A China Cabinet in White

Custom for a client, and fresh as a rain-washed spring breeze, this c.1920 china cabinet is all set to go back to its gorgeous home in Marlborough, CT. The clients use it as linen storage in their master bath, and I can say with absolute certainty that it is THE BEST smelling piece of furniture I've ever had the pleasure to work on. Now, I'm not saying most of the furniture I work on smells bad. For the most part it doesn't really have any odor at all. On the rare occasion I get a stinky piece, I give it the ole' white vinegar and sunshine treatment (is this yet a hollywood cleanse fad?), and when all else fails, a raging fire does wonders for eliminating the stink in a piece.

Ahhh that heady bonfire smell, so very much better than the stench of mildew. I call this one French Provincial Flambe'!

      This china cabinet smells marvelously of something I can't quite put my finger on, but I suspect it's fresh soap. When I was a little girl my mom had this decorative bowl of fancy schmancy soaps in the master bathroom. I think they were from Historic Williamsburg, all irregular spheres in pretty muted shades of robin's egg and mauve. I used to sneak into their room sometimes just so I could sniff the soaps. I was about seven, so I demand a pass on this weird behavior. But oh they smelled lovely fresh, and this china cabinet made me think of it, something I'd forgotten from 25 years ago.
     The clients wanted a true, real, in no way anything but white, white. So we went with Benjamin Moore's Decorator's White, which is the best true white on the market. And since the china cabinet is white inside and out, I staged it with richly saturated antiques for a playful contrast- a few selections from my antique box collection (I counted today and I now have twelve!), and a few selections from my antique bottle collection. Finally for a pop of color, a few sprigs off the crepe myrtles our dear friend Tom planted by the back back patio this summer. They're growing like son of a guns already, and do I ever love a late summer bloomer!