wallpaper borders

a quick before + after of my back door...
remember where i started?
(you can see my "action plan" post here)

before:


after:
 the new rug adds a little jolt of color and pattern, which i love...it also helps hide dirt!

 the door was painted benmajmin moors "onyx", my all time favorite black.

 the simple, matching art pieces add additional color and the gold frames add some warmth.

i plan on adding some horizontal trim banding on all of the kitchen walls, and may possibly change the color they are right now. the walls are currently "winds breath" and the trim and kitchen cabinets are "swiss coffee".
this is what i had in mind:

i spotted this treatment here, and have LOVED it ever since.

adding the wall trim is a bit of a "pandoras box" project---in order to add it, we also need to add the casings around the windows, and box in the cased openings in the living room so they look more like columns, AND add crown molding...so, it is a project that we may not tackle for several months. you can see a picture of the space right after we moved in here:

for now, i think just adding some art to the walls and getting some curtains up will add enough softness to the space to tide us over until we tackle the trim.
yay for progress!

oh, and if you follow me on instagram, you may have noticed that i finally got the stenciled grasscloth project underway!

it turned out GREAT--i am just working on getting some pictures of the space, which is a bit of a challenge since my "regular" camera lens broke (is is just me, or does it seem like EVERYTHING electronic that belongs to me is having issues??), and the space is really small and has no natural light. i should have a post up in the next day or two!

It's Christmastime, so we need some gifts around here, right? My wonderful new sponsor, the very talented artist Marquin Campbell of Marquin Designs has had a wildly popular antler series that is close to being sold out. So much so, that she had a 2014 calendar created with a different antler painting for each month.

Marquin is giving away an original antler painting as well as a 2014 antler calendar to a lucky follower of Chinoiserie Chic. Enter by leaving comments on this post (not by emailing me, please). Receive one entry for visiting her online store and telling me your favorite item in the store. You can receive up to four additional entries by liking Marquin Designs on Facebook and by following her on Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Please leave a comment for each entry. The contest closes Sunday, December 15th at 11:59 PM ET and the winner will be announced next Monday, December 16th so you will have these great gifts in time for Christmas.

More antler canvases can be seen here and the 2014 calendars are available here.

Antler canvas giveaway

I had to share with you photos of Marquin's powder room she just recently completed. Inspired by this photo she pinned below, she created this amazing freehand mural in her powder room. If you are in the Greenville, South Carolina area and would like to talk to Marquin about a custom mural project for your space, she can be reached at marquin@marquindesigns.com. Here is the link to the post on her powder room transformation.

I am delighted to welcome as a new sponsor of Chinoiserie Chic - Marquin Designs.

Marquin Campbell is a designer and painter inspired by her life’s journey: born of Southern grace in Savannah, enlivened by the funky, Southern-rock roots of her college days in Athens, Georgia, and refined by the chic groove of New York City’s West Village.

Her background is strictly art: she majored in both Drawing and Painting at the University of Georgia and went on to study Fashion Design at Parsons, The New School for Design in New York City. Her artistic passions also led her to study in both Cuba and Italy.

While in New York, Marquin had opportunities to work for Ralph Lauren, John Bartlett, Christian Lacroix, Tory Burch, and Rad Horani, in the areas of styling, design, and sales.

Marquin currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina where she works as a full time artist and designer with her husband George and two sweet dogs Bay and Jackson.

She also owns the Vino and van Gogh Art Studio and co-owns Yard Art - both in Greenville, South Carolina.

Marquin is happy to create custom jewelry or painting commissions for clients.

With the holidays and gift giving quickly approaching, you will find at Marquin Designs a wonderful collection of jewelry and art perfect for your own wish list and for the special people in your life.

Vedra Necklace

Carmelita Necklace

Cleopatra Necklace

Juliette Necklace

Pearl Necklace VI

Grainger Earrings

Small Round Pearl Earrings

Malagna Earrings

Coi

Fall Marsh Mood, II

Three Pines

Sevilla View

Horn Painting I

Furman Belltower

Nude, III

Antlers Medium, II

i love the simple, great looking frames that are available at stores like west elm, pottery barn, ikea, target and michaels. most of these frames come with mats that are cut to fit standard size prints. but what if you have a piece of art/print/object that doesn't fit the norm?
here are a few ideas to help you solve that dilemma:

custom framing

custom framing can cost a small fortune but is worth the occasional splurge.



custom mats

 even though i am a big believer in custom framing, there are MANY times when the money in my budget or clients budget needs to be spent elsewhere.
one of my favorite tricks is to use an inexpensive, store bought frame (ikea ribba frames are a favorite of mine!), and have a mat custom cut to fit my art.


source



no mat

one very simple solution is to place the art work directly on a piece of canson paper (available in the art section of any craft paper) or mat board. this works best when there is minimal contrast between the art and the background.


source


trim to fit your frame

have a inexpensive poster or print that doesn't fit any frame? consider cutting it! the trimmed piece will seem transformed with its new shape that you will most likely just find more appealing that the original! (can you tell i have bison on the brain? the print in the background here is the same one is used in grady's bathroom.)


source


floating your art between two pieces of glass helps the eye to focus on the art, and any uneven space between the art and the edge of the frame becomes less obvious. this is a budget friendly option, as it requires no mat or paper to mount the art on.

Sapphire Ribbon

If you are a lover of Chinoiserie, is there anything more classic or more beautiful than a blue and white room? I have three blue and white rooms in my home and they are my favorites. As you know, I love to mix Chinoiserie and modern abstract art. Kerry Steele has done a beautiful series of blue and white works on linen. These pieces are painted on clear primed linen that lets the natural flaxen color show as an element of the work. They are the perfect choice for the blue and white room or any room for that matter.

Kerry's work can be seen at Blue Print in Dallas, Texas and at Art First Gallery in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Her canvas pieces are also available through her own shop here. She sells her works on paper in her Etsy store here. She also works with interior designers and clients on commissioned pieces.

Kerry is also the newest independent artist to be selected for The Nearby. The Nearby is an iPhone app that hand-selects the best local boutiques and designers selling women's clothing, jewelry, art, and home accents.

Below are some of my favorite blue and white rooms and some of Kerry's blue and white on linen works currently available.

Ruthie Sommers

Be Cool

Gerald Pomeroy

Jumping Someone Else's Train

Betsy Burnham

Six-Four Impala

Carolyne Roehm

Bluestocking Babe

Carolyne Roehm

Blue Study 1

Mary McDonald

Blue Study 2