Friday, June 5, 2015

Transforming an Entry Hall

I've been going about this all wrong.
Oy Vey.
I've been showing you Chris and Connie's Florida Home.
But where did I start?????
THE BEDROOMS.....
That doesn't make any sense.

When one enters a gracious home....
at what point do you first see the house?????
(well if one is a burglar, then it may very well be a bedroom.....)
But if one (meaning meeeeeee) is an invited guest, then a person of breeding and refinement would enter through the.....
ALL TOGETHER NOW...
THE ENTRY!!!!!
So that is what we will start seeing today.
As you know I can milk expand on a room to create more than one blog post.

The shots I took of the house when the previous owners were still living there show a much more formal approach to the entry than I went for.
Very pretty, but not my style.
They decorated the long hall with a second console table, well I wanted something different.
Connie loved their artwork on the walls.
Particularly the scale of the pieces.
I thought the arched barrel ceiling was a fun touch.
The first thing I did was find a chest of drawers that would face the front door.
Console tables are great, but you can't put no stuff in them.
Chests are another way to add storage to a hallway or entry while still looking chic, stylish and FAB!
I found the gustavian chest on 1st Dibs.
I love its shape.

Connie and I wanted to reuse the shell mirror she had hanging in her old entry at her beach house.
Since her new house is more formal, the look of the antique chest transformed the feel of the shell mirror.
What really melded the whole new look together were the pair of ancient pottery urn lamps we found in a local West Palm Beach antique store.
The warm tones of the lamps reflected the coral and sand colors of the shells.
I finally found a place for the face planter.
Connie's had this for years, and it just never found a good home in the beach house.
I love it between the pair of lamps, it almost has a classical Greek archaeological feel...
(in my twisted imagination). 
In true Betsy style, I will end this blog post here.....
leaving the rest of the entry hall for next time.

I will be sending my first fabric pattern in 8 colorways to the printer this week for my 
FIRST STRIKE OFFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After a year and a half working on this I am so excited to see what it will look like on linen.
I have taught myself Photoshop.
I have taught myself Gimp.
I have taught myself Illustrator.
I have taught myself Inkscape.
Then I had to learn how to create repeats, drop repeats and separate colors, index colors, etc. etc. etc. etc.
I hope it doesn't look like sh---t when I get the first sample.
What if it does????
I've been telling the world for a year that I am doing this.
Nothing like the chance of failure in front of hundreds of people!!!!!!!

On that note,
Latah, Gatah
Photobucket

10 comments:

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Gorgeous. I love that chest and the mirror is fabulous too.

Mary said...

I CANNOT wait for the fabric! I know it is going to be fabulous.

Beautiful entry. I like the other beach house too!

Anonymous said...

I like everything but the lamps hid the mirror?

Unknown said...

Great piece. Now aren't you going to tell us something more about your fabric?! I am dying to know which direction you are headed.

O'Irish said...

Beautifully done!!! I'm in LOVE with the barrel ceiling *sigh*... and the shell mirror... so perfect... but I agree that the lamps seem to "hide" the mirror a bit much! Overall, I give you an A!!!!

maureen said...

Betsy
I LOVE the fact that you taught yourself Photoshop,Gimp,Illustrator, and Inkscape (and I have NO idea what the last three are) I am so impressed. I just learned how to send a picture on my phone--wayyyyyyyy behind. I, too, can't wait to see your fabric. I know it will be AWESOME!

Beth said...

Great work, Betsy!!! I can't wait to see & buy your fabrics!!! :)

Anonymous said...

And to imagine that I thought you painted that hall chest by yourself! It’s a gorgeous piece..I’ve looked on 1st Dibs a few times, but man- oh- man- they are pricey, way out of my league.
So excited about your fabric line, and trying to imagine what direction you have chosen for the line, and more importantly, hoping you’ll be able to post the designs here when the line becomes available.
Dolores

bmayer said...

I am SOOOO impressed with all you have taught yourself! The first fabric line I designed (for the quilt industry) in 2000, I hand painted (guache...10 fabrics, 32 SKU's) in a WEEK! I knew NOTHING. The more I learned, the longer it took. I read a book on fabric design (Textile Design by Carol Joyce 1993 and how to figure repeats(chapter 8) using graph paper, Saral transfer paper and tracing paper....talk about "old school". Getting strike-offs in the mail was always scary. What if I hated it? and trust me sometimes I did! but in the end it was usually a boost and very satisfying to see your name on the selvedge once the fabric came out. By the way, that first line from Art to Fabric was 4 months! I cant wait to see your fabrics....I just hope I can afford to buy some!

Stacey said...

The entry is beautiful! I absolutely love that chest. We had a chest in the entry at our last house and it was so handy.

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