By Donna Cornelius
Journal Features Writer
In the ShowHouse guidebook, the space decorated by Andrea Carmichael and Providence Paulin is blandly described as “Bedroom #1.” Much more descriptive is Andrea’s name for the bedroom: “Dorothy Draper Meets 21st Century.”
If the only Drapers you’re familiar with are Don and Betty from the TV show “Mad Men,” you’re on the wrong track. When it comes to clothes, the fictional Drapers are always beautifully turned out. When it comes to the décor of their early 1960s home – yikes.
Dorothy Draper was a horse of a different color – lots of color. In 1923, she established the first interior design company in the U.S. The originator of the Modern Baroque style, she used vivid colors in combinations that, up until then, hadn’t been seen in polite company. She was dramatic, daring and innovative.
And she was the perfect muse for the Andrea Carmichael, Inc., team.
“We admired her timeless style and felt it was reflective of us,” said Andrea, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers. “She had such a strong use of color aligned with a bit of bright whimsy.”
This year’s ShowHouse, said Andrea, “suits itself well to her style. It has a more modern flair but needed some added architectural interest.”
To create that interest in the main-level bedroom, Andrea and Providence hung panels on either side of the bed. Dressed up with applied wood moldings and a shell motif, the panels are a nod to Draper, who loved elaborate plaster designs and moldings.
Fabrics, too, reflect Draper’s passion for color, starting with the sunny yellow and white material of the bed ‘s upholstered headboard. On an armless chair near the windows, Neo-baroque fabric is patterned with light blue flowers on a brown background.
Instead of painting the walls a neutral shade, Andrea chose to light them up with bright yellow. More liveliness comes from blue vintage Murano glass lamps on the night tables.
Draper had a penchant for mixing styles, and so does Andrea, who incorporated a contemporary desk and a Neoclassical Italian chest into her design plan.
“The desktop is recycled glass and cement, and it was made here in Alabama,” she said. “Hundreds of pounds of glass were used to make it.”
Fanciful touches include white floor lamps with “petals” sprouting from the posts plus a place for a family’s most pampered member.
“We have a wonderful pet bed,” said Andrea. “We love pets, and we make custom beds for them. This one has a mansard top, blue striped drapery and a valance.”
Andrea is a licensed contractor as well as a decorator, said her carpenters “revised” a large white cabinet in the room.
“It had good bones, but we added panels and a new base, made it taller and reworked the doors,” she said. “We also made the wooden bed surround, a nice departure from the average dust ruffle.”
In the adjoining bathroom, Andrea hung handmade paper flowers and photos on the wall. The star of the display is a period photograph of her own beautiful aunt .
Like Dorothy Draper, Andrea doesn’t hesitate when it comes to making a bold design statement.
“Remember,” she said, “that the drab age is over.”