Wednesday, October 3, 2012

OY VEY Q&A!! on Wednesday!!!!!

Yesterday was a loooooonnnnnggggg day.
So I didn't get to work on my blog.
But it was Tuesday!!!!!
THE FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH!!!!!
Which means it was supposed to be OY VEY Q&A Tuesday.
But it wasn't.....
Because I was MIA, AWOL,
NOT AT MY COMPUTER!!!!
Let's just say that I was doing family stuff.
You know.....
Stuff for my family.....
They come first......
OY, OY OY!!!!
WHEN DID I BECOME SO 
GROWNUP?????

Anway, I'm here now.
So this month I have decided to once again tweak the parameters of
my question and answer blog.

NEW RULES!!!!!
I am only going to answer questions that I feel would interest lots of my dedicated and loyal readers.
(translation: only questions I find interesting)
I know, I know.....
I am a meany!!!!!
Don't be offended if I don't answer a question you've submitted.
It doesn't mean it's a silly or stupid question.....
It just means that I've been around a looooonnnnnggggg time,
and I find
EVERYTHING
boring.....

SOOOOOO.....
with that said, let's get on to today's post, and you can ask your questions at the bottom of the post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FIRST OFF!!!!
I want to thank whoever it was who just signed up to be my newest follower.
IT'S BEEN VERY SCARY ON MY BLOG LATELY!!!!!
I had 666 followers!!!!!
Now, I know, I know....
I'm Jewish.....
But that doesn't mean I don't go to the movies, watch TV and read books.
After all.....
One of the new shows on television this fall is 999 Park Ave.
So, thank you to whoever changed my number of followers to 667!!!
Now....
back to decorating....
 A lot of you had shown an interest in the room I designed for the Sanderson ad.
So.....
Today I am going to start showing that space and telling the story behind it.
This was the ad I did.
The picture was a shot of a Boston Junior League Decorator Showhouse.

Here's a bigger shot of the room.....
Design Times Magazine/Eric Roth Photography

Here's a shot in the other direction....
Design Times Magazine/Eric Roth Photography

IT WAS A VERY BIG ROOM!!!!!
What was called a double parlor.
It was used as the ball room in this house in Boston's Back Bay.

So this is the story.....
I had won a design award from Traditional Home, and at the awards luncheon, I was seated next to the North American president for Sanderson Fabrics.
If memory serves me correctly, I gave the poor man a hard time about their cuttings for approval policy.
I can't remember, but I think that's what I was yammering on about.
For those of you not in the trade, 
a cutting for approval is a small cut of fabric from the piece the designer orders that is sent to the designer to approve before the whole order is shipped.
This is supposed to check for any errors, or die lot changes that are not acceptable to the overall design.
I am a stickler for cuttings for approval.
I DON'T TRUST ANYBODY NOT TO SCREW UP!!!!!
Soooooo......
A little while later,
(a month, a year.....I can't remember.....This was a loooonnnggg time ago)
I ran into Bill (the Sanderson Pres.) at a House Beautiful Party in Manhattan.
He reminded me what a "charming" lunch companion I had been, and much alcohol and hilarity ensued.
So, having partaken of some "Dutch Courage", I pitched an idea at this sweet man's poor head.
I said....
"Hey, Bill!!!!! How about I design an ad for your company, and all I want in return is a credit under the picture?????"
And rather than shoot me down,
(which is what I was expecting)
he said,
 "Let me think about it."!!!!!!!!!!!
And then he agreed to it!!!!!
It was a little more complicated than that, but that's the simplified version.
I had to get selected to do a showhouse room,
 and Sanderson and Hickory Chair would supply the fabric and furniture.

SOOOOOO.....
when I went to view the Boston showhouse, and I saw the size of that ballroom......
I called Bill, to see if that would be too large a space to do......
He told me to go for it!!!!!
You gots to love a man who tells you to go for it!!!!!!
So, I wrote my proposal and kept my fingers crossed, because the Junior League Showhouse in Boston was a very competitive showhouse.
You had to submit your design, and then the committee would choose the designer they wanted to do each room.
(My dad just helped me edit that sentence, I was going off in a no man's land of who and whom.....)
Needless to say....
I was chosen to do the ball room.

So this is where I will leave off this story.
I will continue my saga in my next post.
oh boy!!!!!
A CLIFF HANGER!!!!!
Now onto the questions.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a question and answer party!!!!!
Only questions, please you guys. 
If it isn't a question, I'm taking the @#$ link down.

This is how it works.....
On the first Tuesday of the month
You ask some design questions,
and I answer them for FREE!!!!
Just remember-----
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
(Just sayin')


So ask your question at the end of this blog post.
 link up to the "party" by linking a particular post's url, add your question to the end of your post with a link back to my blog. My button is on my sidebar. 
It looks just like a button!!
For those of you who don't have a blog, you can email pictures with questions.
email me at:  betsyspeert@gmail.com.
If you just have a question, with no pictures, leave it in the comment area, below.

IN ORDER TO GET AN ANSWER,
YOU GUYS BETTER BE A FOLLOWER!!!!!
It's easy, just click on the blue box at the right; over the pictures of my members.
I would also love it if you became a subscriber.

I will then post your pictures with my suggestions and answers on the following Tuesday.

So link up below!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Latah, Gatah
Photobucket



10 comments:

Virginia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cindy said...

I LOVE what you did to that room, it's freakin gorgeous!, and the the fabrics are insane they're so pretty... i don't even like red and i love this room!

Cindy

The Quintessential Magpie said...

I don't have a question, but I do have a comment. That room is just fabulous, and I bet it blew the rest of the rooms ar the JL Showhouse out of the water.

I think I like the president of Sanderson. Sounds like a great guy, and he deserved a room like that. So did Hickory Chair. Great job!

XO,

Sheila

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Please excuse my typos. It seems I have become rusty in my typing skills since I've been on blog break. Mrs. Miller would not be happy. Mrs. Miller was our high school typing teacher, and she made us type in time to music! ;-)

RKay said...

I think I was the one who pushed your number up to a more desirable one :) I found your blog and spent the entire day here content, enjoying your beautiful homes, design tips and witty sense of humor. Does this get me brownie points for getting my question answered? I did come up with one naturally during my day here, so here goes: I just love design, so I appreciate many design styles. The problem is, I'm saying I love it to everything! How does one pinpont their own style and stay true to it without getting sidetracked? I guess this is a general question without a picture, but I could include something if you would like. Thanks! ps, love the Sanderson room, gorgeous!

Debi Jaynes said...


Tried to to the above link--wow too early in the AM for that. Love your tropial bedroom ideas in Trad Home and as I live in the Tropics, would love to do the bead-board on the headboard wall in our bedroom. What is the best height? I was thinking to go just past the top finials of the headboard which still leaves a good bit of wall. Finials are a bit over 5 ft--it's one of those really nice iron beds in a verdi finish. Rest is green walls, mahogany floors and an antique persian rug. Thanks!

Amy Chalmers said...

Cindy is right!~that ballroom turned double parlour is INSANE! Its gorgeous~what happened after the showhouse? Did you get to keep it all or what? I wanna know...

Anonymous said...

Great job for Back Bay or Beacon Street (as I remember it from my Bonwit Teller/Audrey Hepburn days. But too much for me, even were I able to afford it....
I wonder if the owners kept your fab decor, or did they change back to what they had BB (before Betsy)?
I despise vacuuming and those draperies....whew, dusty....
And are those real flowers or fake?
I'm computer illiterate, so can't follow, but i do subscribe by e-mail.
Cheers. MJ

Anonymous said...

Oh Betsy, that room is divine! Now all take note, that is decorating! I want to know all the details. How did you decide on red? How did you decide on the furniture placement? Share a few tricks of the trade!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful, elegant room.
So traditional and lovely...

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