Inspiration needs a place to shine, and the annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House is by far one of the best places to find it. Established in 1973 as a fundraising event for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, the affair has grown over the decades into a monolith of the design world, and draws over 20,000 attendees every year. I had the privilege of taking a private tour with interior designer Kati Curtis, who was delightful and down-to-earth. She even decorated a room in the show house with beautiful Anglo-Indian elements.
The image gallery above showcases different aspects of the show house that caught my attention.
The venue is typically staged in an upscale Manhattan penthouse, a proving ground where the best of the best single-handedly furnish, paint, and embellish their way to an unparalleled, trendsetting space.
This year’s Kips Bay performance redecorated the erudite six-floor Carlton House, a luxury brick-and-limestone townhouse on NYC’s Upper East Side. The elite interior design team chosen to tackle the challenge included greats like Victoria Hagan, Eve Robinson, and David Kleinberg, and the results were groundbreaking. Each room had a different, meticulously designed personality, ranging from the glam to the elegant.
A refined “lady lair” offered sanctuary for modern business women. I started in the boldly designed, and unbelievably blue, entrance hall, and wound my way up past the gilded period revival furniture, stunning mosaics, and Lalique glass backdrops, arriving at the airy rooftop garden and dining sectional. One of the most memorable parts of the tour: the wealth of abstract, impeccable lighting pieces throughout the townhouse.
My favorite room (and in my opinion, the most amazing room of the house) was the salon by Garrow Kedigan. The mustard couch with its array of eclectic pillows was a major talking point. Another beloved space was the dressing room by Les Ensembeliers. The chic area featured a massive amount of details and the artwork in Drake | Anderson’s bedroom caught my as well, and I was so fond of Suzanne Kassler’s space that she could I herself spending quality time with my friends and family there.
