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

Light Sleepers and Middle (Old) Age

it's so interesting to get people's reaction to the idea of separate bedrooms for older married folks.

There are those of us who are light sleepers....

and there are those of us who think they are light sleepers.....

then there are those of us who are normal sleepers.....

then there are those of us like my brother and father, who conk out the minute their head  hits the pillow and start sawing boards loud enough that the neighbors complain.

(that last statement may be a slight exaggeration)

I am a very light sleeper.

The heat kicking on in the winter is enough to wake me up.

Don't get me started on the #$% birds in the early spring mornings.

Thank goodness for white sound machines.

But white sound machines don't work if the source of the noise is 6" from your head.

In the long ago, ancient, olden times, prehistoric period of tribal groups living in rough camps....

I would have been one of the guys they had sleeping at the edge of the group of tents/caves/grass huts.

I would have been their early warning system.

Sooooooo....

there is probably a genetic reason that some of us are light sleepers.

I #$%  SAVED OUR CAMP!!!!!

But my genetic makeup didn't get passed down because I couldn't stand to sleep with anyone of the noisy guys.

(actually, sleep isn't required for the passing down of genetic stuff.)

(That's probably what happened to my distant ancestor.)

(She was a good time girl.)

I wonder if there is a correlation between good time girls and light sleepers.....,,

You know, the woman in the movies who doesn't let her date spend the night.

Maybe it isn't about him encroaching on her space, but the simple reality of needing a good night's sleep because she has to work in the morning......

You need a lot of sleep to go out gathering or hunting or whatever.....

 

Especially if you want to look like Daryl Hannah.

Not that I do.

Really.

Maybe.

Sort of.

On that note,

Lateh Gatah

The Joy of Separate Bedrooms

Luxury houses over the years have added a whole lotta bells and whistles to entice buyers to choose a home.

They've added his and her's walk in closets.

Double vanity sinks.

Whirl pool bath tubs.

A room large enough for a king size bed and sitting area.

BUT

as the baby boomers have aged, once again we are creating our own little demographic needs.

We be a big group of buyers!!!!!

We be "young" agers!!!!!

annnddd.......WE ALL SNORE.

(And if you think you don't, that's because you have a spouse that falls into a deep sleep and stays that way for the whole night.)

(Or one that's afraid of you, so he or she doesn't want to mention it.........)

(Or you really don't and can feel all superior over the rest of us.)

('Cuz I knows that I does!!!!!!!!!!!) 

Soooooooooo.......

a new category of luxury has sprouted out of the needs of the super lucky.

In olden times......

 the wealthy classes had separate bedrooms for married couples.

I think this was because lots of folks married for reasons other than intimacy.

 I mean, you had to have your heir and a spare,

but after that you could retreat to your own room to be left the hell alone from this guy with whom your parents needed a union that would strengthen the southern border of your families holdings.

(FYI, the southern border of my holdings is the edge of my terrace, but then, there's less to weed!!!!!)

ANYWAY...

I've written before about the wonder of separate bedrooms as we age.

Sooooooo.....

Back to decorating.

Connie and Chris's new home has a master suite.

There is a master bedroom which I have been showing you for the past couple of months because I don't post my blog as often as I used to.

Then I showed Connie's bathroom.

WELL!!!!!

This all falls within the walls of the master suite.

It has a Master bedroom, 

back to back bathrooms 

(I know, I know, how many of you are jealous out there over the idea of not sharing a bathroom with your nearest and dearest?????)

And it has a "study".

Now, I am sure that some of the folks that have lived in this house have used this room as a study.

but really?????

This set up is just screaming for his and her's bedrooms.

Since the whole suite is off a hall WITH A DOOR that  separates it from the rest of the house, it really is it's own little world,

 allowing time together and then the luxury of uninterrupted sleep.

Even the Wall Street Journal has had an article on this in their Mansion section.

Sooooooo

In Connie and Chris's new home that's what they have.

We were able to use most of Chris's furniture from their beach side home.

Remember this room?

It was his old bedroom.

In the new house there was an existing lovely green rug that I needed to work into the design.

Unfortunately those great lamps and the bedding had to go, as they worked against the new scheme.

So we pulled off the orange paisley spread and shams, and started with the feel of the rug.

There was a big blank wall by Chris's bed.

Well.....

you know what I do with a big blank wall?????

I cover it!!!!!

Connie had found this wonderful framed map of Ireland.

The colors and masculine feel of it was perfect for Chis's room.

Just because she doesn't sleep there, doesn't mean she doesn't spend a lot of time there, so she wanted it to look good for when she's in the room

she still wanted it to be a handsome space for the man she loves.

She thought it would be too big.

I told her "you always think things will be too big"

Soooooo,

I ignored her and we got it and it wasn't too big!!!!!

It's a map of Ireland.

Chris's background is Italian.

Connie's background is Irish.

We told Chris that this way he could think of her when he looks at the map!!!!!

(We just hadn't been able to find a map of Italy, but don't tell him that.....)

We fond perfect lamps at Pottery Barn that matched the color of the rug, they have a somewhat rustic feel which goes along with the world traveler vibe that I wanted in this space.

The lamps were on display on a very high shelf in the store.

They had none on the showroom floor.

So we first ordered a pair of the larger ones.

well.......

Too big!!!

So then we ordered the smaller pair, I was starting to feel like Goldilocks.......

The smaller ones were just perfect and we were able to use the lamp shades from Chris's old bedside lamps.

We found bedding that worked with the cream color of the draperies.

We wanted to keep everything simple and creamy and peaceful.

As you can see in the picture above, we also added simple white linen draperies with a tailored pleated valance.

The window had a weird wood cornice,

 so I had the board covered by Velcroing the valance to the board.

We were able to use Chris's chair and chest and mirror from his old bedroom which made him very happy,.

Below is a shot of the wall with the map after we added the simple draperies.

What a difference fabric makes to the coziness of a room.

Chris and Connie are avid travelers and have picked up many meaningful mementos in their wanderings. 

This is an autographed hand print of Nelson Mandela's hand!!!!

I had it re-matted to work better with the map.

It had a black mat that was too harsh in the room, so I added an aged colored mat over it, leaving just a line of the  old mat to outline the hand.

It's just all the little details that add up to create a cohesive look.

Look at what hanging something on the wall and adding draperies can do to making a room cozy and inviting.

So,

that's all I got for today, Kampers.....

on that note,

Latah, Gatah

Venetian Mirrors.....Gotta Love Em!!!!!

Connie and I wanted the feel of her bedroom to flow into her bathroom.

As I had shown you, we had hung a Venetian mirror over her dressing table.

She purchased it from Restoration hardware, which has a nice selection from which to choose.

Those guys should be paying me for all the advertising I'm doing for them.....

I had found the little ballroom chair on 1st Dibs.

It was part of a set of 4.

They had really pretty detailing.

They had really delicate legs, just like Connie's!!!!!

Even the back was pretty.....

JUST LIKE CONNIE!!!!!

Well we didn't need 4.

At first I thought we only needed 1, but as it turned out, 

i was wrong!!!!!

We needed one for her bathroom too.

Soooooo.....

the nice man from 1st Dibs was willing to break up the set into two pairs.

But first I had to find a mirror.

Below is another pretty one that is available from Restoration Hardware.

Connie had her handy man hang it over the sink,

 SO I DIDN'T HAVE TO!!!

The old light had been one of those horrible bathroom lights hanging over the sheet mirror that was hanging over the sink.

What is it with builders and these big plain sheets of mirror.

AND THEN THEY GO AND HANG A STRIP LIGHT WITH BARE BULBS OVER IT!!!!!

NOT PRETTY!!!!!

So, Connie replaced it with a pair of sconces with plain shades....

tres chic!!

Of course I had to change the cabinet knobs to something more appropriate for this new look.

I found some crystal ones on eBay,

Well, at this point Connie was whining requesting that I find something to hang on the walls that would work with the big beautiful mirror.

I had remembered seeing some mirrored famed botanicals on Ballard Design's website.

Connie couldn't believe how clever I was to have found them.

I couldn't believe it either!!!!!

She purchased 4, two to go alongside the large mirror, and two for over the toilet.

I don't really know the reason for the ones over the toilet.

Only women use this bathroom, so no one is standing and staring at the wall.

(These are just some musings of mine when I have nothing else to think about....)

Then we placed the other little chair at the bathroom vanity.....

and the room was done.

At least for now....

I want to add a valence for over the window.

But that's for next fall when the Florida "season" begins.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

Finishing Up Connie's Bedroom, (maybe....)

OK klass,

today we will attempt to finish showing Connie's bedroom.

However.....

Since I am now up in Massachusetts.....

you guys know that in the fall when I go back to Flerida, I will be tweaking and twerking this room a little more.

The small white table between the two club chairs is from Connie's old beach house.

 But we wanted something that had a little sparkle and sophistication that fit in with the glamour of this sumptuous space. 

We went shopping at our go to place in Jupiter Fl, Pineapples and Palms, and found just what we needed.

It's a beautiful little acrylic table with a regency Hollywood flavor. 

It sparkles!!!!!

It works well with all the mirrors in the room, as it adds its own type of glimmer.

To the left of the chairs was a wall that needed some attention.

The previous owners of this house had placed a matching chest of drawers on that wall, but I didn't want to do that.

No No No No.....

I wanted something with a taller profile.

Something that could be a dust collector!!!!!!!

After all, what's a Betsy room without a collection of something or other?????

I wanted tons of mercury glass!!!!!

Mercury glass would just go so well in a room with mirrors and silver.

We just needed a place to put it.

So I said to Connie.....

"Connie, we need a place to put lots of mercury glass. WE NEED SHELVES!!!!!"

SOOOOOOO.......

I started looking around for an etegere.

I wanted one with some shape other than just a rectangle.

Sooooooo....

I did what I always do when I'm working hard.....

I placed my @$$ on a comfy chair and grabbed my iPad mini

(because my regular size iPad would be too heavy, and I am a delicate flower.)

and I started to comb the internet.

WELL!!!!!

I found just what I was looking for, and it was within a half hour of where I lived!!!!!

What did I ever do before the internet?????

WHAT DID I EVER DO BEFORE MY iPad?????

I tracked down an old beat up Regency Hollywood metal and glass etegere in a not so great gold finish.

I figured it would be just dandy in white.

Connie bought it, and before I even had a change to scratch my head

 (or any other places on my body...), 

she had it painted a high gloss white.

It's the perfect size for her bedroom corner, and now we have the fun of filling it up with dust catchers!!!!!

But we don't be carin' bout none of that!!!!!

 WE DON'T DUST!!!!!

On that note,

Latah, Gatah