Pushing the Boundaries: Kips Bay Decorator Show House Makes 46 Best One Yet

One of the most prestigious, internationally recognized 46th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House officially opened to the public on Tuesday, May 1st at 110 East 76th Street, revealing the creativity and design expertise of twenty-two of the nation’s most acclaimed interior designers and architects.

For the next month, an estimated 15,000 people are expected to tour the completed Show House, which serves as the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club’s premier fundraiser. We’re excited to share that this year, the show house took a more daring approach, pushing the boundaries that are associated with period styles, and most definitely, transcending beyond the realm of trends, this year, designers seemed to pull out the big guns, nodding to the past, with a vision towards the future.

Here are our top 5:

Mark Sikes: Sleeping Beauty

Mark D Sikes, Courtesy of BFA

Mark D. Sikes creates a beautiful boudoir fit for a princess at the 2018 Kips Bay Show House.

A custom hand-painted Gracie scene is the perfect backdrop for this bedroom that features Mark’s new fabric collection with Schumacher. Antiques from James Sansum that once belonged to C.Z. Guest and Bunny Mellon are mixed with 18th-century European treasures from Carlton Hobbs. Mark’s room is not only beautiful, it’s comfortable, inviting, the ideal place to rest, to read a book, write a note, or even have a drink. 

 Delicate Porcelain flowers by Valdimir Kanevsky sit adjacent to modern art by Kit Reuther, Blue and White Ikat’s mingle with chinoiserie, dhurries from England dance with gilt, batiks flirt with bullion’s, and stripes play along side of layers and layers of trims and embroideries.

Bunny Williams: “GILDED KNOTS” – ROOM# 7

Courtesy of Emily Andrews, NYT

“Imagine that you have a very comfortable Living Room in a Tree House, where you can look at the sky through gilded leaves and watch a spider make a giant cobweb.”

B.A Torrey: The After-Party

B.A. Torrey, Courtesy of Emily Andrews for NYT

Walking into B. A. Torrey’s room — “The Afterparty” — is a design cocktail intended to pique the senses. You don’t just look, but touch and feel in this 70s-inspired homage to playful decadence and indulgence. Luxurious textures fill the room, making for a highly tactile environment. From the cerused oak of the custom millwork, brass of the stools and coffee table, crystal of the lamps, plush velvet and mohair of the upholstery, shimmery black and gold wheat inspired fabric of the Hermes throw pillows, and chunky honed stone of the fireplace and bar counter, this room is made to touch.

The hushed, private feel of this late-night sanctuary is replete with wrap-around bar, smoking terrace, deep sectional seating and fireplace, and intended for the most discerning night owls. Dark gold-foil cork wall covering absorbs sound and creates a shimmering effect, while the gold-foiled ceiling adds glamour and visual height.

Alexa Hampton: Olympia Folly

Alexa Hampton. Courtesy of Emily Andrews, NYT

Alexa Hampton comments, “Born out of my ever enthusiastic and growing neo-classicist tic, I have been dreaming of campaign tents. This has led me to my first ever collaboration with De Gournay, in the creation of the draped interior of a Greco-Roman tent straight out of my decorator’s imagination – and mapped onto paper by my now-two-time Kips Bay collaborator: the artist Chuck Fischer. “

With its surrounding backdrop of soft hanging textiles, an idealized view of Greek temples emerges in the background, framed by Aleppo pines and Cypress trees. In the foreground are discarded Roman helmets and a propped up shield. 

Nods to Empire building are sprinkled throughout, as are the Classics of the classics: temple fronts and a Klismos chair. 

Phillip Mitchell: The Drawing Room

Phillip Mitchell, Courtesy of BFA

The Drawing Room is inspired by the history of family and the love of collections. The Drawing Room is curated diversity within a space. Mitchell shares, “These hand-treated commissions make the design even more meaningful. I focus on curating timelessness and I do this in The Drawing Room by selecting pieces from different design periods, diversifying materials, layering styles and building a story for the room to tell.”

The Drawing Room is about where the most pleasant memories in ones mind lives, forever present.