CHINOISERIE (chen-wah-zoor-ee)

The client and his wife had been long-time friends by the time they called to ask me if I would mind driving down to see the new home they had just purchased in an exclusive golfing community in La Quinta, California – a beautiful spot in the Golden State nestled in the foothills of the San Jacinto mountain range.

I always do some of my best creative thinking on these types of drives and this one – even if the traffic should happen to be in my favor – would certainly take a few hours. Time to reflect on the client’s likes and dislikes (always very important!) as well as their level of sophistication and exposure to various design styles. I already knew that this couple had traveled extensively to all parts of the world and had a high degree of awareness as to quality and style. I enjoyed them as friends and appreciated their knowledge on a wide range of subjects and I already knew that whatever design road we would take with this new home, oriental and ethnic influences would be major components.

The door opened and there stood the man that most of America knew as the unflappable captain of a New York City police precinct for seven television seasons – a bit more mature but still as affable and as charming as ever. His TV role surely belied the fact that he was such a versatile performer (being an accomplished actor, singer and musician) – as well as a sophisticate well versed in the classics and able to converse on a wide range of topics.

We discussed the general theme for their new home over a wonderful lunch at the clubhouse and I was right in thinking that they were expecting quality (as usual) and that touches of the Orient and the exotic would be appreciated. These educated clients knew instinctively that there is most always a place for this type of accessorizing in any fine decorative scheme. I also knew –even before beginning the design process – that we would have at least one major piece of chinoiserie in their new home, not realizing at that time just how vital and important a role that item would play.

The views from the house were magnificent overlooking a beautiful lake, golf course and finally the San Jacinto mountains which appeared almost magenta shadowed with tips of snow white. The large family room turned out to be really ethnic in character with stone and bamboo and luxurious chenille and it all came together much as expected – but something was missing that would tie it all together and make the colors really pop.

I decided that this would be the place for the chinoiserie piece – a console – placed behind the longer of two sofas and the first thing to be seen when entering the room. The color of the mountains inspired my palette and the clients’ love of the oriental led me to the design of a somewhat traditional Chinese altar table.

For those of you not familiar with “chinoiserie” (though you no doubt would have crossed its path countless times) it is a sort of catch-all term for the style of Chinese themes in decoration that took root in Western Europe sometime in the late 17th Century. Really they were rather fanciful Western interpretations of actual Chinese styles with European craftsmen usually drawing freely decorative forms on cabinets and tables – much like I was having my brilliant local artisan execute for these clients.

What you would have likely encountered at some point, whether on a stunning Coromandel screen (we use one as a headboard in our guest room) or on a painted Chinese-style chest or table (we have several in our home) is a true chinoiserie décor fairyland described by one dictionary as a place where “mandarins lived in fanciful mountain landscapes with cobweb bridges, carried flower parasols, lolled in flimsy bamboo pavilions haunted by dragons and phoenixes, while monkeys swung from scrolling borders.”

The console table I created for these discriminating clients did eventually have the “scrolling borders” but I stayed away from the swinging monkeys – although they did appear as carved figures on the entry hall chandelier!