The 34th Annual Kips Bay
Decorator Show House
Literate Glamour
The 34th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House lived up to its venerable billing and provided press, visitors, and industry insiders with a “Design as Theater™” experience. Housed in a double-wide $55,000,000 townhouse located in the Upper East Side, the event was destined to present awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping celebrations in design and decorating. Cavernous rooms on four levels, covering 20,000 square feet, presented the designer celebs with a formidable challenge and a chance to capture the coveted nod from interior design fans and franchisers. And something very special did happen—this was the best show house in years, if not the best in their history.
The remarkable event produced by the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, which opens in a different venue every spring for 28 days, is an art show, a museum visit, and a theme park experience all in one. Where else can one experience Tibetan rugs, antique Chinese porcelain, photographs of Picasso, jeweled fixtures from around the world, a 1st century Roman statue of Apollo, and an ejection seat from a 1955 nuclear bomber, all under one roof? Guests had the opportunity to take a “GuidePort” audio tour of the house narrated by the designers themselves.
The Kips Bay Decorator Show House, 4 East 75th St., New York
Photo by Donna Duncan.
This Show House is to interior design events what Broadway is to musical theater.The brightest stars perform on dazzling sets in the grand theaters of legendary streets in the world’s most vibrant city. The participating designers are television personalities, debutantes, jewelry designers, construction magnates, and socialites. This elite pack is the supernova of interior design. Careers are often launched by participation in this event—just ask Mario Buatta what happened to him after his 1984 debut. Buatta is nobility in the field of design and is associated with mega-licensing deals that are so coveted by other designers. |
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From left to right: Mario Buatta, Charlotte Moss, Tom Britt, Thom Filicia, Larry Laslo. Photo by NY Social Diary |
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Color is Back
The Lounge—Sherrill Canet Interiors, Ltd. Photo by NY Social Diary
An Insiders’ Guide In this special feature, we provide an insider’s guide to the show house experience introducing the “Design as Theater” concept with the Kips Bay Show House as the stencil. It is fitting that Kips Bay is the model for this guide because this show house sets the trends, starts the fashions, and propels design as no other live design event. We thank all the designers and their helpful assistants, photographers, PR agencies, and the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club for creating such an exciting designer event and wish to express our special thanks to those who provided us with content for this special “Design as Theater” Kips Bay Show House supplement to DesignIntuit Issue 4. View the Designers and their Rooms Join us as we present some of the really special rooms from the show.
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