Garden Parties, Chinoiserie and a Splash of Spring Colour

Spring has arrived, the garden is blooming and with it comes the irresistible urge to take meals outside, fill the table with flowers and wine buckets and invite friends over. The best spring entertaining ideas tend to be the simplest – a long lunch under the trees, Sunday brunch in the garden or afternoon drinks that somehow drift well into the evening. With the days stretching longer and the garden suddenly feeling like the best room in the house, there’s every reason to embrace the season. And after the restraint of winter, spring feels like permission to turn the colour right up  – with bold florals, saturated tones and patterns that bring the whole table to life.

For Australian designer Anna Chandler, spring provides the perfect excuse to embrace it. Her latest Chinoiserie collection is filled with oversized peonies, exotic birds and trailing branches in fresh celadon green and warm gold ochre — patterns that seem almost made for tables laden with flowers, food and chilled bottles of wine.

A Little Chinoiserie in the Garden

Chinoiserie has been bringing fantasy and exoticism to interiors for centuries. The European decorative tradition was inspired by Chinese and East Asian art, with elaborate botanical motifs, birds, landscapes and florals appearing across ceramics, textiles, wallpaper and furniture.

 

 

Anna’s interpretation takes that decorative history somewhere decidedly more relaxed.

Inspired by old Chinese embroidered screens and fragments of hand-painted silk wallpaper, her Chinoiserie collection features giant peonies and colourful birds moving through a fantastical Tree of Life. There is plenty happening, but that is precisely its charm. Against a garden backdrop, the patterns seem to come alive.

The two colourways also lend themselves beautifully to spring entertaining. Celadon green feels fresh against foliage and natural timber, while rich gold ochre brings warmth and vibrancy to the table, particularly when paired with spring flowers and simple glassware.

 

 

Better still, there is no need for everything to match.

A patterned tablecloth can be layered with contrasting napkins. Cushions in floral and bird motifs can find their way onto outdoor chairs. Bright sandwich plates can sit beside understated glassware, while tea served in intricately decorated cups makes even an afternoon catch-up feel a little more special.

 

Outdoor Canvas Cushion Celadon Chinoiserie

 

Round Velvet Cushion Gold Chinoiserie

 

 

The Return of the Colourful Table

After years of pared-back entertaining dominated by beige linen and neutral ceramics, colour has found its way firmly back onto the table.

And spring may be the easiest season to experiment with it. Flowers provide their own palette, gardens offer a naturally layered backdrop and even an old timber outdoor table can become part of the setting rather than something that needs to be disguised.

 

Teacup & Saucer Chinoiserie Celadon

 

 

Anna Chandler’s Chinoiserie pattern has been carried across tablecloths, table runners, placemats, tea towels, teacups and sandwich plates, as well as cushions, throws and other pieces for around the home. It means the pattern can appear once as a focal point or be layered throughout a setting for something far more exuberant.

 

Tea Towel Cotton – Gold Chinoiserie

 

Dessert Plate Set of 4 – Chinoiserie

 

The collection extends beyond the table too, across beach towels, scarves, kimonos, purses and six different bag styles. It gives the range that slightly bohemian quality of things collected and combined rather than rigidly coordinated.

 

Beach Towel Gold Chinoiserie

 

For a garden party, that approach feels particularly right.

Colour Without the Formality

The appeal of spring entertaining is that it doesn’t need the formality of a dinner party or an immaculate tablescape.

Put flowers in a favourite vase. Bring the cushions outside. Mix old plates with new ones. Add a colourful runner, pour something cold and let lunch run longer than planned. The best settings often feel as though they have come together naturally rather than being overly styled. Pattern, flowers and colour do most of the work, while the garden provides the rest.

And with flowers blooming both outside and across the table, there may be no better season to add a splash of colour, pattern and a little Chinoiserie to the mix.

View and purchase Anna Chandler’s gorgeous collections at www.annachandler.com