Elizabeth’s new column for HouseBeautiful.com, Our Girl on the Ground, where she highlights some of her favorite finds and offers tips for successful hunting in the markets.
Any meal—from the most elegant fête to a casual family supper—is better when served at a pretty table. It takes so little effort but makes the meal much more inviting and shows a sense of caring for your family or guests. When I lived in France, I learned the importance that people there place on making that bit of effort to create an inviting table. In about the same time as it takes to set out paper napkins and plastic ware, we can have a table with cloth napkins, a candle or two, and some pretty glasses, and it makes the world of difference—not to mention, it’s much less wasteful! Read More…
I love finding interesting pieces of bamboo and rattan furniture in my travels. Although vintage rattan seems to be having a moment (it was EVERYWHERE last time I visited the Paris Flea Markets), rattan and bamboo have been around for a long time. The word bamboo is derived from banwu, a term from southwest India that was transported to Indonesia by Dutch explorers. Read more…
Even if you don’t know it by name, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the Chinese and East Asian-inspired Chinoiserie designs. The term is derived from the French word chinois, which means “Chinese,” and it’s been a popular style in interior design for ages. In fact, Chinoiserie dates back to the 17th century. Read more…
Blue and white are like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall—a classic duo that will never go out of style. In design, the color combination goes with absolutely everything—greens, reds, browns, and orange, and of course taupes and other neutrals—and I love hunting for blue and white Chinese export porcelain. It is a great way to add accent pieces to a room. Read more…
In recent years, the term “Scandinavian furniture” has evoked images of the kind of unadorned wood tables and chairs, covered with simple fabrics, generally associated with Denmark. And there is certainly a place for that kind of furniture in many homes. But to me, the most interesting and valuable Scandinavian furniture is Swedish, generally pieces that reflect the Gustavian style. Read more…
I have been smitten with these adorable ceramic hens from the moment I first spotted them on one of my trips to Paris. They are hand-painted ceramic hens created by the Ceramiques de Lussan. This studio was founded in 1968 in Blauzzac, a charming village in the South of France, Blauzzac, by Heidi Caillard and her husband. Read more…
