Carolyne Roehm is acclaimed for her keen appreciation of beauty and impeccable taste. She has a genius for design as she has proven in her many books on stylish living. Oprah Winfrey has said on-air of Carolyne: “She’s a diva, she’s a master, she’s my mentor.” Roehm’s new book is her most breathtaking to date; an exploration of her favorite color combo: blue and white. This timeless pairing has been popular down through the ages and today is used by millions of Americans throughout their homes and gardens. In A Passion for Blue and White, Roehm has one again produced a book that is a visual knock-out filled with more than 300 color photographs, many full page, in an outsized format, making this her biggest and boldest book yet.
From the time Roehm rented her first small apartment in New York in her twenties, she has loved blue and white. In that one-bedroom flat, she draped the walls, chairs, sofa, and a canopy bed in an inexpensive blue and white sheeting fabric designed by her boss, Oscar de la Renta, and began collecting blue-and-white porcelain from around the world—initially bargain reproductions and eventually museum-quality pieces—from China, Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands, and elsewhere.
Today, Roehm presides over a magnificent duplex in Manhattan, an antique-filled stone house in Connecticut, and a chic yet rustic home in Aspen, all of which contain rooms decorated in blue and white, featuring accents from her collections of china, ceramics, glassware, linens, furniture, and decorative pieces. These rooms employ the whole spectrum of blues, from delicate sky to the deepest, boldest navy, evoking moods ranging from tranquil to vibrant.
In A Passion for Blue and White, Roehm gives us a private tour inside her dazzling homes in never-before-seen photographs of these stunning rooms. She also reveals how she has used blue and white to magnificent effect outdoors in Connecticut around her pool and in her gardens—and even how she used the combination in designing a wedding for a friend. Roehm provides inspiration for tabletop design, flower arranging, and gift-wrapping, suitable for all budgets. Her ceramic, textile, and glass collections (endless sources of her creativity) can be emulated by anyone with trips to flea markets, thrift shops, and inexpensive import stores as well as antique stores and galleries.