A blog of Chinese art, culture and design

At the age of six, Margaret Harris snuck out of her family’s grand Chinese courtyard home, hailed a rickshaw, and rode all around early 1940s Beijing.   More dramatic than many Hollywood stories, things turned horrific when the Communists took over and her family was forced to flee the city.  Margaret, a longtime client of Pagoda Red, experienced China like very few of us outside the country have. 

Margaret has been acquiring special objects and furniture from Pagoda Red’s collection for many years and recently invited us into her home–and, so began our journey…

Considering her history, it is not surprising that for over 35 years Margaret has been a Feng Shui practitioner with roots in Tibetan Buddhism.  She is also an ASID registered interior designer with projects in Chicago, New York, London and beyond.  In her continuing travels to China, South America, Cambodia, India, Tibet, Turkey, and Africa, she collects sacred charms, amulets and beads that she uses as the foundation of a line of jewelry that she recently developed, called “The Journey Collection”.   She believes each charm and amulet has a story and a vibration of its own.  She creates pieces to support individuals in their continuing search for their self.  Originally sold exclusively thru Barney’s New York, her jewelry is now available at Pagoda Red.  

Margaret stores many of her treasures from around the world behind the doors of her 19th century black lacquer coffer and in the drawers of her painted Mongolian chest below. 

Above:  A 19th century Tibetan leopard hide trunk stores Margaret’s grandchildren’s art supplies.  It sits next to a leather chaise Margaret custom made in Mexico.  The central medallion of the Mongolian felted mandala rug is often the focal point upon which Margaret meditates. 

Above:  Tucked in a corner of her studio, Margaret uses a 19th century Chinese writing desk to arrange her journey necklaces.  On the wall above the desk hangs a photograph by Doug Fogelson of the Li River valley in Guilin, sold thru Pagoda Red.

Below:  A Chinese ladies desk in Margaret’s bedroom displays her collection of 19th century Tibetan traveling shrines and Lama seals.

To see more of The Journey Collection, please join us Saturday, November 20th as we feature the work of Margaret and three other talents, Gillion Carrara , Beata Kania and Lynda O’Connor.

Invitation follows…

RSVP 
773.235.1188
info@pagodared.com

A Chicago Gold Coast highrise with Chinese side table and dragon urn with branches, by ASI Interiors

First the glory of Ming and Qing China, then survival of the Cultural Revolution, who would’ve thought our Chinese compound cabinets, root stools and gilt altars would travel the world and, hundreds of years later,  find themselves first in Chicago and then in some of the most beautiful, thoughtfully designed and personal homes in New York, London, Hollywood and beyond.   We individually select each of our 18th & 19th century pieces because they’re stand outs…sometimes it’s the lacquer, sometimes a subtley turned foot or a pattern on the inside of a door.  With the depth of our collection and the scarcity on the mainland, it’s crazy to think that some of our early pieces are even travelling back to China.

Clearly, our clients also have their own singular visions and it is with great joy that we showcase their work and the homes in which they find for our well-travelled treasures.  ASI Interiors, Frank Roop and Branca – hats off to you.  Everyone else out there, please continue to send us photos of the ways in which you incorporate your Pagoda pieces into your environments (info@pagodared.com).  Until next time…

Denise Antonucci and Jerry Sanfilippo, of ASI Interiors, have been setting a standard of excellence in the world of interiors for over 20 years with their devotion to only the highest quality and their impeccable attention to detail.  “Edit, Edit, Edit”, is a common mantra among interior designers, and Denise and Jerry live by it.  With spaces that look curated rather than decorated, their interiors are clean and tailored (without looking like hotel suites).  Below, a 19th century Chinese black and gold lacquer altar table serves as the perfect pedestal for Buddha during the day, and a sideboard for entertaining at night.

Cool, calm and contemporary.  In the living room below, a 19th century Chinese low table with contemporary furniture from J Robert Scott.

ASI Interiors
230 W Huron St # 4W
Chicago, IL 60654-3998
312.337.5797
www.asiinteriors.com/

A favorite among designophiles the world round is Alessandra Branca.  Born in Italy and now based in Chicago, Branca has worked on projects in London, New York, Italy and Aspen (just to name a few).  Using classic furniture pieces, Branca is a master at mixing the traditional with the contemporary –   often incorporating bold color.  The dining room below, featured in Branca’s book, New Classic Interiors,  features a Pagoda Red folk painted Chinese coffer, c. 1850, with hand-painted Chinese silk wallpaper and Chinese export porcelain vases**. 

Another view of the same apartment shows the European style that is Branca’s signature.  The cabinet in the back is an early 19th century Chinese red lacquer compound cabinet  with gold painted butterflies.

BRANCA
1325 North State Parkway
Chicago, IL 60610
312.787.6123
www.branca.com/ 

Design is design…no matter the medium.  Frank Roop can attest to this fact.  He began his interior design firm after a successful career in fine men’s retail.  According to Roop, “The principles of design I learned in menswear helped give me the basis for formulating and conceptualizing my design schemes.”  Based in Boston, Roop’s interiors are modern with a bit of glam.  Think cocktails at Ava Gardner’s house with Cary Grant.  Below, a provincial Chinese root stool mingles with Roop’s custom tailored velvet sofa and lucite swivel chair.

Frank Roop Design Interiors
224 Clarendon Street
Suite 31
Boston, MA  02116
617.267.0810
www.frankroop.com

**Receive a 25% off coupon if you can name the shape of the vases featured on Branca’s sideboard in the photo above.  Email your response to info@pagodared.com.  Hint–refer to our blog entry Masters of Form:  The Timeless Silhouettes of Chinese Vases.

This in-home spa in Chicago was designed by Marshall Erb of Marshall Morgan Erb Design, Inc. A simple well-worn 19th century provincial Chinese elmwood stool is set off by the polished stone floor creating a serene getaway at home.

Below, in this Suburban Chicago home, Marshall uses a 19th century Serab naturally-dyed carpet and a monumental Chinese wine jar to emphasize that art is not always hung on walls.

www.marshallerb.com

Scale can be challenging–but not for Michael Del Piero of Michael Del Piero Good Design. Aside from a bookshelf filled with provincial finds from Pagoda Red, another thing we loved about this library she designed in Lake Forest was her interesting use of space.  The skirted table occupies a quarter of the floor and, amazingly, the room doesn’t feel tight.

We all know how difficult it is to arrange a bookshelf, however, Michael is a master.  The pair of Chinese urns, c. 1800 and provincial footrest are perfectly at home with the leather books, wooden mortars and miniature apothecary jars.

Michael uses a c. 1850 Chinese elmwood trunk table hand-carved from a single log as a bedside table.

Here’s a secret–Michael had the drawers of the Chinese apothecary cabinet in the dining room below converted into doors to accommodate the client’s large trays.

www.michaeldelpiero.com

In a private garden on Chicago’s North Shore, a natural meditation stone from Pagoda Red is used as a bridge to unite two sides of a stream lined with colorful stone boulders from different mountainous regions in China.

Darryl Carter is always on our design radar.  His mix of new and old, and raw and refined always inspires us…which is why we were excited when the cover of his book, The New Tradtional, featured not one, but two pieces from our collection.  The bronze rain drum from Thailand and the tall Chinese document chest in the corner are Asian, but blend seamlessly with the European elements in the room.

Another Darryl Carter project features a Vietnamese egg-shell lacquered table from Pagoda Red.  Check out the detail below to see the beautiful finish – it is created by meticulously placing egg shell fragments, one at a time, in lacquer.

www.darrylcarter.com

Studying under Chicago design giants Bruce Gregga and Alex Jordan for several years, Stephan Jones of Stephan Jones Interiors is known for mixing styles and materials to create bold and honest living spaces.  The Chinese wine table in his Chicago lakefront high-rise home was a bold and honest choice too.

http://www.stephanjones.com/

John Willey of Willey Design, LLC has worked for some of the biggest names in the design community (Vicente Wolf, Sharon Simonaire, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, and the Getty’s Group).  Opening his own firm in 2006, John’s signature has become mixing classic and modern elements with bold colors.

Across from the sofa and bookshelves in this Central Park West Residence in New York City sit two custom mounted meditation stones on a yellow lacquered pedestal perfectly designed by Willey.

http://www.willeydesign.com/

The owner of this home in Winnetka, IL  brought a timeless quality to the exterior of her new residence by incorporating 18^th c.  sculpture from our collection. Don’t miss the four-season cast iron urns in addition to the carved limestone Fu dogs.

Taihu stones near the pool add some drama during the day…

…and a little magic at night.

Another carved limestone Fu dog guards the pool terrace.

This is the first entry in the Pagoda Red Everywhere album.  Next we’ll feature jewelry created with Pagoda Red treasures that the designer sells exclusively thru Barney’s NY, the personal residence of an AD 100 designer, and a project by Alessandra Branca.

To see updates to our album as they happen, follow us on Facebook.