Chinoiserie may not be trendy but we bet it's here to last (after all, it's been around since the 17th century). This delicate and beautiful hand-painted style has its roots in China and portrays an idyllic, "imagined" Chinese landscape. It quickly became popular in England and the continent, as well as here in America.
Fast forward a handful of centuries. Cindy Rinfret is a hug fan of chinoiserie and she's an expert at using it in so many different ways. Here are a few of our favorites...
Cindy designed this sexy powder room for a stylish client. We love how the gold accents in the chinoiserie cabinet and chair rail play up the gold sink.
Check out the craftsmanship of this piece.
Here we have another bathroom with chinoiserie as the main focal point but the look and feel are totally different. This is Cindy's own bath and she wanted a more relaxing environment than the showy look of a gilded powder room. The beautiful hand-painted scene of trees and birds on the wall covering that surround the bath create a perfectly peaceful place for a calming soak.
Cindy also knows how to use a great chinoiserie piece to pack a visual punch. This stunning desk is a knockout and earned itself the cover image on Cindy's book Classic Greenwich Style (Rizzoli). Stay tuned to see her updated take on Greenwich Style in her next book with Rizzoli...but that's for a whole other blog post.
Classic chinoiserie often comes in red, black and gold. It's a bold look that just adds to the opulence of this luxurious room.
For a grand entrance, chinoiserie can't be beat. It's timeless elegance and hand-painted artistry make for a wonderful first impression. We love this wall-covering especially for its silver background that adds glamour (not glitz) to this breath taking entry.
You'll have to agree that chinoiserie is definitely not going anywhere, at least for a few more centuries.
