{"id":7642,"date":"2025-08-14T19:37:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T19:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/?p=7642"},"modified":"2025-08-20T16:54:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T16:54:03","slug":"blue-white-spotlight-designer-suzan-hadaway-on-collecting-showcasing-chinese-porcelain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/14\/blue-white-spotlight-designer-suzan-hadaway-on-collecting-showcasing-chinese-porcelain\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue & White: Designer Suzan Hadaway on Collecting\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Open a decor magazine, or your design socials, and an encounter with blue & white Chinese porcelain<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of our favorite collectors is designer Suzan Hadaway<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Blue & white porcelain<\/a> pops against glossy green walls in a room by Suzan Hadaway. Photo: Heather Talbert Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

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.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2014 Hadaway’s spaces do exactly that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Chinese<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Blue & white Chinese jars <\/a>and planters<\/a> in rooms designed by Suzan Hadaway. Photo (L): \u00a9 2025 Annie Parish Photography. Styling by Meghan O’Connor. Photo (R): Heather Talbert Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The polished vignettes Hadaway creates with select antique furniture and porcelain highlight artistry and craft. For a project in Chicago’s Gold Coast atop a Qing-dynasty red Chinese Scholar’s Cabinet<\/a>, she posed a collection of ginger jars<\/a> hand-painted with sinuous blue dragons. Amidst showering blossoms from ceiling to floor in the sitting area of a pied-et-terre in Chicago, she planted porcelain jars — a scroll jar<\/a> with a pagoda garden and a baluster jar<\/a> with mythical lions and celestial clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Garden Baluster Jar<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Japanese Arita Hibachi<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Botanical Jar <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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, \u00a0which adds a unique and one-of-a-kind layer to a space.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Chinese<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Chinese<\/figure>\n
Petite blue & white objects <\/a>add interest to mantels & tablescapes. Design: Suzan Hadaway. Photo (L): Heather Talbert Photography. Photo (R): \u00a9 2025 Annie Parish Photography. Styling by Meghan O’Connor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a> 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. “<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>, 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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lotus Rice Bowl<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Trailing Vines Spoon<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Brushwork Plate<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Asymmetrical branches add interest to a Chinese porcelain oversized vase<\/a>. Design: Suzan Hadaway. Photo: Heather Talbert Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

What is she looking for after years of collecting blue & white for both herself and her clients? Hadaway says that now, “I am picky; looking for really beautiful shapes, unusual pieces, pale blue grounds that bleed into the deeper indigo patterns. It\u2019s 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.” <\/p>\n\n\n

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Suzan Hadaway of Suzan Hadaway Design<\/a>. Photo by \u00a9 2025 Annie Parish Photography.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Header Image: Design by Suzan Hadaway. Photography by \u00a9 Annie Parish Photography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SHOP THE STORY <\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Double Happiness Jar<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Monumental Fish & Flora Vase<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Peony Brush Pot<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Are you an architect or designer with a story to tell?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Join Our Trade Program<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Register with us<\/a> to receive exclusive discounts and benefits. Trade professionals are also eligible for collaborative features on our blog and social media channels. Please note that trade registration with PAGODA RED is only open to interior design and architecture professionals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4,6,7],"tags":[15],"yoast_head":"\nBlue & White: Designer Suzan Hadaway on Collecting\u00a0 - PAGODA RED Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chicago gallery PAGODA RED talks to Suzan Hadaway about collecting and displaying Chinese blue and white porcelain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/14\/blue-white-spotlight-designer-suzan-hadaway-on-collecting-showcasing-chinese-porcelain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blue & White: Designer Suzan Hadaway on Collecting\u00a0 - 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