Barry's Big Before & After

I have a not-so-secret addiction to decorating shows. I'm shameless, really. My poor fiance. I devote about 40% of my DVR space to all things decorating and his shows are at the very bottom of our "series manager."

Really, I love to see what designers can do with a space. I am always amazed with their vision: "I never would have thought of that!" "That color looks great, I never would have known to pick that!" and "Where did they get that?"

And so, it is with great excitement that I present Barry's vision - his big BEFORE and big AFTER at Ventfort Hall.  His selections and arrangements, his room challenges and advantages - all part of our story and what makes us unique! Read: Barry researches, selects and designs every product in our collection - just him!

You'll see it all - the heavy boxes! the heavy secretary! the stairs! the small doorways! the scary, we're-not-sure-if-the-sofa-will-fit-through-the-door-and-we-may-have-to-hacksaw-off-the-legs moment!

All of this was captured by our friend and talented photographer, Sarah Edwards - click here to visit her site (she's amazing)

Before! Facing the fireplace 

 Before! Some challenges - the size (when we scouted, it had a full-size antique canoe in the middle of the room), the color of the walls (freshly painted, we did not want to re-paint!), and the flow of traffic, because after all, this is a show house open for tours.

Some advantages - the windows (are they coolest, or what?), the condition of the floors, the amazing restored fireplace, and the shape (we were able to create four distinct areas, or, "rooms" within this one space.)

Before! Opposite the fireplace

And here we go -

We had to wait for another designer to move their enormous truck out of the way.  And you know how patient we are...

Patiently waiting. Not really.

Dennis from Berkshire Stone was nice enough to help us

Here is our "sister company" Berkshire Stone. They were nice enough to let us use their truck ... and labor.  (You'll see.)

Barry and Dennis start unloading the truck

And here we go!

Unpacking is not really the hard part. Packing this truck up was tough!

 The truck was packed beautifully! It was like a puzzle. (a very expensive puzzle)

Good thing nobody was headed down the stairs. I wouldn't be able to see them.

That's me. 

Recognize those bags? If you do, you know they are  indestructible, and excellent for moving. 

Incredible stairway!

Regarding that incredible stairway - it was also one of our biggest obstacles. Our new Baroque Painted Secretary is HEAVY. Getting it up the flight of stairs took all of us. 

Stairs approach.

Note, Barry is doing the heavy lifting. (He does it all, folks!) My head is on the opposite side. Looks like I'm hiding behind it, or like I'm about to sneak up on Dennis. 

Steady...steady....

(By the way - this secretary is shipped to our customers via "white glove" delivery service. It is brought into your home, placed where you want it, set up, and all of the packaging materials are taken away.  This is done at no extra charge. Totally worth it!)

Getting ready to lift into place

 The top was not such a big deal. I say that, and yet I did not carry it. 

Nearly complete

Almost there...

Love the inside. Very striking!

And, voila!

Our second-greatest obstacle was the main doorway into the room. After receiving help from the building manager, we removed the door from the hinges and in a series of twists, turns, and rotations, moved the Marrakech Sofa safely through the doorway.  

Barry never lost faith. Me? A little bit.

 If this didn't work..Plan B was to hacksaw off the legs. Glad it didn't come to that.

Time to relax

phew!

See? It always works out. Like nothing ever happened...

Now, down to the accessories...

(This was taken from Day 2) Barry is fitting our new Blanc de Chine Tulipiere with faux flowers atop our new Concave Chest of Drawers. He put his Pavillion Print from his private collection on display. Above, the reproductions that were inspired by his original.

I'm unpacking our Deco Pewter Owl Pitcher. He is placed atop our new Eugenie Side Cabinet, Coral Beaded Cocktail Napkins, next to our Imari Porcelain Lamp. I'm using our Moroccan Garden Table as a stand.

(Taken from Day 2) We are unwrapping our newest designer matchboxes for their close up.  Barry is taking a load off on our new Directoire Side Chair at our New Boston Games Table.

The room, as shown here, is nearly complete. We have some roman shades and a new "Horn Table" that still need to be photographed. (This will happen very soon!)

If you remember, here is the artist rendering from Barry's description: 

And here is the actual room!

Remember the big before?

Here is the big after!

An interior design dream come true: take one empty room and one amazing designer, and you come out with a space that evokes luxury, tradition, comfort, and high style. Well done Barry!

The Berkshire Designer Showcase is open to the public Monday-Thursday 10-5; Friday 10-7; and weekends 10-3. For more information, visit Ventfort Hall's website: http://www.gildedage.org/

Hope you stop by!