Special Edition: Kips Bay Decorator Show House…What does it take?
On today’s show, we are bringing you the first installment of our 2016 Kip’s Bay Show House series. You’ll hear 5 different designers that were selected to design a space in these year’s decorator show house. Be sure to stay tuned for the second installment of the series, next week, to hear from a few more of the talented designers who are featured in the house.
David Kendall: Entry Space and Stairs
David Kendall was honored with one of the largest spaces in the show house, with a lot of volume and complexities. “Philanthropy is such a big thing over here, we understand how important this work is,” says David. David was excited to receive this space as it is the first and last thing people see while touring the home, and appreciated the opportunity to have a very impactful space to design. Nick and David talk about the inspiration behind the space he designed, through a project that he had done previously, known as the ‘Blue Bar.’ David talks about using techniques he’s used before, although not exact replication, knowing what really worked and using that as a reference in future projects. He goes on to describe the textiles that were designed as a partnership with Baker. To learn more about David Kendall’s work visit www.davidcollins.com
Suzanne Kasler: Family Room
“It’s been an exciting thing; this is my first year doing Kip’s Bay.” Suzanne is an Interior Designer based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Suzanne was recently featured in the Architectural Digest’s top 100 designers, which put Suzanne and her work on the Kip’s Bay radar. Suzanne talks with Nick about the process of shopping for the pieces she’s featured in her room. “I was inspired by the classic tailored building, it’s a new building, and it has a beautiful limestone coloring, and that kind of inspired my direction on the design.” Suzanne utilized a high-gloss white, edited background that really featured the complex layering of her design. “I love mixing modern, new and vintage, “says Suzanne. To learn more about Suzanne, check out her Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter blog posts on her website, www.suzannekasler.com
Alex Papachristidis: Dining Room
Alex describes his space within the 2016 show house, which is a dining room with a seating area. “I live in a big country house with my family that we share, and sometimes getting people to dinner is like herding cats! So I thought how nice would it be to have a dining room with a seating area where everyone can arrive and have a drink and then site down for dinner and a hot meal.” Alex describes the details of the soft pale palette that he utilized in the room. Alex started the design with the dining table. “My decorating is really about a mix of making 18th century furniture feel relevant, and using contemporary artisans to make things for my rooms, so that you get a unique one of a kind couture feeling.” Alex talks about the importance of saving antiques and making them relevant, and the green aspect of reusing furniture. Alex states, “As a designer it is so important to have a knowledge of history of decoration, so that you can tweak it and modernize it.” Nick and Alex talk about the challenges he faced in producing this room. To learn more about Alex and his design aesthetic, visit his website at www.alexpapchristidis.com.
Katie Curtis: Hallway & Stairway
Katie describes the space she was given to design in this year’s show house, with three and half levels to design, “I started with the metaphor of the path to enlightenment, when you are tasked with designing something as important and as high profile as Kip’s Bay, you want to pull out all the stops, so I thought what would be my ultimate resource?” Katie describes the hand-painted wall paper that becomes more intricate as you move up the levels of the house. Katie talks about the challenge of the timing to produce the custom wallpaper, and also the balance the architectural stair brings to the more feminine wallpaper. She also describes the challenge of the physical location of her space, which was essentially in the way of all the other rooms. Nick and Katie discuss how she was selected to be featured in the show house. Go to www.katiecurtisdesign.com to learn more!
Max and Richard of Les Ensembliers: Master Closet
To end today’s round up of talented designers, Nick interviews Max and Richard, a pair of Canadian designers who were charged with the “Her” dressing room in the 2016 Kip’s Bay Show House. The team describes the continuation of three rooms, from smallest to largest of spaces. “We wanted it to feel the most intimate and refined space of the entire room.” Max, as an architect, really wanted to highlight an older architectural style that matched the exterior of the home, “we anchored the room through the use of a plaster ceiling, as well as four custom built-in cabinets in the corners of the room. The team talks about the wrapping of the wallpaper all the way around the room, including the ceiling, created a true “cocoon” feeling. Nick asks the pair what was the most challenging part of the process, which was an actual fire in the room! Luckily this occurred early in the process and the team was able to bounce back with a truly fantastic space. To learn more about this team visit their website at www.ensemblier.com.
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