Decorating Book Give-a-way!!!!

Hiya!!!!

This is just a quick post to let you guys know that Kim at Savvy Southern Style is doing a book give away tomorrow (Thursday) at her blog.

SHE'S GIVING AWAY A FABULOUS BOOK!!!

Not that I'm prejudiced.

The author just happens to me MOI!!!

Check inside!!!!

around a third of the pictures are of my own work. The rest I chose from Traditional Home's archives.

So sign up and see if you win. I will autograph the winners copy.

(She will be soooooooooo lucky!)

Betsy

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Decorating Questions Asked!!!!!

Oh Boy you guys, here we go for the 2nd!!! Tuesday's questions.

I got a lot of good suggestions for a better title.

Here are just a few, (actually, these are all of them).

BUT  before we get into that, I want to thank everyone for the support when I was messing up my template. Hearing from you really was comforting. I HATE that feeling in the pit of my stomach, when I realize that once again, I've screwed up.

I mess up so often, you'd think I'd be used to it!!!

But enough of that, (until next time), ON WITH THE SUGGESTIONS!!!!!

Katie @ Wildwood Creek wrote:

 I like the title Ask Away Tuesday, and I also like Ask Betsy. (Note:  I came up with the name: Ask away Tuesday, she's just referring to something I wrote to her!)

Shirley@Housepitality Designs wrote:

 Tuesdays suggestion: "Tell it to me Tuesdays"

Amy wrote:  

 How about Ask away...oy vey! or

Q&A...oy vey! I think that sounds just like you!

the misfit wrote:
Wasn't aware we were supposed to be thinking of titles for the feature. "Tuesdays with Betsy"? "The Trouble with Tuesdays" (except the day isn't the problem, it's the decorating challenges)? "Tuesday's Child's a Troubled Space"?  "How-to-sday"? (Excessively corny, I know.) "Twenty-Question Tuesday"

getgrounded  wrote:

How about Tough Love Tuesdays? Or "If this is Tuesday, this must

be Betsy?"

Connie @ Connie Nikiforoff Designs wrote:

 I also think "Ask Away Tuesday" is a great title.

Rosemary@villabarnes wrote:
I actually like the previous suggestion of "Tuesdays with Betsy".

Free Question Tuesday. (this wasn't really a suggestion, it is just what Christine from The Tin Can Cottage, called it.)

O.K. I have my favorite in mind, but what do you guys think?

Sooooooooooooooooo................
Yesterday was kinda rough. I spent the whole day ruining my blog.
I was really excited when I woke up, it was going to be a WONDERFUL day.
I was having the microwave oven over my range taken out and a really nice stainless steel hood put up instead.
I'm not crazy about the look of a microwave over a stove, but it was practical, and it wasn't broken, so there it stayed.
THEN!!!!! Oh Joy!!!! The damn thing broke, and they don't make parts for it any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WooHoo!!
Soooooooooooooooooooo........
After hours on the Internet, repeatedly changing my mind, trying to convince myself to be practical and get another over the range microwave.......
I DID WHAT I ALWAYS DO..............
Threw away practicality for looks.
This is the same way I used to date.
It didn't work then either.

Sooooooooooooooooo......
I web surfed for the smallest, prettiest countertop stainless steel microwave I could find. I would tuck it in next to my frig. I have the countertop space, so what the hell.
This is what I bought from Avanti, only $119.00....

It's really small:  11.25" H x 19" W x 15.75" D
fun retro look.
OK campers, these are the problems:
The timer doesn't show the seconds counting down, it reverts to the actual time, once the countdown starts.
I like to know how much time I have left when I'm cooking something, so I know just how much time I have to freak out.
next problem: Once it's done, it beeps a few times, like all microwaves do, AND THEN IT BEEPS EVERY @#$% TWO MINUTES AFTER THAT UNTIL YOU OPEN THE DOOR!!!!!!
Sooooooooooo, if you are cooking something in the microwave, while you are sitting at your desk writing,... oh, I don't know,... let's say...A BLOGGGGGG!!!!!, it keeps nudging you, and nudging you, and nudging you.  OY!!!!!
And the final problem:
It's so small, that it is too light. So when I go to open the door, the whole oven moves. I have to hold it in place with one hand, while I open the door with the other hand.
OY!!!!!

OK, so where was I?  Oh yeah, yesterday. So the really nice man came to take away my old microwave and install my new super duper very expensive hood.
And of course he couldn't finish the installation because there were old tiles behind the microwave that had to come out before the hood went up.
I will post all the pictures next week, after it's all done.
I am being VERY mature, and waiting PATIENTLY!!!!

OK, now for the linky party!!!!!
I copied this from savvy southern style, so thank you Kim!!!
(I hope it's OK, 'cuz I didn't ask)

"Please link up your intended post and not just your blog home page.
Please put a link or my party button in your post so others can find it and join in. The button is on my sidebar."

Ask decorating questions in the comments area below.  If you have a blog with corresponding pictures, link to that post.


If you don't have a blog, and don't have pictures, leave you question in the comment section at the bottom of this post.


If you don't have a blog, but DO have pictures, email me the question with the pictures, to: betsyspeert@gmail.com.


LASTLY!!!!!
Kim is having a give-a-way of my color decorating book, over at
Savvy Southern Style, I think she's doing it Thursday, or next week, or something like that. OY

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Yayyyyy

O.K.
I freaked out, and I got it BACK!!!!
Sorry to bother you guys. I was really freaked out.
Betsy

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Oh No

I just screwed up my blog. I meant to doodle around with my blog template design, and changed my real blog by mistake. So bear with me while I freak out and try to fix it.
Of course I did not back it up first, because I thought I was working on the test blog.

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An Aeorsmith Kitchen

Since I ended my last blog with a reference to Aerosmith's bass guitar player, Tom Hamilton and his lovely wife Terry, I figured I would do a really smooth and suave segway into a post about the kitchen I designed for them and some other spaces in their home.

Like my previous posts about my old magazine articles.....

I did this job years and years and years ago.

This was another spread in Traditional Home Magazine. Except that one slip with House Beautiful, I pretty much gave them first dibs on all my projects that were ready for publication. Relationships with decorating editors can sometimes be like dating, they don't like it when you cheat. (Even though they're using lots of other designers.)

(I'm starting to remember why I stopped dating.)

I had been working for Steven Tyler's and Joe Perry's families when I met Tom and Terry at the Perrys' baby shower.

I know, I know.......

The crazy partying life of rock stars.

Terry mentioned that they wanted to redo their kitchen, and (not being a modest, shrinking, demure, quiet flower) I let them know that when it came to kitchens.......

I WAS A ROCK STAR!!!!!

I mean, come on.....

Check out that turned leg!!!!!

I used stock Rutt Cabinets, and then had them make the custom cabinet with the leg I designed for the microwave. It's the only time I have ever put a microwave that low, but it worked in this kitchen.

We used green Formica countertops, and that's when I fell in love with the Hamiltons. They wanted the best practical surface for their family, and weren't interested in using the most expensive material available.

Formica's gotten a bad rap.

It's easy to keep clean, and comes in a gazillion colors.

That said; I have marble and wood countertops.

I am a hypocrite, and an impractical decorating fool.

'Matter of fact, don't listen to a word I say.

In the middle of the space was a brick structure that had been used for an old wood burning stove, or some old implement of fire in the house's distant past.

It was structural, so I had to work around it.

Like many an eyesore I've come across in my illustrious decorating journey, I dolled it up and made it the room focal point.

If only I could do that with my fat.

All I can do with my excess poundage, is cover it up.

Maybe, rather than sweatshirts, I should start wearing wallpaper.

O.K., to get back to the brick.....

Luckily, the distance between the two columns was just a little bigger than I needed for the range top, allowing me to recess it back into that space, and by bracketing it with 12" deep base cabinets, the whole kit and caboodle didn't jut too far into a limited amount of floor space.

I just read that sentence over, and it is really awkward, and I can't figure out how to make it better, so I'm leaving it alone.

So there.

I have now regressed to a 7th grader.

Terry and Tom wanted an eat in kitchen, so, since space was at a premium, I worked in the booth area.

Here's a picture of Terry. Isn't she beautiful??

Inside and out!!!

Soooooooooooooooo..................

The years went by, and their family grew, and they needed a larger area in which to eat and have a family room.

Think of all the money people could save, it they didn't have children!!!!

Think of all the china and mercury glass they could buy!!!!!

Sooooooooooooooooo.....................

They added on.

That's what folks do with an expanding family.

(or waistline)

published in Boston Magazine

If I remember correctly (and that's a big if), Terry got this table and chairs from an aunt.

Published in Boston Magazine

We did this room just when Shabby Chic was coming into every one's awareness. It was a store in California whose style was sweeping the nation.

If I remember correctly, (and that's a big if), Terry got the sectional from them and I had the slip cover made locally. I used 726 different fabrics in it.

O.K, maybe that's a slight exaggeration.

I used a lot, though.

If you look closely, you can see McDuff, sleeping on the sofa. I tell ya, that dog has the life.

DON'T FORGET!!!!!

Tuesday's Questions are coming up!! On Tuesday!!

So start thinking up some questions!!

For Tuesday!!

I'm thinking of calling it: ASK AWAY TUESDAY!!!

What do you guys think of that title?

No one's given me any suggestions.

You are absolutely no help at all.

SEE YA TUESDAY!!!

Linking to: 

      

 

 

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My Cottage Garden

Welcome to my Garden!!!

When I bought my Watertown cottage, the backyard was just pretty much a blank slate of really nice grass.

There was a beautiful perennial flower bed along the back of the yard that I proceeded to destroy within the first two years that I lived in the house.

The house behind me was completely visible and open to my yard, only separated by a low picket fence. (no privacy at all)

It looked like this!!!!!!!!!!!

And like this!!!!!

How nice is that wagon wheel set on an axle for a rotating table!!!!!!

I better not find any of you guys doing that. IT IS NOT A GOOD LOOK!!!!!

Nice placement in front of the back stoop.

O.K., I admit it, I used the @#$& thing before I had it taken out.

(It was sorta cool)

The design in the back went through a couple of stages before I landed on the one that I fell in love with.

FIRST UP!!!

THE DECK!!!!

Remember, I bought this house in my 20's, so I went through some growing pains.

I don't have any other pictures of this, so here's one with my dog, the love of my life.

Poor thing, I made her pose to mimic the iron dog on the deck.

What a good sport.

'Course, I had control over her food.

So once I got my head screwed on straight, I realized the way to go was a brick terrace. (Of course, this was after the deck started to rot.)

Somewhere between the wood and the brick, I had the whole back yard filled with plant material, and completely reinvented the space. I like to landscape the same way I do interiors. I think of outside spaces the same way I think of rooms, just a leetle larger. It's nice to have covered shady areas as well as sunny spaces.

Being in magazines isn't all champagne and caviar. Country Home (I think that was the name of the magazine, it was a sister publication to Traditional Home) called me and asked if they could shoot my back yard. I said "SURE!" being so wonderfully agreeable, and in no way a publicity whore. So they had me style and produce the shoot. Then they decided that it didn't look casual, country enough for their magazine. So that was a wasted effort. (At least I don't pay for the photography) 

Sooooooo.....They sent the shots over to Trad Ho, who decided THEY liked it, and would pick up the story. BUT, of course, they wanted to redo the shoot, to make it more for THEM!!!!!

Sooooooooooooooooooo.......

I told them that we needed to shoot it before August, 'cuz that's when EVERYTHING starts to look old and sad. (Boy, I know that feeling)

Yes, you're right, this is taking place over a couple of years. Things move at a glacial place in publishing, and then EVERYTHING is a big rush to make deadline.

So they schedule the shoot the last week in July.

 On a really hot dry summer.  

So everything was brown.

So we had to fake LOTS of stuff.

So, it was NO FUN AT ALL.

AND THEY STILL DIDN'T USE THE @#% photos.

They're kickin' around somewhere in the Traditional Home archives.

If anyone from Traditional Home Magazine is reading this, I HOPE YOU FEEL SORRY FOR ME!!!!!!!

Luckily, House Beautiful did some shots when they covered my cottage, so all was not lost. BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF PREPARATION GOES INTO A PHOTO SHOOT.

Oy, now I'm yelling.

I mean the fighting over what to put in the @#% window box. OY!

O.K. now I feel better.....

On with the story.

This next picture was done by Eric Roth for the House Beautiful shoot

I think this was shot before the other one. I can't remember which shoot came first.

No, that's right, this one was first, then I recovered the cushions in the red and green stripe.

Here's the Pergola for House Beautiful......

and here it is for Traditional Home (that was never published)

I mean.....

The running around for props.....

I bought that cart just for the shoot!!

Luckily, one of my clients loved it and bought it from me. Then she went and ruined it by painting it a nice clean white. Pristine, unchipped, made it look like NEW.

I mean....I had to go buy cute food......

I mean.....I was forced to go grocery shopping!!!!

I don't own those plates. THOSE ARE NOT MY PLATES!!!

I had to borrow those plates, and silverware, and glasses, and napkins. You think the stuff you see in magazines is real???

(A lot is. Really. Boy, now you guys are going to get me into trouble with all the magazines)

This next shot is of the little shade nook I carved out under the massive maple tree in yard.

O.K. what can I tell you about this?

Oh, yeah,

It's two chaises and a watering can.

photo by Eric Roth for House Beautiful

Here's a shot of the front of my cottage. I added the brick stoop and the little covered porch. There was a house one block over that had a porch similar to this. I loved that porch. So my neighbors let me take pictures and measurements, so that I could draw it up and copy it. I tweaked it a little to make it work for my cottage.

This picture shows me holding McDuff. I took care of him sometimes for my clients and friends, the Hamiltons. This is a rock star dog, as his dad is the base guitar player for Aerosmith.

You wouldn't believe some of the amazing people I've worked for.

Here's my last shot!!!!

photo by Eric Roth for House Beautiful

Betsy

partying at:   

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Design questions answered #1

Today is the first Tuesday,(hopefully of many) that I will answer your decorating questions. Remember, this is free advice, and you get what you pay for.....
Sooooo, with that said, let's start the answers!!!!

The first question concerns space planning, a sore spot for many professionals as well as DIY'ers. Sometimes there is no easy solution, but I will do my best.


Misfit (I love that name!!) wrote me an email at betsyspeert@gmail.com
asking for help with the furniture arrangement in her bedroom.....

She wrote:
"I got home late yesterday and forgot to send the picture(s). I have these in four emails so it's going to drive you crazy - I'm very sorry. I won't be offended if you delete them all. In this one is the object I need to situate better in the room. Beloved solid oak armoire".

~the misfit





Betsy says" I would never delete someone's pictures before helping them!!!
(Unless I can't come up with a solution, or I don't want to answer the question, or I don't like the question, or I got up on the wrong side of the bed, or.....)

She wrote:
"Here is where I have considered putting it - between the windows. As you may note, the armoire is around 40" wide. The gap between the drapes is around 24". The gap between the window frames is probably...33"? I know I can overlap the drapes in theory. (It fits fine where it is now, it just looks really awkward. I don't know why - I didn't expect that.)"

~the misfit

She continues...
"For reference, this and the next picture show the rest of the room. The armoire is sitting just out of the frame, on the left. The two-windowed wall is opposite the wall with the headboard. (Not moving the bed because I wallpapered that one wall as an accent wall.) Also, yes, I know the room is a total disaster. I am not actually a slob; I'm just not cleaning or straightening ANYTHING until I am done with all my projects in a given room - here, repairing the door and finishing the duvet cover. Until then, energy goes to wallpapering the dining room..."

~the misfit

And she finished with...
"Last for-reference picture. The window to the left of the armoire is one of the pair that are on the same wall. The room is large-ish (by my standards) but there's a window or door (or more) on each wall. And the bed is centered and throws off everything else. I think tiny rooms are easier..."

~the misfit

Now, I actually had a similar situation in my little cottage in Watertown. My den had a pair of windows on one wall, and I wanted to put an armoire between them to house my TV. (this was in the old days of deep TV's). I would like to take credit for the solution, but I think my designer buddy, Greg, is the one who came up with the answer. AARRRGGG!!!! I need a scanner, so I can draw a picture of what I did, but I'm in Florida, and my scanner is in Massachusetts. Well, I'll explain it as best I can, and maybe I'll go out tomorrow and buy a scanner. I'm really making a lot of money, writing this blog.  (Let's seeeee.....I've bought a new camera and tripod, I want to buy a wide angle lens, I need some other photography stuff......Thank God I'm retired, or I'd go broke!!!)

This is what I did!!!!!!!
I treated the two windows as one.
I had a valance made that spanned the full width of the two windows, and I hung it at the ceiling line.
I had two pairs of draperies made that flanked the two windows.
I placed the armoire in front of the drapery panels.

The main point is that the glass was not covered by fabric or furniture, just the window casing and the wall were covered.
I  had a space of wall show between the two windows, I didn't want to do a whole wall of fabric, but the span of the valence united the treatment. ACTUALLY.....now that I think about it, and the same thing would work in the situation above.....The valence came down to the top of the armoire, so none of the wall behind it showed.

I try to NEVER cover glass!!!!! (Except with blinds, shutters and shades). I keep drapery panels, valences and cornices off the @#%& glass!!!

   Betsy's point # 1:  Glass is to see out and let the sun in (except at night, it's O.K. to close the draperies at night.)

Now, if the armoire overlaps the window glass, I would leave it where it is in the room, and set a pretty chair in front of the window, perpendicular to the armoire, angled slightly away from it.
This way you start building an arrangement of furniture into the corner, so that it doesn't look like you just stuck a piece of furniture over there, not knowing what else to do. (I know, that's what you did, but I don't want you to feel bad about it.)

Here's a picture of my den, unfortunately, the image is cutting off the armoire, but it shows the left side of the drapery treatment I'm talking about.

I know, I know.....
The table is covering the glass a little. I always seem to be breaking my own rules.

They're my rules, I feel they are important, and then I ignore them.

Do what I say, and not what I do.


 




Question 2!!! (I am so excited that I got me some questions!)
(Working for free!!!! My Dad will be sooooo proud!!!)

Katie from Wildwood Creek asked:

Dear Betsy,

We live in a rustic cottage and the kitchen is a dark cave. I'd like to paint the walls and cabinets white. Do you have a favorite paint and color for painting kitchens?

Wellllllllll, the first thing I'd do, is raise the valences up a little bit to get the fabric off the glass.
I know, I know, that's not what you asked me, but you'd be amazed at the difference it will make in how much light comes into the room. I mean, you're covering a quarter of the window!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's a cheap and easy fix.
The cabinets will look AMAZING painted white. Good idea!!!!
The white I use the most is.......
Get ready.....
Benjamin Moore, color:  White.
Not Linen White, or Navajo White, or this white or that white, just plain @#%& White!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's crisp, it's pretty, and it goes with everything.
HOWEVER..............................
I wouldn't paint the walls white.

I can see that they are nice board paneling, so painting them white is a classic way to go, butttttt......I would paint them a buttery, creamy yellow, very light, that would complement your blue accents. I would paint the woodwork around the windows the same white as the cabinets. Yayyyyy. Benjamin Moore "White"!!!!! To find you a nice yellow, I went to my large Benjamin Moore paint chip samples, that only us super duper decorators get, and found this as a possibility: 
Name: Natural Beech, #253

I can't believe I tried to take a picture of a paint chip!!!!!!
Of course the color is WAYYYYYY off.

But, I do think it would be nice to have some contrast between the cabinets and the walls, just sayin'.
It would also pick up some of the warmth of the counter tops color.

Question 3!!!!!
Sissie from Sissie's Shabby Cottage  gave out a cry for help.

She wrote: "Amy sent me over to have you look at my living room pictures. I must say that it's a little intimidating to ask a famous designer questions about my simple decor. But here I am and any suggestions you might have will be most appreciated."

So, I clicked on over to her blog and saw her very pretty living room that just needs a few tweaks.

I would start building up the stuff on the bookshelves. Maybe do collections of white pottery and mercury glass. To keep it from looking too stark, layer in some wooden objects and some paintings leaning against the wall.
If you want to bring some color into the room, go to Homegoods to look for cheap pillows with the color you want, and paint the back of the bookshelves a matching hue. Then do draperies to match the white of the upholstered furniture.

Here's an example of what I mean.....
This is in my living room in Massachusetts

Don't go for this heavy a look, because your room is so light and airy.
But fill more stuff into the shelves.
I think a lot of mercury glass with accents of white pottery would be really beautiful.

Thennnnn.....
To add some life to the mantle, how about a pair of matching mercury glass vases with some fake bouquets of roses in them?
I just love me some fake flowers!!!!!

Thennnnnn.......
On the console table behind the sofa, what about a lovey potted orchid set in a mossy container, it will bring some life to that part of the room along with some more color and texture. I lucked out and found some fake ones at Home Goods, but a real one would do. (I know, real flowers!!!!! I must be loosing my mind!!)

Here's a fake one I found at Home Goods along with the pot. The clay pot that came with the orchid was reeeaaallly small, so I stuck it in this white pot and filled up the extra space inside the pot with sphagnum moss.

Sissie then asked.....
"My next project is what to do with these huge windows. See the rods up there.....I'm trying to decide what kind of panels to make.

Any suggestions?????"

As I mentioned above, I think white panels would be really pretty, if you bring other color into the room. You could sew a contrast fabric onto the lead and bottom edges, but I think in this light and airy space, just white would be lovely.
For a more elegant look, I would do a rich lined brocade, like the sofa. If you want something a little more casual, why not floaty sheers? Make sure they are full enough, and I always like them a little too long, so that they break on the floor. Try to have as little fabric as possible cover the glass (am I beating a dead horse with this point????). Just a simple straight panel in this type of a classic room is what I feel is the best.

Question 4!!!!!
This question is from my buddy Amy at Maison Decor. I have a sneaking suspicion that she just wanted me to have some questions, so I wouldn't feel like a complete dork. Butttt.... I will answer it any way.
She asks...."Are my bookcases too busy?"
"my question is, if I have a floral background in the bookcase, should I tone it down with the contents or what?"

My answer is:  Or what!!!!!
 

It's funny, until she asked me this, I hadn't given it any thought.
HOWEVER!!!!
Now that I look at it, I like the whole megillah!!!!!
I happen to love a whole jumble of stuff on a bookcase.
I think it looks very cozy and charming. I particularly like that little green tray leaning against the wall.
I even like her mirror and vases on her mantle. But if you haven't been to her house, you don't know that SHE HAS A MIRROR ON EVERY @#%& WALL!!!!!
AMY go buy some freakin' art work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Erika wrote.....

"Am SO happy to have recently found your blog. It is quickly becoming a favorite!
I am struggling with a design issue that doesn't require sending you a pic. A few years back we bought a 15 year old house that we love-sort of "French chateau" in feeling with Brazilian Cherry floors, large windows, cherry cabinets and white painted woodwork, leaded glass with my fave Fleur de lis inserts. You get the idea.

But all bath fixtures, door hardware, hinges, etc. throughout are brass. I keep hearing brass is still "out" and have changed a couple of pieces we felt we could when doing some upgrading, but am wondering what the "rules " are about everything matching? For consistency must they be the same in all (7) baths? To change them all-hinges, door handles, knobs etc is out of the question due to cost.Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated!
Best wishes to you in your blogging adventures! Thanks, a new fan!"

My answer:
 NO!!!!!! All the bathrooms don't need to match. As for whether brass is passe or not. WHO CARES????
The most important point is: Do YOU like it????? This is your home, if you like it, and it works, then how can it be wrong? I think what's more important than finish, is the style of the fixtures themselves. If they are appropriate for the house, then that's GREAT!!!!
What I do try for though, is that inside each bathroom, to try to get all the metals to work together. If the bath has chrome, then I try to have the door knob that is on the bath side be chrome also. Same goes for towel bars, etc.Hinges on the doors are up for grabs, as they show on both sides (see, I am brilliant, I know that!!) (Not that I am brilliant, but that hinges show on both sides.) (Oy Vey!!! I just looked at my doors, they don't show on both sides!!!! Who knew???) So the hinges should match on whichever side they show. Oy.

That's it for today, please don't be shy and next week ask some questions. See, I was sort of nice, not too mean, and I hope this was helpful.

The reason the font has gotten so big, is because the blogger program is giving me fits, it won't let me set the last 2 questions in the size font I want.
Has anyone else had this problem?
See.....
Now I'm asking you guys questions.

Betsy

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