Haute Happy Style

Last night I was looking through my secretary in search of note-cards, when I came across a dusty black binder. I opened it to find a copy of my design portfolio, and a cover letter written to "Mrs. Amelia Handegan" / King Street / Charleston, South Carolina. The date: 2002. I remember it like it was yesterday....at the time I was living with 40 other girls in the Kappa Delta house at the University of Alabama. I would spend hours reading magazines, admiring the beautiful interiors as I was staring down the barrel of a soon-to-be-unemployed graduate. The university offered a "placement" service where for a fee they could help you find a job. Nope! Not me - I knew that working at 3-Sheets (a bedding store) in Birmingham would not be enough, I had to find something more challenging. Amelia's firm was not hiring at the time, but to this day I still admire her work and have saved many of her projects in my IMAGES binders.
Not ready to give up, I cold-turkey called Solis Betancourt in Washington and thank the Lord they gave me a chance! I will forever be indebted to those two for everything they taught me and the broad experience I gained over the years. Some may disagree, but I feel like my education was only a glimpse when compared to what I actually absorbed in the working world.
So, in honor of my attempt to be Mrs. Handegan's little protege, I have posted several of her beautiful interiors.
Many of the homes she is commissioned to design date back to the 1700's in old Charleston, and I would venture to say that she gives the term "well-appointed" a whole new meaning. Her interiors really pay homage to "Old America", yet are fused with a fresh new twist. I love it.

For more beautiful photos and an extensive view of Amelia's portfolio, click here.