wallpaper borders

I have a weakness for china, but I have collected so much that it takes something really extraordinary to make me pull the plug. I have always loved Oscar de la Renta - in fact, my wedding dress was a couture ball gown of his in midnight blue silk organza over silk taffeta that I had made as a wedding gown in ivory. I also adore his collection of furniture for Century. His home furnishings line was conceived in tandem with Miles Redd who serves as his creative director.

His new Dot and Dash and Brushstroke dinnerware are on my Christmas wish list. I love them both. If you have white china, these would be fabulous to mix and match with it, picking up a set of the dinner plates, salad/dessert plates, or the cocktail plates, for example. I also like that this china would work equally well in a formal or casual table setting. There are interesting stories about both these designs. The "dot - and - dash" was taken from a 1970's silk dress designed by de la Renta. The brushstroke was his attempt at calligraphy while in Japan.

This is too good to be true - Scalamandre china at $70 a four piece place setting. Adapted from the 18th-century artwork of Jean Baptiste Pillemont, a charming scene composed of oversized flowers, fretwork fences, pagodas and parasols decorates this fine dining collection from Scalamandre by Lenox.

The colors are wonderful - amethyst (purple), sienna (orange), teal (blue), and chocolate (brown). If you are not in the market for a new set of china, buy the dinner plates or accent plates by themselves to mix and match with your existing white china.

This china would be amazing in my own dining room. I think the purple is calling my name. Here is my dining room wallpaper. I love mixing orange and purple with Chinoiserie - so modern.



Check out what I found this week at my thrift store - a set of four brand new Dransfield and Ross Greek key place mats with their original $90 a piece price tags. I got them for $12 for the set of 4!!!

Sara Gilbane

Do you have a Chinoiserie china pattern in red or green? Now is the time to display it. My wedding china is Wedgwood Chinese Tigers in Green that is always perfect for the holidays.

Wedgwood Chinese Tigers