Somethings Gotta Give

Amanda Peet and the ubiquitous Zabar's bag heading to the Hamptons.

It's with more than a touch irony that my last published post written (gasp!) two months ago was titled Hide and Seek. While not intentional, the title certainly foreshadowed my hiatus from blogsphere, my blogging friends and writing in general. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long but hope today's post, Somethings Gotta Give, answers the all important question--"Where have you been girl?"

I wish I had a big, sexy story to tell; it would be great to be able to tell you that I spent the last two months in St. Petersberg designing a spectacular dacha for an oligarch but it was really just life getting a little too crazy all at once--a flurry of work with two fabulous clients with Christmas deadlines and kids home for the holidays left me with little time, drive or imagination for writing. So I decided to give myself a free pass, the first in four years of writing Hampton Hostess, promising myself that I would return in the new year re- energized and ready to go. And so I'm officially back, linking my first post of 2014 with one of my first posts ever, (I Got Something From Somethings Gotta Give) a piece about Jack and Diane and the fabulous dhurrie rug I scored from the movie set of Somethings Gotta Give... It's great to be back!

Who wouldn't want a chair formerly occupied by two Oscar winning actors?

A big thanks to Cote de Texas for featuring photos of my bedroom in her post on the chic beachy striped rug yesterday.  There is a fun story behind the rug that involves a fantastic charity event, the DDD (decorators, dealers and designers) that benefits the Southampton Fresh Air Home, a local charity.  Held in June, the event features rooms of furniture and antiques donated by some of the most fabulous homes in the Hamptons.  Designers and clients buy the expensive tickets for the event and line up at 5:00, waiting for the doors to oven at 5:30. When the doors open, a stampede of blue blazers and sundresses make their way at a heart racing pace through the rooms, buying nearly everything in their tracks. 

Architectural Digest

In 2008, one of the rooms was entirely furnished with stunning furniture and decorative objects from the set of Something's Gotta Give, and as you might imagine, that room was a first destination for the design savvy crowd. By the time I got there, the English Country sofas, upholstered in delicate eggshell blue linen and the large mahagony coffee table were long gone.  Lucky for me, no one seemed to look down and see the beachy blue striped cotton rug-bingo!  I was also very fortunate to find a beautiful set of 12 delicate framed cameos in beautiful gold frames--a designer had decided not to buy them at the last moment and I was there to snatch them up. Tucked in a corner sat an unclaimed  pretty Oly Studio Hannah chair and ottoman upholstered in raffia and cotton duck, also from the movie set.

There have been years when I've bought at auctions, caught in the heady buying frenzy, only to have a severe case of buyers remorse when I got the items home.  But that did not happen with my fabulous finds from Something's Gotta Give--they were just perfect.

Bold stripes dominate the cotton dhurrie rug and compliment the beachy blue and beige color scheme.  

  

 The set of 12 cameo prints were broken into sets of 8 and 4, covering 2 walls in the sitting room. The tiny cameos make a big impression when grouped and hung in a grid pattern. The two black lacquered side tables are from Old Town Crossing in Southampton and the white duck love seat is from English Country Antiques.

 Small and delicate, the cameos come to life in smart gold frames and beveled white matting.

Here's another favorite photo which shows how a grouping of small inexpensive photos can look spectacular when massed together on one wall.

 

Larger than life cameos hung closely together, make a big impression in this living room.