ABCD Design Sketch Book | milestones in life set the tone

A Pair of Petite French Chairs with matching Ottoman {fabric redo}

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:16:35 +0000

I’ve had these two chairs and matching ottoman following me around dressed in white muslin for as long as I can remember. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember not having these chairs! I purchased them when I was a single girl living on West 12th Street from an antique dealer in Northern Michigan on one of my Summertime visits to Harbor Springs.When we lived on Greene Street, I had them in our kitchen for a while. As a matter of fact, I had fallen in love with a bourbon color mohair while working on an interior design project on Long Island. When the client didn’t want it on her ottoman, I had thought about trying to incorporate that fabric somewhere in my world. Even though the fabric as impossibly thick for the chairs – I couldn’t help but want to see something dressed in it! Well, it wasn’t meant to be. The chairs went into storage, and another single red chair took their place.
Since the trio moved to Northwest Connecticut, the two chairs lived out in the mudroom for a moment, and at another point all three pieces were in the fireplace room, but primarily they’ve resided in the library. Truth be told, when I sent them out to be worked on, I really had no idea where they were going to go in the long-run. Heck, I am still not sure where they will ultimately land!Hence, the ultra-neutral upholstery choice. To be honest, I felt I was under the gun to finish the house for the photo shoot that never was and pushed them out the door to be upholstered because I didn’t want them not to be done in time. Besides, after ten (plus!) years of dreaming about them in a finished state – a decision had to be made. Fact is, having thought about it long and hard since I sent them away to be reupholstered, I still would have covered them in a neutral fabric. Photo shoot, or not. The curves of the chairs are balanced out and -dare I say?- enhanced by the handsome, clean weave of the fabric and the dark wood finish. In the fabric we have a bit of texture which is good with the wood, but there is nothing here to distract the eye from some really nice looking lines.The fact remains that the neutral base can be livened up with a switch of a colorful scatter pillow and these chameleon chairs of mine will look good in any room I put them in from now…until…well into the future.

Everything is better in Candlelight {Hurricane & Lantern Event}

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:26:14 +0000

Do you remember last Spring when I was dream decorating our screened in porch with Mercury Glass Lanterns just in time for our Memorial Day Weekend house guests? Or when I suggested you have a candle lit ceremony with glass hurricanes lining either side of the aisle?Well, sometime around the 4th of July I found the mercury glass hurricanes I’d been coveting on super-duper sale and I snatched up a few. Since then, I’ve used the Paros Mercury Glass Lanterns for Halloween decor, on a glittery Tablescape for the Mom Trends Holiday event, and now they are being used on our kitchen counter. Not only are they holding candles, but I also have some tulips on display in a few too!Needless to say they are not exactly on closeout right now – but they are at a discounted price – and you could be decorating with them by Memorial Day! You’ll find them at the Hurricane and Lantern Event.

Treasure Hunting at Brimfield, MA: The World’s Largest Flea Market

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:51:42 +0000

I had absolutely no idea what I should expect when I pulled into town on Thursday evening. It was dusk – and everyone was wrapping up for the night. There was a row of trucks ahead of me, and we inched our way through town at a snails pace. It turns out those trucks were arriving for the J&J field set up which would be opening in the morning.As you know from my previous posts about Brimfield, for the last few Spring and Fall markets Cynthia Bogart and Gretchen Aubuchon plan a massive tweet-up complete with a tent, a wireless connection and phone/computer charging stations. This year the tent was designed by Shane Inman and the refreshment bar was manned by Warren Bobrow the ‘Cocktail Whisperer.’ (Nothing quite like a espresso flavored vodka laden “corrected coffee” to adjust your mood for early morning treasure hunting!)This year’s tent was sponsored by Benjamin Moore, Company C, Kathryn Markel Gallery, Style At Home and Robert Allen Design. Full disclosure: A few weeks ago Robert Allen Fabrics asked me if they could sponsor my room on the second night I planned to be in Brimfield.Sponsoring the event wasn’t about selling a product to us – it was about getting to know their consumer on a personal level. We hung out as a group during the day and had a lovely dinner on Friday night. It was wonderful to get to know the team a bit better in a relaxed, fun venue like Brimfield!As it turns out, Robert Allen is launching a new line called Naturals – neutral florals, patterns and stripes with a seemingly relaxed, weekend house vibe – and decided Brimfield would be a great time to give a handful of interior designers and home decor enthusiasts a look-see. (Psssst! Meredith Heron posted a sneak peek of the line on her blog!)

{What’s on?} Brimfield and #Brimfield Tweet-Up

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:55:18 +0000

Hello! I am starting this weekend off right at the Brimfield flea market and #Brimfield tweet-up. I have written about Brimfield on many occasions – Brimfield: Gotta Get There, Brimfield is ON, and What’s on? Brimfield should give you a taste of what is ahead of me. No time to waste – treasure hunting is calling my name! Happy weekend everyone!

ABCD, 2012 is YOUR year! {or maybe not}

Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:25:46 +0000

I recently had a lovely lunch in New York City with my friend Nichole from Little Brown Pen. Besides writing her blog, she is also a best selling author of the book Paris in Color. If you have not checked out the Paris Print Shop that she runs with her husband, you must! During lunch, we talked a lot about social media, blogging, being true to yourself and about how many bloggers have totally sold themselves out to affiliate links and sponsored posts.I want to take a moment to remind you that I do not take advertising or sponsored posts on my blog and don’t write about anything that I wouldn’t want or don’t already have in my own home. Granted, I do on occasion throw giveaways – usually during the time of my blog-i-versary celebration – and it is always a product I have written about in the past year.During lunch, the conversation turned to what’s happening with the project that is nearest and dearest to my heart. Nichole said “You’re such a tease with your home decor – the detail shots are a bit unsatisfying.” Let me assure you that there is a method behind my madness. At first it was for privacy reasons. We’re not at The Country House full time and I was anxious about giving those on the internet a roadmap to where the art was hanging and the silver was stored. It was also about the project not being totally finished. And lastly, I started really liking the direction it was going and thought: this could be an opportunity to get published in a magazine!The Country House made it all the way through the ranks. Everyone at the magazine loved our home. It was approved! They made me promise I wouldn’t share photos and wouldn’t shop it around to other magazines. What an honor! How completely and utterly exciting, right?
Our house being published in a magazine that is sold not only across the country but throughout the entire world was a pretty amazing thing. It would be great for my interior design business and for the ABCD Design Sketchbook. The readership of this magazine is (what I think) a perfect fit. We were set to shoot in May for the August issue. I have been absolutely killing myself and our pocketbook to finish off the projects that I thought would make the house shine. Last week I learned that they had cut the number of pages in the magazine and now they were only going to shoot one of our out buildings. To make matters worse, they assured me that they’d bring along “a great stylist and lot’s of props.” Ugh. Not to be a complete design diva (I loathe that word but cat think of a better one) but the little red house in the backyard is decorated with the furnishings from my single girl apartment on West 12th Street. It is a prime example of how I decorated in 1999 – I have put zero effort into it. I must admit it’s a completely adorable room, but only one little piece of the puzzle that makes our home a special place worth publishing.I don’t care if they bring in another stylist, but I started questioning how much they planned to change and how the story would reflect my style and capture the spirit of our home if “a lot of props” were involved. Fact is, it’s a 13×13 room, and our home is chalk full of collections and “props” that it could be styled with.So there you have it. I did a lot of soul searching and ended up saying thanks, but no thanks. If the house is meant to be in print, I feel it is important that the outbuilding (once finished) will be featured as a portion of the entire project. It is no doubt disappointing to be starting over at square one.I guess the moral of the story is “Never count your chickens before they hatch.” Speaking of hatching: I finally got up the nerve to check on our babies in the nest and they’re growing up quick as ever!