a warm welcome

As a child, many of my summer days were spent at the beach playing in the sand, searching for shells, and watching boats sail toward the horizon of Long Island Sound. After a day of too much salt and sun, I would retreat to the coolness of our home and to the couches covered in Ikat upholstery and flanked by Ginger Jars. But my favorite pattern to get lost in was the bustling world of the little people and pagodas that lived in the chic Chinoiserie wall coverings, and also in my imagination.

My childhood pastime grew into an adult pursuit to find this familiar, yet faraway, combination of the beach and blue-patterned porcelain. While my mother did a beautiful job incorporating Eastern elements (and the other ornate antiques she inherited) into our family friendly home, I tend to gravitate toward a natural and nautical palette of blue and white. I find the crisp combination of these colors is best complimented—and kept interesting—by introducing the organic patterns and textures often found in Indochine design elements, such batik and bamboo.  

I recently returned from our honeymoon in Thailand with a reignited nostalgia for shells and chinoiserie and subsequently a desire to design. In the posts to follow, I will share my inspiration for interior décor via many different mediums, ranging from flea-market finds, to DIY crafts, to travel, to the many images that capture inspiring places and spaces. 

Enjoy!

Emilie