For the Love of Chinoiseries

Grandmillennial style is still trending HOT in today’s decorating world. If you don’t know much about the style you can download my 18-page Guide to Grandmillennial Style for free to learn more. But in short, Grandmillennial is about traditional early American (colonial era) style furniture basics mixed with:

• Fresh contemporary touches like modern art, clean lines, and bright colors
• The use of wicker, bamboo, and rattan for a feeling of lightness
• Chintz fabrics, elegant drapes, and accessories from the natural world like shell motifs
• Chinoiseries, blue and whites, and gilded mirrors

And as far as Chinoiserie goes, you see the influence mostly in textiles and ceramics.

On the textile front, as I wrote in my downloadable guide, Chinoiseries are “…decorative arts and design motifs in the Western/European world that interpret Chinese designs and styles (dragons, pagodas, foo dogs, pastoral scenes).”

“Chinoiseries also reference the Western embrace of Chinese imports that reached its height in the 18th-century, influencing traditional decorating styles to this day.“

Eastern Influence

So why should you incorporate Chinoiserie into your décor?

There’s an elegance, naturalism, and élan to Chinoiseries that give them a combined sense of immediacy and history at one time. They feel fresh, active, intriguing, exotic, and enduring while not being so fancy that they’re off-putting or too over the top.

And as in any style, there are more ornate, gilded, richly detailed Chinoiseries that depict courtly life or opulent gardens, and understated, simpler, more naturalistic ones that focus on ancient pastoral scenes, or small moments in a gentle landscape.

Used sparingly, a single Chinoiserie piece, like a hutch or striking wallcovering, makes for an instant conversation piece in an interior. Sprinkled throughout your décor, Chinoiseries can become the unifying style that ties your overall look together.

At Lady Virginia Vintage, we’re always on the hunt for Chinoiserie fabrics and textiles. As a style, they’re among our best sellers.

My current shop favorites include these sumptuous pleated valances in Kravet’s brocade “Regal Kyoto,” this exotic stiff raisin-colored chintz by Greeff Fabrics called “Pavillion” (which I love because we have enough yardage for a big project), and this collection of secondary colorway flags from a 1981 Bailey & Griffin print titled “La Chine Fantastique” which are great for a quilt, mixed media projects, patches, or other small projects.

Chinoiserie Delights

Here’s a gallery of some Chinoiseries from the shop. Some of these Chinoiseries are from the past (sold out) and some are still available.

As vintage pieces go, the ones I’ve curated are typically hard to find now. Contemporary designers still use extant pieces to fashion new Chinoiseries or to draw on the illustrative style. Lady Virginia is all about vintage to offer our customers unique pieces that may be hard to find today at any price. Also, any vintage pieces naturally are more sustainable and Earth-friendly than new pieces which draw down our fragile soil and water systems.

I hope you enjoy taking a gander these pieces and find a way to work Chinoiseries into your space.

— Lindsay Curren, Lady Virginia