Blue and White and Transferware

I collect transferware in many different colors: blue and white, brown, lilac, black, and red. For reasons that I can't explain, it just attracts me like the proverbial moth to a flame. I'm also partial to toiles, so I suspect it's something in the patterns that appeals to me. I started out with blue and white, then moved on to black and white, red and white, and on and on. I love to see all different colors of transferware mixed together on a breakfront, but for some reasons I don't personally display my collection like that. I keep my colors separate.

I never buy new transferware, such as the blue and white reissues from Spode. I only buy antiques. When I started collecting about 15 years ago, you could buy a plate for around $50. Today, that same plate is over $100. Once in Austin at Whit Hanks, an antique mall, a dealer was selling a set of brown and white plates for an insanely cheap price. I purchased it and now it hangs on the wall around a vaisellier that holds blue and white transferware.

I like to collect different pieces besides plates: vegetable dishes, pitchers, meat platters and others. Once in a hurry I put a valuable and gorgeous fruit compote dish in the dishwasher - it disintegrated. I was so furious at myself! To date, my most valuable plate is a yellow and brown color. There's only one though, their price is too high.





Besides transferware I also collect blue and white oriental exportware. I'm no snob about this collection, though. If a new piece is somewhat muted in tone, I'll buy it even if it was produced yesterday. The top picture shows my collection of mulberry transferware on a antique French wine tasting table in my entryhall. I've mixed in some blue and white and a gorgeous lilac hydrangea. You can also see an amethyst crystal next to the transferware. A large selection of design books are stacked all around the table: on chairs, the floor, and in an antique French basket. Dividing the table is a large, old, wooden birdcage. Recently, with the help of Ebay, I've amassed a new collection of Masonware which I'll save for another post. The more the merrier I like to tell myself.

My Designs: Romantic Bedroom on the Cheap

This is a bedroom I just completed for a client who was recently separated after many years of marriage. Her friend talked her into redoing her bedroom and I tried to make it cosy and romantic for her to start her new life in it, hopefully, with a new man one day. She was wary of decorating while newly single, so I told her we could do it "on the cheap."

The budget was small, so I found her this toile bedding from Pottery Barn - Martine. The color is a soothing, calm, aqua with a hint of gray in it. From PB, we bought the slipcovered headboard, the duvet, shams, and sheets, plus a painted end table just visible off to the side. I used a skirted table to save more money and filled in with inexpensive silk fabrics from Calico Corner.

The sconces come from Blanc d'Ivoire - a fabulous and very reasonable French company with a branch in NYC. The lamps are theirs also. The french chair and ottoman came nude from Savoia, another reasonable company from Canada. The painted bookshelf is from GJ Styles, and yes, it too is a very reasonable company! The mirrors are from a local lighting company and the carpet was ordered from Home Depot. While very nice, the carpet is one element of the room that I am not enthralled with. It was my wish that we run seagrass wall to wall, but my client disagreed, and so we chose a deep aqua sculpted piece. It works, but I'm a seagrass girl to the core. Plus, the seagrass would have cost less!! The drapes were custom made with matching material ordered from Pottery Barn and the shades are from Target.

I had fun working on this room. It was a challenge to keep costs down on everything and I don't think I splurged on any one item. My client was overcome and actually cried when I finally let her see the finished space.