This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Kips Bay Show House but I've only had the pleasure of touring the last 3 in person, its something that I make a point of visiting if I'm in NYC during the show house dates.  For the first time in its history the location of the show house was in a highrise and it was on the upper west side.  The tour includes two separate duplex penthouse units in the Aldyn building, a new development on Riverside Boulevard overlooking the Hudson River.  Since i've been designing a NYC family apartment for the past 10 months I was particularly excited about this years show house location.

I'm passionate about all genres of design, I'm always looking to experience and inform myself (and my eye) more about design whenever I can.........so the opportunity to tour a house full of designer rooms is irresistible to me.  And lets not forget its a charity fundraiser, for children.  I'm more than happy to support the cause and the design community while expanding my design data base. : )

There are many reasons why I enjoy touring the show house.  The rooms are designed by some of the most respected and highly published Designers in the US and some of the newest up and coming talent.  I love to see other Designer's work because its often in a style not like anything I've ever designed or had the opportunity to explore.  I particularly love the chance to see designer spaces IN PERSON which is a completely different experience than seeing them in print, its the full sensory experience including touch, sound and smell.  Many of the rooms have music playing and scented candles and flowers and textures that enhance the design concept in a way you could never achieve just through photos alone.

Below are a few glimpses of some of my favorite details.














The good and the bad thing about this type of show house is that every room or area is designed individually, done in the designers chosen style and concept for their given room.  There is no single design concept flowing thru the house, the rooms don't necessarily relate to each other so you have to keep in mind its more like viewing a series of 'show rooms' than a show house.   While most of the rooms weren't done in a style that I'm partial to, I do appreciate any style of interior when its well done.   With no client to deal with, these spaces are the perfect opportunity for designers to experiment, take risks, and have fun. And if you have an eye for detail, there were loads of great details.  Regardless of specific room styles, they are chock full of great design lessons by the pros such as; scale, proportion, furniture placement, colour, accessorizing, display, hanging artwork, dealing with windows, unsightly hvac units and integrating home technology.

Logistically there are a lot of challenges the designers have to work with - time, donations, and existing elements in the spaces that can't be changed.  When I look at any of these rooms, I always first try to understand what the designer's challenges were so then I can appreciate how they solved them.   I also appreciate the amount of personal time and funds each designer put into their rooms and the efforts they make to drum up and work with donated products, labour and services.  The best part is, in many of the rooms the designer will be there.  They truly love to talk about their room design and answer your questions - I guarantee your impression of the room will change after hearing about their process and vision.

A couple of other highlights that I don't have photos of was the room designed by Bunny Williams, Brian McCarthy and David Kleinberg which was a tribute to the late Albert Hadley, complete with some of his framed original sketches (Michelle spotted these instantly, his drawings inspired her career).  Another was the kitchen designed by Robert Schwartz and Karen Williams,,,,it was so interesting to see the kitchen counters built in front of a floor to ceiling window wall.  I currently have a kitchen being installed at a clients summer home north of Toronto, similarly, its designed with counters in front a low window, intentionally, the window is new but placed and sized to look as if it was part of the original house, maintaining the original character of the home but also creates more of a furniture look.



If you are in NYC the show house tours continue through Thursday, June 14th.  For those of you who can't make it in person you can check out some beautiful photos of some of the show house rooms at this site.


All photos above:  Carol Reed