Design in Depth: The Grand Tour

By Stacy Kunstel

Two weeks ago I showed you some of my favorite details from the the Seven Oaks Designer Show House in Greenwich. Now I’ll take you through some of the rooms.

This year’s show house runs through November 13 and benefits the Humane Society of the United States.

There’s nothing like a grand entrance. The foyer’s mural was completed by Aleksandr Golubchik of Sveta Designs. Between the faux-finished columns we see the music room beyond.

The music room and adjoining drawing room are a joint production by Victoria Vandamm of Vandamm Interiors and Dwayne Clark and Bob Gaynor of RDYC Interior Design + Architectural Development. We loved the tiered effect of the curtains in the music room. On the wall are two of the raku plates I mentioned in my last post, by artist Lisa G. Westheimer.

The enormous drawing room is reminiscent of grand salons in New York homes that took up an entire floor. Here the designers took special care to divide the space into multiple sitting areas, each with its own lighting and artwork. The RDYC team added all of the architectural molding to the ceiling to bring down the scale of the room and help ground the huge space.

A custom-designed half-round sofa makes a cozy place to land in the library designed by Judy Hadlock of Old Town Crossing. The room is collection of textures, from the geometric rug and zebra- and giraffe-print chairs to the touches of metal, and incorporates an exotic mix of modern forms.

Interior designer Denise Rinfret of Rinfret Interiors kept with the Humane Society theme by incorporating dog art into her dining room along with contemporary pieces.

Jack Fhillips of Jack Fhillips Design, proved himself a master of collections with the amazing art display he assembled for the master suite. I particularly loved his inspired use of the canopied bed without hangings. Leaving it bare made it an architectural element.

Zebra faux-finished walls give this bedroom by Donna Benedetto of Donna Benedetto Designs its zip. Add layered styling and it looks as if the homeowners have just stepped out for the day.

Good things come in threes, such as these sunburst mirrors above the bed in the guest room designed by Elissa Grayer of Elissa Grayer Interior Design. I love how she played with scale by adding the full-size lamps to the étagère on one wall.

Congratulations to producer Franco Grimaldi and all of the designers who participated in this wonderful show house. There are a few days left to see it and explore more of what we haven’t showcased here!