Decorating & Design
Lynda Reeves Takes You Inside The Kips Bay Show House
Updated on July 26, 2019
Lynda Reeves shares more of her favorite rooms from the coveted event.
In the September issue of House & Home Magazine (on newsstands August 5), I wrote about the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House held in New York City this past spring. It was a fabulous house with many of the U.S. and Canada’s top designers participating.
Here are some extra shots of rooms that I didn’t have space to publish in my column.
Notice the dark-painted cabinets and the mix of the dark counter on the island with white on the prep areas. Mixing colors and materials is very effective against the blond wood floors. Those windows in the distance are just niches filled with mirrors. A good trick for a windowless room.
In this shot, you can see detailing on the island/work table. There’s a dark walnut cutting board inset in the counter and big lower shelves for tray and platter storage, plus the metal edging detail is beautifully done. The exhaust hood covered in rich wood is a focal point.
The range backsplash and the wall under the glass-fronted cabinets look like painted tiles. Here you can really see the amazing hardware in this kitchen: all custom, combining brass and leather and wood. Notice the drawer fronts on the island are clad in wood while the framing stays in a dark gray finish.
Here you can see the continuation of the wood-clad backsplash on either side of the stove and the way the wood accents are carried through on the lower shelf of the island/work table. See how the wood strips run in different directions inside the niche beside the stove.
The tall cabinets are made to look like furniture. It’s the use of brass mesh on the upper doors, the beautiful custom handles mounted like furniture handles and the interiors lined in wood that add the richness usually reserved for fine custom furniture.
This is a great shot of a suspended shelving system made of wood and burnished brass that looks elegant but still industrial.
How do you dress the perfection of a carved-wood banister that curls up four floors of spiralling stairs? You install a fabulous custom stair runner and wrap the whole thing in the palest crystal blue using shimmering wallpaper and paint, and then you drop a golden mobile down the center core of the staircase.
By varying shades of blue, including a decorative wall painting by Cristina Pepe Studios, Brian created a dramatic entry for the elevator foyer.
This is a beautiful traditional bedroom that combines classic floral and check fabrics with the drama of a wall mural in smoky blues and grays. By keeping the stone mantel bare and the accessories on the fireplace wall to a minimum, the room becomes more modern and less cluttered.
The opposite wall is memorable for the check panels of fabric draped loosely, plus the layering of a Chinese screen to create a dramatic corner for comfy wicker chairs and a tea table. Notice the layering of area rugs over seagrass and hardwood flooring.
Curved benches upholstered in a rich, deep blue and blue lacquered walls are the standout features in this dramatic dining room. The stunning mirror on the fireplace wall seems to hold cascading gold petals that float in the niches flanking the mantel.
Here you can see the edge of a custom round area rug, plus the long sideboard and the combination of art that looks so fabulous against those dramatic dark walls.
Creamy Venetian plaster walls are the backdrop for this playful, modern sitting room that is a showstopping combination of teddy bear–style sofa and chairs by Campana Brothers and tables of various materials in sculptural shapes, sitting on a graphic custom wool and nylon rug by The Rug Company.
At the other end of the main living room, a pair of modern wingback chairs, fabulous ceramic small tables and stools draw your eye and perfectly balance the black mantel on the facing wall.
This was a lovely moment showing the impact of great detailing in a small space. The blue theme is carried out in a mix of materials, which brings interest. The use of a mirror, plus the great-looking brass handles on the lower cabinets and the glass bobble hanging light add sparkle.
We had to add two more shots of Katherine’s stunning room. Just notice the mix of furniture and art that is dizzying — and yet it all hangs together and creates a unified feeling of artistic expression. The work of art by Friedel Dzubas called Apparition is fabulous in this space. Much of the furniture is vintage and from the designer’s own collection.
Notice the hanging pendant lights suspended from a recessed ceiling that is womb-like. The fixtures themselves are pods of light.
This lovely room is a calming study on how to use strong color strategically. The pops of sapphire blue on the settee, hits of canary yellow on the Berger side chairs and chintz accent pillows are a lively addition to an otherwise creamy white room.
This simple vignette illustrates how effective a panel of wallpaper or a hand-painted mural can be, inset into a panelled, painted wall. This wallpaper is called Japanese Garden by de Gournay.
This is a fabulous, serene room using only light neutral colors, natural materials and a few hits of black on the mantel, antique desk and picture frames. Those few dark strokes seem to ground the eye while the mix of materials in soft white, cream and taupe add just enough interest to stop the room from feeling bland.
The “ribbed walls” are such an effective treatment on which to hang a wall of art, gallery-style. When I visited, I was drawn to the legs of the desk chair, wrapped in ribbon, echoing the ties of a ballerina’s pointe shoe.
Finally, this shot of the vanity wall in a Deco-inspired bathroom features vintage-looking Kohler fixtures, marble mosaic inlaid floors, antiqued brass fittings and generous marble baseboards. The effect is glamorous and very modern.