Episode 4 – The Queen’s Speakeasy
(Air date: 4/13/22)
It’s no surprise that the Grand Ballroom won’t be completed in time for Jackie’s planned New Year’s Eve bash, so attention is turned to other pursuits, including the British pub. Jackie and Kim agree that the 100-year-old phone booth that Jackie and David bought at a UK auction more than 20 years ago will make the perfect secret passage between the Morning Kitchen and the pub. The phone booth required an extensive rehab, was painted in the exact red of the original booths in England, and fully equipped with a “new” antique phone that still works!
Finally made it to Highpoint!
Jackie and the kids head to Missouri to meet with a brew master who is creating a special beer just for Versailles. While they’re away, Kim and the installers position the phone booth to serve as a gateway between the very American kitchen and the very British tavern. Says Kim, “We have never put a phone booth in a residence, brought in from England. We have never put in a secret entrance – this is all new. This is what makes Versailles special.” To further set the tone, Kim finds a red paint that is an exact match for the phone booths in merry old England.
Plans begin for the formal living room, which will include a gorgeous antique fireplace, elegant white walls detailed with gold leaf, and a huge 16x9-foot LED TV, which is so big the doors have to be moved to allow it in! Kim tells Jackie, “We’ve been cracking the whip; everyone is working really hard, miracles are happening to get y’all in this house [by NYE].”
The design work in the living room will be exacting. “We have a team of artists applying the gold and silver gilding to all the trim work in the room,” says Kim. “It all has to be hand applied, so it is a really intricate, very expensive process to get this installed. This room will definitely be one-of-a-kind. It should really pop and be amazing and I cannot wait to see it completed.”
Kim meets Jackie and the kids in Highpoint, NC at the largest furniture and accessory market in the world. There they meet up with Dipesh, an incredibly talented carpet designer with Nourison, who will create the perfect custom rug for the stylish dining room.
Meeting up with Dipesh at the Nourison showroom in Highpoint