Look!: Betsey Johnson's Apartment from 1997

Ten years later, we're sure Betsey Johnson has made some eclectic new decisions and bold changes in her home. But the zany feel and carefree color attitude are likely still the same. We found this house tour spread in the May/June 1997 issue of Metropolitan Home, and thought it would make a fun bit of inspiration as we get ready for the I've Got Color Contest starting next month.

Any other believers out there that less is not necessarily more??

(All photos by Maura McEvoy, published by Metropolitan Home, 1997)

Comments (11)

I could only live there if I were blind.

posted by Sara48 on September 14th 2007 at 9:00am
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My eyes are burning! My eyes are burning!

posted by robin on September 14th 2007 at 9:33am
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too much for me, but i kinda love it anyway!

posted by k in ditmas on September 14th 2007 at 9:36am
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They always say less is more...and more is too much!!!

posted by Keisha Kornbread on September 14th 2007 at 10:17am
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The colors don't bother me, it's all the PATTERNS in the same room and the business of it all. Ugh.

posted by ciddyguy on September 14th 2007 at 10:47am
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I'm very sad now. And very cold. So very, very cold. {goes into fetal position}

posted by kellylc on September 14th 2007 at 3:15pm
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It's not my style, but I think the yellow walls are a nice foil for the rest of the decor, especially in the last picture. I kinda like it, although the bathroom is just bad (rugs in bathrooms = ick).

posted by Caitlin in Seattle on September 15th 2007 at 7:03pm
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It's a place I would love to visit often but not live in.

posted by Alaskan Mermaid on September 17th 2007 at 12:40pm
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Oh, less is almost always less IMO. Only the Japanese seem to have utterly mastered the less-is-more aesthetic in spite of the mid-century obsession with Mies van der Rohe's pronouncement. More is more, for me anyway. You just have to do it with authority and glee. And a good eye for color helps. I'm lovin' these photos and finding them curiously contemporary.

posted by Dargie on September 18th 2007 at 10:08am
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Wow--there's a lot going on there. I admire her commitment to the style, but wonder who dusts and cleans it all...

posted by Molly Margarita on March 13th 2008 at 4:51am
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I remember reading this article in 1997. I had just moved in to my first "shabby chic" apartment in Houston. I even ordered a swatch of the green couch slip cover. (Caserta Mill; Rose Cumming New York). I remember the Rose Cumming staffer was very snooty on the tele. He wanted me to know that the fabric was very expensive. Like he could tell on the phone I could not afford the fabric.

Now that I am wanting to buy; yes 11 years later; the fabric is "discontued." La la la. If anyone else out there knows where I can get this green silk fabric; please email. I am ready to buy some. I LOVE BETSEY's apartment styles. The sink with the neclaces is so classy. The yellow paint is great; love it. I would wake up every morning with such energy in such a place.

posted by rarapt on October 29th 2008 at 12:42pm
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