More on Connie's Florida Living Room

Before I get to showing more of Connie's living room.....

Let me just tell you guys that my first pattern design in 9 colorways and scales is being shipped out to me, today or the beginning of next week!!!!!

Then Josh and I will look them over to decide if we want to tweak anything before I send the next bunch in for printing.

I am so excited and freaked out.

What if after all this time they look like shit whoops, I mean stuff you'd scrape off the bottom of your shoe?????

OK, on to Connie's Flerida home.

FYI.....she and her husband Chris have just sold their Vermont home, so some of the things we loved the most from that house may eventually show up in this one.

In particular; her mercury glass collection for the etagere in her new bedroom and a painted round mirror for over the server in her new living room.... maybe, if it looks good... and she likes it there... and I like it there.....

This is a picture of the round mirror along with some mercury glass in her Vermont home.....

Traditional Home Magazine

It may look good over the server in her living room.

We have to wait till the fall, when I go back down to sunny Floridah. 

(that's what my friend Suzy calls it, FloriDAH.)

 Connie wanted a game table in this room, as she and her hubby, Chris, play Rhummy Cube after dinner every night.

I wanted one that was more of the scale of an end table, so it would look like it was part of the seating group with the sofa facing the windows.

She and I had chosen a pair of chairs to work as the game table seating.

I ordered them in the same white fabric as the rest of the upholstery, and lightened the legs to more of a driftwood finish.

She used her old game table until I was able to find what I wanted.

See how it's size creates a separate space, it doesn't seem to be part of the seating group so much as it's own little area.

Below is a shot that Connie sent me, when she was first moving in.

This is before the room was painted and some architectural changes made.

Then Connie and I found this game table when we were antiquing at Charles Spada's wonderful showroom in the Boston Design Center.

He also shows on 1st Dibs.

It was the perfect size, being large enough for a game of cards, but small enough to be part of the sofa grouping.

It has a stained cloth inset top that we thought we might change, but have come to love.

You guys know how I love beat up stuff.

I had Connie drink the Koolade, and now she likes beat up stuff too!! 

I didn't want another piece of painted furniture, as there was already a fair amount in this house, so we lucked out with this little table.

It's a Louis XV piece, and beautiful.

OY Vey, I just noticed the movers sticker on the back right leg.

Connie, if you're reading this, please pull it off.

Thanks,

(love Betsy)

I needed something to hang over the pair of concrete colonnade tables that we had picked up at a local antique store.

I wanted something that was not a standard piece of artwork, as I didn't want the walls to be covered with paintings.

(i know, i know.....that's so not like me!!!!!)

However, Connie didn't want a lot of artwork, she wanted a simpler approach.

I found a pair of antique iron gates that were the right size.

I love old rusted iron.

I am a sick girl.

(OK, not so much a girl anymore.....my doctor just informed me that next year, when I'm 65, I will be elderly.....I don't think that anyone will suspect me in her homicide.....just don't tell on me.....it's just our little secret!!!!!) 

I told Connie not to have them hung until I got back down to Florida, as I wanted to add a little paint to lighten them.

SHE JUST NEVER WAITS FOR ME!!!!!

So, they got hung, and then Chris and Connie thought that they looked too dark.

OY VEY!!!!!

Sooooooo....

I had to paint them distressed white, while they were hanging on the walls.

I used my trusty chalk paint and dry brushed the metal, applying and wiping as I went.

Also wiping all the paint off the wall, too, as it was ALREADYHUNGANDIASKEDHERTOWAIT!!!!!

Here is the before shot, the console tables were moved out of my way. 

They weigh a ton, so we needed help getting them away from the walls.

I was very conflicted, as I sortta liked em before I started, although they WERE a little dark.

Here's a close up of my fabulous paint job.

It's very hard to paint something and keep it looking old and worn.

(Unless we'er talking about my face and makeup.....but thank goodness we'er not.....)

Here's another shot.

Another.....

Here's a side by side.

I'm still conflicted, but Connie and Chris love the lighter look, and after all.....

It is THEIR home.

After they were painted, I felt it needed something, so Connie and I are looking for something decorative, yet not to large to hang on top of them, I'll know it when I see it.

But OH BOY!!! I love looking for old crap!!!!! 

and now we have more to look for!!!!!

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

A Florida Calming Living Room

AS PROMISED!!!!

I will now start showing you guys Connie and Chris's living room.

In tiny dribs and drabs....

I will try to show you guys the process we went through to finally get to the semi-finished stage we find ourselves in today.

Next fall when I return to Florida, we will hopefully add the finishing touches to make the room feel cozier.

So let's start at the point of the first furniture being delivered.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Connie realized that there was lots more room for more furniture than I had drawn on the first floorplan, so I added this server I found on 1st Dibs.

I originally drew the floorplan without it, as I wanted to be sure that Connie didn't freak out about too much stuff in the room.

I shouldn't have worried about that,

 she freaked out anyway.

She was CONVINCED that there was too much furniture in the room 

even before I had drawn in the server that's on the left wall.

For all you guys out there in blogland that don't know the rule of thumb about how much space should be left for traffic flow, it's usually 36" that 's needed in a commercial application.

WELL.....

this isn't a restaurant or store.

When a room isn't a pass through space, I can get by with just 30" of clearance.

After all, that's the standard doorway opening.

In a hallway, it's best to allow for 36", so you can move your furniture all around your house!!!!!

Since I tend to overstuff  my own home,

 I will allow for even less space because I live by myself and I have

no one to complain about barked shins.

The server I found is a Gustavian piece in a worn white painted finish.

FYI....

I got this definition from One Kings Lane.

Gustavian style hails from Sweden, but like many other styles, has its roots in the influential courts of 18th century France. Proof that imitation is the highest form of flattery, Gustavian style came about after Sweden’s Gustav III paid an extended visit to Louis XVI's court at Versailles and fell for the trim, cool-hued Neoclassical style furniture of Louis XVI style.

This is why this stuff works so well with Louis XVI style.

Sometimes it's difficult to tell the two apart.

I rely on the accent. 

If it talks French, then I figure it's Louis XVI.

If it sounds like it comes from Minnesota, than I figure it's Gustavian.

I chose it for several reasons.

It was shallow, so it wouldn't stick too far into the room, since I placed it in a traffic flow area.

It was high, I don't like all my pieces to be the same height, it creates a static feel in a room.

Different heights are much more pleasing in a space.

It was elegant, and Connie wanted to go for a less primitive style of antique than I had done for her in any of her other houses.

The color was beautiful, and would work well with the creamy feel in the room that we wanted to create.

AND LAST!!!!!

It was old and beat up, just like me!

It was delivered when Connie was still in Vermont, so her handyman received it for her and placed it in the living room.

When he called to tell her it had arrived, he informed her it was 

"old and the paint was worn off, not nice and new."

Connie assured him that we wanted it that way, and not to worry.

I think it's stunning.

The gourd shaped lamp sitting on it is from her beach house.

It's form is wonderful because it is so stylish and works with many different kinds of decorating, being a somewhat transitional shape.

I used three of these in her beach house, all slightly different silhouettes.

One on the other side of the sofa.....

and in the guest room.....

These were such a great look that we were able to use them in Connie's new more formal home.

She just bemoans the fact that we don't have more of them.

When the girl likes something.....she really likes it.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

Betsy's Ramblings # 1273

If you remember in my last post, I lamented that I had misfiled my edited and watermarked pictures of Connie and Chris's living room after much time spent sweating and laboring over my computer.

Well, 

there's good news and bad news.

First the good news.....

I didn't loose any of the pictures!!!!!

Now the bad news (at least for me).

 I hadn't edited all of them after all, so I still had a bunch more to do.

Soooooo.....

After some more time sweating and laboring over my computer....

I now have lots to show you guys.

BUT I WON'T SHOW YOU ALL AT ONCE BECAUSE THEN YOU WOULD GET SPOILED!!!

****On a completely different subject.....

have you ever reached up to your face,

to take off your glasses,

only to realize

YOU'RE NOT WEARING THEM?????

I'm getting more and more pathetic as I age.

I feel it's important that I share this stuff with you guys.

'Cuz my family doesn't give a (insert appropriate expletive here).****

OK back to decorating!!!!!

Regarding news about my fabric line.

After much discussion with Josh

 (my partner in crime who will be selling my fabrics in the Boston Design Center at Studio 534)

We have finally come up with a name.

First we were all excited to call it Badass Bungalow.

But since that seemed to offend 1/2 the people who we ran the idea by.....

We decided that that wasn't really our goal.

Not that we didn't like the idea of offending people.....

but then they might not buy the fabric.

Offended while buying we were fine with.

Offended and not buying wasn't really what we were aiming for.

Soooooo....

In high level discussions with my buddy Kris,

(high level because we were up in her third floor family room)

She came up with the suggestion of the name: Hedgerow.

It seemed very British and Country and Twee.

Sooooo.....

In higher level discussions with my buddy Krissa Rossbund who is the decorating editor at Traditional Home, she thought that Betsy Speert was a fun name, and that I should just use that.

Besides, some people in America actually know that name already.

Sooooooo.....

I had a very important conference call with Josh

(we were the only ones on the phone, but if we had wanted more opinions, we could have done a conference call.....)

AND I told him that Krissa thought we should call it Betsy Speert.

WHEREUPON....

He said.....

Why not just call it Betsy.

WELL THAT'S WHAT I HAD ORIGINALLY WANTED 2 YEARS AGO!!!!!

But folks thought it would be confused with Betsey Johnson.

Well, she spells Betsy wrong, so there's that big distinction.

Besides, my last name isn't Johnson!!!!!

SO THAT'S WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE CALLED!

BETSY

Here's my logo.

In the background you can see one of my patterns.

I am so excited!!!!

I have sent the first pattern off to the factory and am waiting to see the 9 colorways that I've designed actually produced.

I should get the samples by the middle to end of July.

If the colors are good, then I will have all the other strike offs done of my FABULOUS designs.

Yesterday I spent working on colorways for my living room.

I am redoing the draperies and all the upholstery in pink fabrics from my line.

I am so over cool blue and white slipcovers in Massachusetts.

We live in a cold climate, and I want warmer colors.

Remember my living room?????

OK. back to what I stated writing about....

Have you noticed that I haven't shown you any more pictures of Connie's living room yet?

I got up this morning and just started typing, this has been a free flowing stream of consciousness blog.

Since I haven't talked at all about her living room....

let me just share another picture, and then next time I will get into the nuts and bolts about how I accomplished it.

We still have a ways to go, as we now need to "Betsy" it up and make it more cosy and less sterile.

Sooooo.....

Her living room is cool blues and white slip covers.

BUT IT'S IN THE SUBTROPICS SO THAT MAKES SENSE!!!!!

I need to go have some coffee and breakfast and read my two papers (yes, I read the Wall Street Journal, I am so erudite!!!) so that I can resume working on my fabrics.

We are doing the big launch in the Fall, and I am starting to get really excited.

When I first started telling people that I was designing a fabric line, 

I didn't know anything about how to use Photoshop or other software that did the magic necessary to accomplish my goals.

I also didn't know how to do repeats.

Or how to separate colors.

Or how to work on scale.

Or what a dpi was. (dots per inch).

And my art kinda sucked.....

So, once again, my big mouth got me into a predicament that I had to climb out of.

I find that if I don't talk a good game (aka: a line of bull#$%)

that I will not be forced to tackle new challenges.

If you brag you can do something to the world, then you better get off your derriere and figure it out and do it. 

What's the worst that can happen????

That I'll look silly and pathetic?????

Those are familiar and comfortable feelings, so there is no down side!

On that note,

Latah, Gatah

+

Dealing With a Large Living Room

Or....How Do I Make This #$% Room Feel Cozy?????

I don't know if you guys can remember from back in the last millennium.....

but I was helping my buddy Connie with her Flerida living room.

It was too big for just one seating area, 

but almost not quite big enough for two.

BUT

being the design wizard that I is,

I found sofas that were not the overly deep ones of this modern age of couch potatodom.

Do you remember this floorplan?????

After seeing this plan, Connie freaked out and was worried that there was too much furniture in the space.

I assured here that there wasn't any more than the previous owners had, it just was all in the middle of the room as opposed to lining the walls creating the effect of one large hallway.

So we got the basic pieces ordered and in place, and then Connie freaked out that there wasn't enough furniture in the room and that if felt too empty.

Where upon..,,,

I showed her the original plan with another piece against the left wall.

Below is a shot of how the previous owner had the room set up.

These are the real estate agents shots with a wide angle lens, so they make the room look ginormous.

You can see all the unused space to the right side of the room, making it feel like a big hall way.

It had a very formal feel.

The shot below is from my camera, you get a better sense of the actual size of the room.

The owners before these folks arranged the room in a similar manner.

Well, just like the rest of the house,

Connie wanted a peaceful, serene atmosphere in the space, so she chose a cool blue for the walls,

and then informed me!!!!!

I got no say in the matter.

Luckily it was a pretty color.

To refresh you memory some more, here are some pics of the furniture we chose for the room.

The upholstery chosen had more contemporary lines and the center console table had a modern feel.

Connie wanted to go much more modern in this house,

 for all of 10 minutes,

 and then we were back to combing antique stores and the internet for antique pieces.

Here's a picture of how the room looks up until this point.

Over the coming blog posts I will go over the steps we took to get there and all the stuff along that happens in decorating when you think you know where you're going, only to end up in a completely different state,

namely.....FLERIDA!!!!!

 I will end here, as I edited a ton of shots of this room, watermarked them, and apparently misfiled them, 'cuz I can't find them, and I spent a gazillion hours working on them this week.

Poor Betsy

on that note,

Latah, Gatah

A Long Entry Hall

Welcome to the second half of my blog post about Connie's front hall.

True to my style of writing.....

I am  s t r e t c h i n g  this story out into two posts when it could have been one.

I do the same thing when I eat a hot pocket.

I divide them into two pieces by splitting them down their seam.

That way I feel like I am eating twice as much!!!!!

The entry hall forms a T shape.

Actually, that's not correct....

it forms an L

I need to be correct in my journalistic endeavors or the blog police will get me....

(meaning Connie, who reads my posts, looking for errors about her house.....)

This is how it looks, now that we've finished.

SOOOOOO......

let's get on with the story of how we accomplished this.

When we first viewed the house, the previous owners had it decorated in a more formal style.

We I wanted to have a seating area in the long hall, to make it more inviting.

I always like a place to sit down in a hall,

for removing and re-shodding footwear.

Sooooo....

I resorted to scouring 1st Dibs, and found some beautiful gustavian benches and settees.

Connie and I settled on this one.

We loved the carved details in this elegant yet still inviting bench.

Now we just needed to find stuff to hang on the walls.

While antiquing in West Palm Beach, we came across a set of 1950's botany prints from a European school.

There were 10 prints in all, but two of them were duplicates.

They were wrinkled in places and somewhat warped.

We bought them anyway 'cuz they be lots of FUN!!!!!

I started by hanging three over the settee.

I thought that they  looked absolutely stunning!

The simple unfinished natural wood frames worked really nicely with the settee's frame color.

But I didn't think there were enough.

I NEVER THINK ANY THING IS ENOUGH!!!!

(especially when it comes to chocolate ice cream)

(notice that I keep referencing food???)

(I like food)

(lots and lots of food.....)

Soooooo...

we called the antique store and asked them to hold the rest of the prints for us, and that we would run back to pick them up the next day.

We hung four more by the door into the hall powder room.

Then we hung a couple more on the wall over the settee.

At this point, I felt that a sea grass rug would finish the space nicely.

I used blue painters tape to mark off the floor, to help us decide how long and wide the mat should be.

Then Connie remembered that she had a sea grass mat in her laundry room, so we dragged it out to see how it would look.

It worked just fine and dandy!!!!!

(and it didn't cost us nothin'.)

Unfortunately, the photo makes the walls feel more cluttered than they look in real life.

I know it's hard to believe me when it's comes to lots of stuff, but really, 

IT DOESN'T FEEL CLUTTERED OR OVERWHELMING!!!!!

Notice the tripod in the back by the front door.

I am such a professional picture taker!!!!!

(I'm kidding.....that shouldn't be in the picture.)

The front part of the hall looks really nice with this longer part.

Check it out, baby!!!!!

We be stylin'!!!!!

It's all done.....

(I may want to add a toss pillow or two, if Connie lets me.....)

The damn woman has a mind of her own.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah