Sometimes several disparate items converge into one theme, without planning: a blogger’s bedroom, a wedding venue, a new EBay purchase. The one thing that connects the three is a blue and white striped rug.
A Californian wedding venue: the property comes with a main house and a smaller, one room cottage. You drive through these wooden gates to enter the property.
The main house. Paths of gravel lead out to the yard.
The smaller, one room cottage is used for the bride and groom to dress in, or to stay in before and after the ceremony.
The acreage terraces down past the rose garden.
The property is filled with streams and surrounded by mountains. Why is California so pretty?
The one room cottage that sits on the property is charming. With its beamed wood ceiling, paned windows, Dutch door, crystal chandelier and rock fireplace – who wouldn’t want to stay here on a honeymoon night? But what catches my eye first, as always, is the blue and white striped dhurrie rug. It attracts my eye like Bella to her Edward (!) Is there something – that when you see it in a room – makes you stop and look and like the room just a little more than you might have otherwise?
This room, Houston interior designer Carol Glasser’s former living room, had such an effect on me, almost 20 years ago. A very, very old version of her oft changed decor, this one with the blue and white dhurrie has remained a personal favorite. Classic English Country Manor decor, Glasser’s inspiration no doubt came from exactly that country. Maybe a decorative book with a photo of a room in some pile of bricks, a rundown summer house in Gloucestershire or Derbyshire might have provided that initial inspiration. Or maybe, she saw a pictorial in an old World of Interiors or British House and Garden. Or, it could have been borne from a visit oversees, which Glasser took many of. But, have no doubt, she wasn’t inspired by anyone in Houston. The rug in Glasser’s house eventually was sent to Santa Fe where it was used in a house that Mary Emmerling and Glasser styled for the book “Mary Emmerling’s Quick Decorating.”
This living room from Something’s Gotta Give introduced a new generation to the seduction of blue and white dhurries. Surely, never again will the dhurrie ever be as trendy or wonderful as it is here, in this Hampton’s beach house. Beth Rubio who designed this room, brought in a lot of classic English Country Manor styling to the beach house, with its books and cluttered feel, it’s dark wicker and slipcovers, the large ottoman coffee table, and wonderful white moldings and dark wood furniture. But that subtly was lost on most devotees. To them the blue and white rug read beach, and beach only.
David Lawrence’s beach house uses the same indigo blues, dark sofas and white pillows, but with the floral linen, his decor looks less contemporary than Hagan’s.
Ashley Whittaker brought the striped rug into the dining room. Again, going for a beach house look, she added a shell chandelier and a zinc topped table.
Phoebe Howard used this striped rug in a beach house bedroom.
I really like this rug – with its wide bands of cream. I like how the designer mixed turquoise blue with the darker blues. Again, beachy.
I imagine this homeowner was directly inspired by Something’s Gotta Give, judging by the piping in the upholstery. Yellow? Not my personal preference, I would have rather seen dark or painted wood.
Cathy Kinkaid designed this beautiful loggia for a Southern Accents showhouse. She mixed the indigo with the sky blues.
Thomas Britt used a dhurrie mixed with a Hollywood Glam vibe in this beach condo.
Enough of blue and white dhurrie rugs and the beach house! This apartment in NY owned by Carolina Irving is so wonderfully styled – it stars the striped rug layered over sisal. Of course, this look is not beachy, thank God! Instead this apartment shares much with Glasser’s house, though a decade or two divides them. Both Irving and Glasser used the blue and white dhurries in a more classic way – strictly English Country Manor. Irving’s apartment, though in the big city, looks more as if it is inside a summer home outside of London. Lonny Magazine.
Carolina Irving again, Lonny Magazine. The woman exudes more style in one second than most do in a lifetime. Her apartment is so wonderful, a cluttered collection of books and artwork – oils and prints cover all the walls. Each table is an antique and the upholstery is slipcovered in an old fashioned way, loose and ruffled. The soft blue and white dhurrie is so beautiful here, it’s hard to visualize the apartment working as well without the rug. There is nothing trendy here – it could stay as it is today and remain fresh years and years from now, which is exactly why the rug is perfect in this decor. Dhurries have been made in India for centuries. They were brought back to England during their long reign over that country and became popular due to their versatility and low cost. Most often, the dhurries were layered over the sisals and mattings popular in England. There are mentions of these classic rugs in English decorative books dating back from the late 1800’s.
The daughter of Sister Parish, Apple Bartlett’s apartment was photographed in 1984. Again, her apartment is a jumble of styles – a mix of antiques and accessories which today still looks remarkably fresh.
Bartlett’s bedroom is pure Sister, and uniquely American in its styling. Special thanks to Mrs. Blandings for the vintage photographs.
Today, Apple Bartlett’s house pictured in Architectural Digest. The striped dhurrie still plays a role. What a beautiful wall color!
The trendy alternative to blue and white stripes are the black and white dhurries. Used to distance decors from the beachy look associated with the blue and whites, the black stripes seem more sophisticated. Nate Berkus, Elle Decor Magazine.
The striped dhurries can be used in a more contemporary setting, as seen here in Nate Berkus’ office. Though the blue and white stripes are a personal favorite, the brown and tan stripes are a close second.
Another dhurrie, striped in multi colors, used in a traditional decor. Such a pretty room!
Ginger Barber has long used striped dhurries of all colors. Here in a Houston showhouse, she used khaki and white stripes that read as a neutral.
I’m not sure there is a room with a striped dhurrie in it that I wouldn’t like!
Even the major decor stores like Pottery Barn have jumped on the striped dhurrie bandwagon.
But, the soft blue and white dhurrie is still the prettiest, without a doubt. Here is definitive proof that the look does not have to beachy. Instead, a more dressy decor – pricey French and English antiques - are the perfect match for the lowly, inexpensive dhurrie. Gorgeous!
I’ve been wanting a blue and white dhurrie for years, truly ever since I saw Carol Glasser’s living room. Instead, a few Dash and Albert rugs used on my porch helped tide me over.
You can see I really do like blue and white which probably explains collecting transferware for 15 years.
After the huge popularity of the decor in Something’s Gotta Give, the Aspen Rug Company made up some rugs based on the movie. Recently, they sold a few on EBay at a discounted price where I finally got my long awaited blue and white dhurrie, though I have no place for it now. One day it will go in either my family room or bedroom, or in a client’s house! It will never go out of style, so I can wait to design a room around it. The price was just to good to pass up.
I love this picture from the movie – maybe because you can really see the pillow fabric and the trim on the slipcovers. Recently, the blogger Hamptons Hostess emailed me with some interesting information. A few years ago, she went to a charity auction in the Hamptons, of course, where some items from the movie were staged together in one room – receiving lots of attention as you can imagine. Below, the Hamptons Hostess shows us what she bought for her beach house - in the Hamptons, of course!
Here, is the Hamptons Hostess’ bedroom with the blue and white dhurrie ala Something’s Gotta Give! Hamptons Hostess told me she had recently painted her bedroom when she bid on the rug, knowing how perfect it would look – and it does! So pretty.
Another view, showing the seating area – I love these chairs and the window treatments. I would love to see the rest of the Hamptons Hostess’ house! Besides blogging, she does interior design.
In this rare picture from Something’s Gotta Give, you can see the master bedroom. Sitting next to the Oly Studios chair is a pricey Rose Tarlow table. I never realized that there is a tan and white striped dhurrie in here! Did you? Such a pretty room.
And, again, at the charity auction, The Hamptons Hostess bought the Oly Studios chair seen in the master bedroom, above. The intaglios were also bought at the charity auction, but neither the Hostess or myself can say where they were in the original movie. To visit her blog, go to Hampton Hostess.
A huge thank you to the Hostess for generously sharing her house with us!!!
To read more about dhurries, please read the Style Saloniste’s fabulous interview with the even more fabulous Madeline Weinrib HERE.
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