Twenty-one interior designers and architects have come together to participate in this year’s 44th-Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House, hosted by New York’s local youth organization, the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. Each designer spent eight weeks transforming a distinct space in the Carlton House Townhouse at 19 E. 61st St. in New York City’s iconic Lenox Hill neighborhood.
KBB spoke with the kitchen and bath designers to find out more about how they outfitted the interiors of the 10,000-sq.-ft. home.
View a gallery of the kitchen, baths and other spaces here.
Kitchen
Designer: Clive Christian, New York based- Clive Christian Interiors
“Clive Christian took his inspiration for the 2016 Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse from the 1930s and the elegance of the Art Deco period,” said designer Victoria Christian. “This was the era of elegant travel, and the Orient Express was at its height of popularity. Clive brought the feeling of those original Pullman carriages into his space using architectural paneling to create a separation between the kitchen and the breakfast room and by incorporating back-lit, reeded glass and sliding panels.”
Appliances: Miele
Ceiling Lighting, Decorative Panel and Glass Panels: Lalique
Countertops: Dekton Halo, Cosentino
Fixtures: Kohler
Interior Lighting: Häfele
Paint: Farrow & Ball
Tile: AKDO
Master Bath
Designer: New York-based Groves & Co.
Inspired by the classic pre-war black-and-white bathrooms, this design is thoroughly formal and symmetrical in layout but completely modern in detail. Vibrant colors and accessories create an atmosphere of indulgence and soften the dramatic high-contrast scheme.
Chandelier: Venfield
Petrified Wood Vanity Tray: Restoration Hardware
Plumbing: Kohler
Stone and Tile: Ann Sacks
Vanity Sconces: Groves & Co.
Powder Room
Designer: Gil Walsh, West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Gil Walsh Interiors
“My inspiration came from Tony Duran’s iconic portrait of Jennifer Lopez, who credits the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club performing arts programs with shaping her career,” said Walsh. “The soft cosmetic tones and accents of sparkle inspired the scheme.”
Flooring: Cosentino
Plumbing Fixtures and Cabinetry: Kohler
Vanity Hardware: Ten Fathoms
Vanity Top: Andrew Pearson Indus.
Wallpaper: Baker
Guest Bath
Designer: Harry Heissman, New York-based Harry Heissman Inc.
“The inspiration for my room was the ‘Queen of Mälaren’ mosaic panel from Modernity Gallery in Stockholm,” said Heissman. “It was the maquette for the Stockholm City Hall by Einar Forseth in 1923. I loved the expressiveness of the panel, thought it was absolutely striking and liked the timelessness of the work. I then came up with the idea of having it digitally reproduced and embellished with real gold leaf by hand.”
Decorative Hardware: Kohler
Floor Mosaic: Ann Sacks
Murano Glass Ceiling Fixture: L’Antiquaire
Paint: Farrow & ball
Vanity: Kohler
View more images and insights from the showhouse here.
An estimated 15,000 people are expected to tour the show house, which serves as the non-profit organization’s premier annual fundraiser. The house will be open to the public seven days a week, May 12 through June 9.
The 21 designers and architects participating in this year’s Decorator Show House include:
Alex Papachristidis Interiors
Benjamin Vandiver Interiors + Lifestyle
Clive Christian Interiors
Daniel Richards Design
David Collins Studio
David Kleinberg Design Assoc.
Drake/Anderson
Eve Robinson Associates
Garrow Kedigian Interior Design
Gil Walsh Interiors
Groves & Co.
Harry Heissmann Inc.
Hollander Design|Landscape Architects
Kati Curtis Design
Les Ensembliers
Olasky & Sinsteden
Phillip Thomas Inc.
Sawyer | Berson
Suzanne Kasler Interiors
Timothy Whealon Interiors
Victoria Hagan Interiors
To provide this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House location, the organization has partnered with real estate developer Extell Development. Additional Show House sponsors include Kohler, Miele, Henredon Hickory Chair, Architectural Digest, Hearst Design Group, Morgan Stanley Private Bank, N.A., Farrow & Ball, Kravet, New York Design Center, Ruby Lux, Christopher Guy, Cosentino, AKDO, 1stdibs and Joseph Carini Carpets.
