ENTER THE 45th KIPS BAY DECORATOR SHOW HO– USE
An Upper East Side red brick neo-Georgian property, originally built in 1905 by acclaimed artist, designer and architect Charles A. Platt, has been spectacularly transformed by some of the world’s leading interior designers – including Neal Beckstedt, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, dineen architecture + design, Billy Cotton, Robert Stilin, Powell & Bonnell, Scarpidis Design, Jonathan Savage, Litchten Craig Architecture + Interiors, Janice Parker Landscape Architects, and Timothy Brown – into this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Inspired by the impressive bones of this four-story townhouse, each designer imprinted their individual vision of modern living into its interior spaces to create a dazzling exhibition that runs now through June 1.
Susan Ferrier envisioned a bedroom for a couple who thrives on high adventure and romance, adorned by framed archeological prints, and enveloped in a forest of green silk and wool drapery panels, seemingly moonlit in the soft glow of reflective brass and gold surfaces. The kitchen by Bakes & Kropp features their “Revelane” transitional style collection in sleek, functional lines made more luxurious by “farmhouse” textured finishes. The space is wonderfully complemented by Kate Singer’s family room with a welcoming sofa, cocktail table, and antique cricket chairs. Offering a respite from the city’s unrelenting energy, the Kirsten Kelli drawing room captures the serenity and sparking glamour of a beach in the Hamptons beautiful punctuated with bursts of color. The designs of Jean Michel Frank and the Paris apartment of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé inspired Nick Olsen to outfit his space with a handsome Biedermeier desk, and art deco mirror, pedestals, and an Andre Sornay lounge chair.
Richard Mishaan sought to recreate a parlour from Florentine and Venetian palazzos replete with precious hand loomed silk brocades from Bevilacqua, hand printed Fortuny fabrics and the assorted oggetti artistici accumulated over time with impeccably curated cohesion. Ken Fulk spins a delightful yarn about an eccentric grand dame, whose chic little get-togethers with music and Chinese take-out served on fine Hermès dinnerware has apparently prompted a gaggle of animals to flee the zoo and seek infinitely finer accommodations here. They now feel at home at her exquisite salon. And with a ravishing custom mural in collaboration with de Gournay, antique furnishings, a sumptuous brass étagère, a piano and drinks aplenty, who can blame them?
The Kips Bay Decorator Show House was launched in 1973 to raise funds for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and its many essential programs for disadvantaged New York. Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse
IMAGES: Courtesy of Bakes & Kropp by Alan Barry Photography/Kirsten Kelli, LLC by Alan Barry Photography/Nick Olsen Inc by Reid Rolls/Richard Mishaan Design, LLC by Alan Barry Photography/ Susan Ferrier by Peter Margonelli
