Bloomsbury & Battle

A few months back I went to a book signing for Martina Mondadori Sartogo’s Cabana Anthology. The book (and the magazine from which it is based) is TO DIE FOR but that is a story for another day. The book signing took place at a classic, Georgian house in Highland Park that, while pretty, was not all that remarkable from the outside.  One step inside the front door, however, and – WHOOSH –  a feeling of familiarity came over me.

I turned to my friend Leah and whispered “I know this house!”

Her casual reply: “Oh right, I think that designer you really like did it…”

Friends, I was standing in the foyer of this Tom Scheerer decorated dreamboat. I remembered it from House Beautiful and Tom’s book and it has always been a favorite. Seriously, click HERE and enjoy! The ivory lacquered living room radiated warmth, I ooo’d and ahhh’d over the Lyford Trellis wallpaper in the sunroom, and the whole place had Tom Scheerer’s famous JE NE SAIS QUOI. One element I was particularly taken with was a pair of Ingo Maurer Uchiwa pendant lights over the kitchen island.

Ingo Maurer is a German lighting designer who released his Uchiwa series, inspired by Japanese fans, in the 1970s. They are super delicate, made of bamboo and lacquered rice paper, and as we know super delicate = super expensive. Sigh. Over the past few months I’ve seen vintage Uchiwa lighting in photos of other Tom Scheerer projects and, going full circle here, in Martina Mondadori Sartogo’s apartment. They are the epitome of laid-back, bohemian elegance and I can’t get enough. Maybe one day I will pull the trigger on a Uchiwa sconce or two but for now I will keep my fingers crossed that a 70s stoner has an estate sale and I can get lucky.

Fanning out

-Laura

Jordan and I spent our first Thanksgiving in Dallas and, while we were sad to be away from our families, it was a really relaxing few days. We ran the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning then spent the rest of the day cooking and eating a feast à deux. One of my favorite parts of the day was setting the table with cherished wedding gifts – china, vintage crystal, and serving pieces from our nearest and dearest.

Hosting a dinner party, even if just for two, is a good way to test if you have the essentials to entertain on a larger scale. After setting my Thanksgiving table I made a little list of some of the things I’m still missing… a silver ladle for gravy, festive water glasses, a punch bowl (so fun for big parties) and a special tablecloth! It’s the tablecloth that really got to me last week. I LOVE the look of printed tablecloths layered with patterned china for an eclectic, collected vibe and the cream linen I used on Thanksgiving just did not cut it. I’m officially on the tablecloth hunt! Here are some of my favorites and how I would pair them with patterned china.

This pattern, Oriente Italiano by Richard Ginori, is my everyday china and it is so dang versatile. I’m a bit of a china fiend and have collected a few different patterns but if I could only have one, it might be this because you can use it all day, every day. I paired it with a block printed floral tablecloth from the AMAZING French textile company Simrane. Every Simrane print is perfection – see more examples below – but I love that the dusty rose of the plate is picked up in the cloth’s floral without being too matchy matchy.

Sacred Bird and Butterfly by Mottahedeh is a famed Chinese export pattern that was used in Charleston’s Nathaniel Russell House in the early 1800s. I think it’s the quintessential china for Thanksgiving. Here I paired it with another Simrane floral (you literally cannot go wrong with these) that adds a fun, festive element to the Thanksgiving table. Keep napkins simple, maybe in a light blue linen, and litter the table with leaved clementines and votives – DONE.

Dammouse by Haviland is my overtly feminine and floral china that leaves me giddy with love when I use it. It can read formal or even old lady – what can I say, I’ve got an 80 year old’s taste in interiors – so  to keep things casual I’ve paired it with a simple plaid tablecloth by Heather Taylor Home. My girl crush Amanda Brooks stocks Heather Taylor linens in her store Cutter Brooks (more on that gem here) and they’re carried at the lovely L.A. interiors outpost Nickey Kehoe. I think this combination is perfect for a summer soirée… just pass the rosé!

Royal Copenhagen = the chicest china on the planet. Beyond being my twin sister’s china (Dabs is super chic herself!) it’s graced history’s most stylish tables for over 200 years! It is beautiful on its own but here I thought why not make it live la vie bohème? It’s paired with a Simrane tablecloth that kinda looks like the batiked tapestry you’d find in a Deadhead’s dorm room…if that Deadhead studied in Paris and dressed in Heidi Slimane. I imagine it in a dining room painted in Farrow & Ball’s Mouse’s Back with the lights dim and a roaring fire nearby.

Old Imari by Royal Crown Derby can feel very formal and traditional. I brought the formality down a notch by pairing it with a peach gingham (also by Heather Taylor Home). Use these al fresco for one lovely picnic.

Two of my favorites girls use Mottahedeh’s Tobacco Leaf china so it has a very special place in my heart. I know it’s a busy pattern but I think it would look charming on top of a blue and white block print for a casual ladies lunch. This one is Les Indiennes.

Happy Pairing,
Laura