Blue and White Garden Stools

Contrary to what their name suggests, blue and white garden stools aren’t just for gardens. Rather, these ultra-functional stools can be placed just about anywhere inside of the home and out. Much like ginger jars, blue and white ceramic garden stools possess an unmatched versatility. Their ultra-fresh color palette goes with just about anything, making them the perfect complement to interior styles as wide-ranging as traditional, Hollywood Regency, and even Mid-Century Modern.

Blue and white garden stools originated in China upwards of 1,000 years ago. It’s believed that they emerged out of Buddhist garden customs, wherein organic elements like rocks, felled trees, and cut tree stumps were used as makeshift seating. Since Chinese homes traditionally revolved around a central courtyard, outfitting the courtyard with seating was essential to making it feel like an integrated part of the home. In cases where natural seating was in limited supply, blue and white Chinese garden stools swooped in to save the day.

Design-wise, blue and white ceramic garden stools can vary, but generally, they will be barrel-shaped and come adorned with a mix of signature elements, including fretwork, pierced motifs, and relief decoration. The most common relief decoration is nailhead trim, located near the top and base of the stool. Nailhead reliefs are a holdover from ancient Chinese drums that featured wood frames with animal skins stretched over the top and nailed to either end.

Chinese porcelain garden stools’ blue and white color scheme is rooted deep in Chinese history. Traditionally, blue and white was among the most common schemes for Chinese porcelain. As Asian porcelain infiltrated the Western world via newly-opened trade routes beginning in approximately the 15th century, Europeans came to especially revere those pieces rendered in the zippy blue and white palette.

For centuries after, Europeans tried to replicate the production of blue and white porcelain with little success. However, in 1708, a German Meissen scientist unveiled a hard, white, translucent type of porcelain that was uncannily similar to Asian china. While this new porcelain wasn’t as durable as the exports from China, it produced remarkably similar-looking blue and white Ming vases, which may account for both the ginger jar and the blue and white garden stool’s prevailing popularity.