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Text by Mary Forsell •
Styling by Kathy Curotto
Betsy Duggan was flipping through an architectural magazine in the early
1990s when she saw the perfect house to hold her growing family. The only catch?
The graceful stone Georgian Colonial was located in Washington, D.C. Betsy and
husband Marty, playfully known as Big Daddy, needed to be close to Chicago,
where Marty works on the Board of Trade. “So we decided to build our own
version.” Although the house is traditional, the movie-loving Duggans (who
can quote lines from old Sandra Dee, Doris Day, and Audrey Hepburn films at the
drop of a pillow sham) is anything but. Together with designer Suzy Stout, Betsy
created an environment where a family with four children, now ranging in age
from 12 to 20, could feel at home. “Betsy takes the traditional but enlivens
it with her own personality,” Suzy says. “I love the blue, pink, and lime-green
palette—you don’t usually see that in suburbia.”
WICKERAMA
(1) A wicker settee in the sunroom came from the Duggans’ original
“honeymoon house” some 20 years ago. Since then, it’s been repainted several
times in cheerful colors. Betsy made the ruffled pillow using yo-yo quilt
leftovers.
THE OLD COTTAGE TRY
(2) The stone house has a traditional look
that fools people into thinking it’s old. In fact, it dates from circa
1994. (3) Knowing his wife’s weakness for cottages, Marty bid on
a builder’s
playhouse at a charity auction. Betsy customized the plan
so that adults could
walk in without stooping. It has real
stained-glass windows.
SO HOW WAS SCHOOL?
(4) Twelve-year-old Amy (in pink) and Molly, 14, gossip with
Mom in the kitchen. (5) and (6) Vintage handpainted Austrian dishes and colorful candy make
charming accessories. (7) Jadeite inspires. (8) Fenton “Hobnail” and “Coin Dot”
glassware perk up plain white cabinets.
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