however.

 

Thankfully, Deserae and I got a few of our good ideas together, and came up with a way to bring a little of this Idaho retreat to my little house in Western New York.

 

First, the walls stay their current Martha Stewart Living, Monks Cloth. A richly decadent gray/brown that is strikingly similar to the stained shiplap seen in the room above. Next, we infuse the room with cream linens, both at the window and above the bed in a tester canopy I had my slipcover maker create with this bedroom in mind:

 

  Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey

 

HGTV has really slim pickings for its viewers who love interior design. Gone are the days of Candice Olson, Sarah Richardson, Design Star, Genevieve Gorder, and Vern Yip. Now, it's all real estate all the time. Shows like House Hunters International, Property Virgins, and Property Brothers are running the network. But once upon a time, they created a competition series called Showhouse Showdown. The premise: a new development with similar dwellings, two designers, a crazy budget, and a community vote for who did the best job. The second episode gave two DC designers a $75,000 budget (each) to create 5 rooms in brand new Virginia townhouses. Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey, created this bedroom wrapped in Schumaker's Chenonceau wallpaper for the master retreat.

 

While I love this room, CDLV doesn't have the space for this set up, nor would Scott, heretoforward referred to as buzzkill, allow me to paper the walls. So, Deserae and I discussed the options and came up with the great idea of covering a window along the longest wall of our bedroom with a canopy like the one Shazalynn designed here. It allowed me to have the best furniture configuration, a much larger dresser for a nightstand, and the symmetry I was missing in order to create anything like either one of these inspiration spaces.

 

But the real reason all of the progress on the Master Suite at CDLV is on hold, is due to the extended shipping time on this guy:

 

 

 

I ordered this large Samarkand suzani, for the foot of the bed, a shameless copy of the design idea of Mary Lynn Turner and her Idaho bedroom. Though it's not as subdued in color as the one she probably paid thousands for, this $150 suzani is certain to do the trick at CDLV and not break the budget.

 

Because it's coming all the way from Uzbekistan, the shipping options are fixed, and I'll be waiting until August to see this fella. A wait I'm sure will be worth the time.

LOVE ... Suzani

Designer: Matthew Patrick Smyth via http://www.matthewsmyth.com