Every year, the staff here at Kathy Kuo Home and The Kuotes joins around 15,000 other attendees at the Kips Bay Decorator’s Show House. For anyone unfamiliar, think of it as the Olympics for interior designers (without the trumpet music or Coca-Cola sponsorship).
This year, 23 elite designers were given just six weeks to transform their space into a show-stopping design, each staged within the glamorous limestone mansion that is the Carlton House townhouse at 19 East 61st Street, currently on the market for $49.5 million dollars. In an interesting twist from last year’s show house, this year each room was remodeled and handed off as a plain white box, so the designers were also put in charge of the molding, trim, and architectural details (and wait until you see how some designers solved for this!). For those of you who couldn’t make the show (or if you just want to relive the experience), here are our 10 favorite show house standouts. Enjoy!
First Stop: Dining Room by Alex Papachristidis Interiors
Second Stop: Family Room by Suzanne Kasler Interiors
Third Stop: Staircase and Landing by Kati Curtis
“I want to create beauty that borders on the spiritual, and create an uplifting experience for those who walk through the space.”
Fourth Stop: Salon by Sawyer | Berson
Fifth Stop: Living Room by Victoria Hagan Interiors
Sixth Stop: Primary Bedroom by Timothy Whealon 
This dreamy master bedroom imagines new ways to play with pattern and geometry. Whealon said he drew his inspiration from English country homes and David Adler (an architect renowned for over 27 country homes he built in Chicago in addition to the breathtaking Castle Hill in Massachusetts, his most famous work). From the fun print on the four-poster canopy to the chinoiserie garden stools (get the look) to the high relief plaster branches and leaves on the wall—the amalgam of shapes and color at work in this room is executed to perfection.
Seventh Stop: Home Office by Phillip Thomas Inc.
Eighth Stop: Lounge by Garrow Kedigian
“It’s about something that is fleeting…Kips Bay is only here for a minute. We’re only here for a moment.”
We swooned over this dark and moody “Napoleon’s Lounge” the moment we walked in and… brushed away the walls? That’s because all of the trompe l’oeil paneling featured here was chalked onto the blackboard paint by artist Rajiv Surendra (Sound familiar? When Surendra is not spending his time as a calligraphy artist, he works as an actor most notable for his role as mathlete Kevin Gnapoor in Mean Girls).
Kedigian encourages everyone to touch the walls, as the room was inspired by the idea of impermanence (and, of course, Napoleon). In a quote for the NYT, Kedigian said, “It’s about something that is fleeting… Kips Bay is only here for a minute. We’re only here for a moment.”
Ninth Stop: Guest Bedroom by Olasky & Sinsteden
Twin beds are coming back, and they’re great for the guest room! Maximilian Sinstden and Catherine Olasky prove it in their peaceful bedroom retreat complete with antique furniture, fresh flowers, and a soothing palette—all great ideas for preparing your guest room for the summer.
These standout, towering canopy beds add height to the space, and they are upholstered in a gorgeous Fermoie fabric that juxtaposes beautifully with the beachy fabric from Warner Textile Archive in Essex, England that covers the walls.
Tenth Stop: Bedroom by Drake/Anderson
In a debut design for Drake/Anderson (a brand new firm merging superstar design duo Drake Design Associates and Caleb Anderson Design) comes this dusty grey palette peppered with hints of glamour. Our eyes were immediately drawn to the Baguès crystal chandelier, the lavender, glacier-esque sculpture, and the undulating velvet chaises. But it’s the meticulous details that truly make the room special, like the gainage-wrapped moldings in a sleek, silvery fabric.
