Getting Ready for Spring

What could be prettier for a spring table, than one of these beautiful Jane Hutcheson floral arrangements!

Created by Jane Hutchson for Gorham, these beautiful arrangements were inspired by the 17th and 18th century Vincennes porcelain flowers.

Be sure to view them in my store at www.etsy.com/shop/chanteclairinteriors

Style - Past and Future

Welcome to my new blog site!

I'm not much of a conversationalist, but thought this was a perfect place to share many of my favorite

 things and sites I see on a day to day basis.

I used to think I was a little schizophrenic, in that my likes were sooo diverse, but then I read a quote by Barbra Streisand, inwhich she said that she was a "constant stream of contrasictions and that was what made her what she was"! I went "whew" maybe I am OK!

I have often said that my perfect home would have hundreds of rooms so that each one would be a reflection of my new interest or mood of the day!

That was when I realized how lucky we we are to live in this particular time.  "STYLE" is who you are and what you do each and every day.

"I don't believe there is good taste or bad taste,  There is only your taste...it is what makes you, you". ~Charlton Varney, president of Dorothy Draper & Company!

Call it taste or style. I think we live in the most amazing times!  For century one can look back at furnishings and identify the period it came from ...  and no one varied.  Every building was designed and furnished in the same required way to be "In Style".

From the French Regency Period we see lavish furnishings, gold gilding, and opulent chandeliers.

Then we fast forward to the Art Nouveau Period 1890-1918, which immediately calls to mind such creators as Loius Comfort Tiffany.  A period of curved and flowing lines. Colors were elegant and subtle, and became known as the “greenery gallery”. Mustard, sage, olive, brown and gold, teamed with lilac, violet and purples, peacock blue, salmon and robin’s egg blue for the ultimate in elegance. Wallpapers included much of the highly stylized nature symbols, particularly flowers, feathers, birds and dragonflies.

Suddenly we are in the Art Deco Period 1918-1940, a primarily elegant design style dominant in decorative art, fashion. jewelry, interiors, and architecture.

Different types of wood and precious metals, tortoise shell, lacquer, egg shell, leather ... a cross section of styles either imported from colonial empires and the Orient.  It was a style at once traditional and innovative with a focus on modernity and use of crisp, symmetrical geometric forms.

Silver, gold, metallic blues, and charcoal greys represented the wealth and prosperity of the tines.  The metallic finishes instantly added glitz, glamour.  Cremes, taupes, and browns became popular choices ... from interiors to fashion.

Black and white is probably the most popular color scheme during the 1920's and 1930's. Checkerboard floors and walls were very trendy.  Fashion became ultra sophisticated and streamlined.  The classic Chanel black and white ensemble with a string of pearls was the ultimate in chic.

... and so it goes ...

Suddenly we are in 2011.  We have so many "Style" names ...  Shabby Chic, Cottage Style, Paris Apartment  ... we put amazing chandeliers in bathrooms, we mix  distressed with elegant, and French with cottage, and there it is ... we have become a culmination of the past!

Where the line was so clear in the past, today we can pick and choose.  We have become our own person.  There are no rules.

Photos from "The Paris Apartment"

Photo from "Cottage Style"

We can be ornate ... we can be casual ... we can fall somewhere in the middle!  What a wonderful time we live in!

What is your style and why do you love it! 

Be sure to leave your "Comments" below!

~Kathleen~

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