It rained cats and dogs in the middle of the day today, but that did not squash our enthusiasm for visiting the 39th Annual Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House. This special event, where the brightest and most talented designers showcase their talents in rooms, both large and small, in an Upper East Side town house, has become a one of the most anticipated and recognized events for the design industry. This year’s house is a beautiful brownstone and a half, located on tree-lined 63rd Street (number 163 to be exact), was built in 1919 and later owned and remodeled by John Hay “Jock” Whitney. Today it is owned by the Deane family, longtime benefactors of the Kips Bay Club, who generously offered it up as a temporary showcase. All of the proceeds from the decorator show house benefit the Kips Bay Boys & Girls club ” The Positive Place for Kids,” which serves as a safe haven for over 12,000 talented young people in New York City–a very worthy cause, indeed. Below, the living room on the first floor designed by Celerie Kemble.
While it’s probably not politically correct to single out the room we admired most, in this case, we just have to! Celerie Kemble’s parlor was simply sublime. She has that rare talent for respecting what’s “right” based upon what she’s studied of traditional interior design and updating it in her own way to make her spaces consistently feel young and fresh. We adore the novelty of placing a traditional tete a tete settee in front of the windows looking out to the garden.
The ceiling was painted by Miriam Ellner in verre eglomise (painted glass with gold leaf and other metals).
A close up of the tete a tete…
The fantastic Lucite coffee table did wonders for the naturally dark room.
The dining room, done by Matthew Patrick Smyth, has walls covered in painted Chinese silk. We loved the dining chairs painted a subtle pale blue and upholstered with sumptuous brown suede.
The large, 40 foot living space on the second floor decorated by Richard Mishaan.
The pair of mirrors on either side of the artwork were just fabulous.
Love the chevron/missoni-esque window treatments!
Damien Hirst butterfly prints…
One of two pieces of art work created by Richard himself (below right).
Amanda Nisbet’s bedroom was oh-so-glamorous. The walls are covered in a fabric by Nisbet called Pink lemonade, while a Marilyn Minter photograph hangs above the bed. We were really impressed with how she mixed textures and shades of gold and pink into the bedding.
Another great Damien Hirst in the den room on the fourth floor decorated by Brad Ford and Robert Stilin.
There were so many interesting vignettes everywhere you looked; this photography gallery was just one of them.
If you’d like to visit the show house yourself (and we highly recommend that you do!), it’s going on now through May 26th at 163 East 63rd Street in Manhattan. Admission is $30 and all proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Club. Enjoy!
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