Open a decor magazine, or your design socials, and an encounter with blue & white Chinese porcelain seems inevitable. There it is, on a mantel in London, in an elaborate tablescape in Paris, on the white oak shelves of a sunny loft. The centuries-old craft, with its endless pattern variations and perennially popular colorway, has transcended the churn of design trends.

One of our favorite collectors is designer Suzan Hadaway, who has a knack for choosing exceptional examples and showcasing them in beautifully creative tableaus. Recently, we chatted with Hadaway about how she began collecting blue & white ceramics, what she looks for, and how her own collection brings her joy every day. 

Hadaway told us that she’s “loved blue and white forever and has been collecting it for years. My father is from Turkey and I remember visiting Istanbul as a first grader, entering the Grand Bazaar, and being surrounded by walls of blue and white tiles, plates, and patterns. Seeing the Sultan’s palaces glistening in blue glaze is a very influential memory.”

These core memories and the influence of her subsequent travels are evident in Hadaway’s colorful, sophisticated designs. We’ve said for years that the best rooms tell stories about the people who live in them — Hadaway’s spaces do exactly that.

The polished vignettes Hadaway creates with select antique furniture and porcelain highlight artistry and craft. Atop a Qing dynasty red Chinese Scholar’s Cabinet, she posed a collection of ginger jars featuring a variety of dragon figures. Amidst showering blossoms from ceiling to floor in a sitting area, she planted porcelain jars — a scroll jar with a pagoda garden and a baluster jar with calligraphy and celestial clouds.

Hadaway often groups Chinese blue & white porcelain objects together, both in her own home and in those of her clients. She believes that “there is so much impact in a space with a grouping rather than just one object. I find blue and white to be both masculine and feminine — adding pattern and charm.”

While Hadaway occasionally buys contemporary blue & white ceramics, she says that as a “thrifter and hunter by nature,” she believes “vintage blue and white is superior — the colors and patterns of old porcelain are softer and less perfect than the newer options. I prefer a watery blue finish and the glaze of an old vessel cannot be duplicated. Antiques have a soul and story,  which adds a unique and one-of-a-kind layer to your space.”

Of course, Chinese porcelain was intended for everyday use, as well as to be admired. For Hadaway, an ever-growing collection means that she “also looks for ways to collect things that I can use in my everyday life. I have many dishes and bowls for jewelry catch-alls; jars without lids to store my rainbow of Sharpie markers on my desk, pitchers for weekday family dinners. I encourage this type of collecting for my clients as well. “

The key to this approach is avoiding being overly precious. We especially love the pink anemones that Hadaway planted in small dishes along a mantel. For parties in the gallery, we often pop seasonal flowers into a collection of petite blue & white vases, also one of Hadaway’s favorite simple tablescaping tricks. She frequently sets her table with both Asian and European vases and dishes, and says that “mixing chinoiserie with the more traditional floral patterns is something I love to do, as it creates a more varied collection.”

Another key to Hadaway’s approach is a willingness to shake things up and use beloved objects in new ways: “I shop my own collection and move things around. For me, accessorizing is an organic process, I move things from one room to another and use things in unexpected ways. The sky is the limit, there are no rules.”

What is she looking for after years of collecting blue & white for both herself and her clients? Hadaway says that now, “I try to be picky; looking for really beautiful shapes, unusual pieces, pale blue grounds that bleed into the deeper indigo patterns. It’s a gut feeling; I am a hunter and always say that if you buy what you love, you will always find a place for it.”

SHOP THE STORY