What I Learned at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Part 2

By Stacy Kunstel 

Two weeks ago I visited the Kips Bay Decorator Show House, which closes this week.  For the New England Home blog almost two weeks ago I wrote about the top things I learned from each room. I shall continue now with the rest of the house.

Philip Mitchell Design

Creating a gallery wall is one of the most difficult and artistic things you can do in your own home. To create a space that takes artistic style, scale, dimensionality, texture and content into consideration and then has all of those things live not only harmoniously but energetically and stimulatingly together is a feat of monumental vision. To do it continuously over four floors of an Upper East Side town home is shear brilliance. Hats off to Philip Mitchell Design.

The Takeaway: Here’s a designer who proves you truly can live with what you love and make it work. Almost all of this artwork, all 786 pieces of it (alright, I exaggerate but only slightly) come from Philip Mitchell’s own home. Bra-veau.

Photography by Stacy Kunstel 

Gail Green

Powder rooms can always be big impact spaces. They’re always more memorable than an austere master bath. Gail Green hailed Keith Haring for hers. Covered in illustrated tile the ode to the artist brought the biggest smile to my face.

The Takeaway: Why not?

Michael Herold

Browse designer Michael Herold’s 1^st Dibs page and you can label him a modernist of exquisite taste. Visit his tiny room at Kips Bay and you can see that his eye for the objet also pulls things together in a bold yet livable way. Where does one find a table like that? How do you make a big impact in a small space? Take note.

The Takeaway: The sum of all bold objects is bold goodness.

Thom Filicia

Is there anything that Thom can’t do and do well? Well, I’ve never eaten his cooking, but for someone who approaches spaces with such ease, he could keep his wardrobe in the oven and it wouldn’t matter. I grew up watching him as a TV personality, which may have clouded my judgment of what a great designer he is and his work does make me think of Albert Hadley, where he first worked, but to shorten this already long sentence, HE’S JUST SO SPOT ON.

The Takeaway: Elegance, ease and grace are standards you learn and maintain. Thom Filicia is akin to a well-trained athlete. He’s going to deliver every time.

Peter Sinott

First timer to Kips Bay, Peter Sinott’s bathroom came up in conversation more than once with people who visited the house before me. Art-filled and detail driven, he made the most out of a tiny space employing classic detailing with a bold hand. Starburst tile, art in the shower, orange piping on an ottoman to match the orange stripe around the ceiling, this is obviously someone to whom details play a major role. I can’t wait till he gets a bigger space to show off his talents.

The Takeaway: Art should be part of every room, even the bathroom — even the shower for that matter.

Alan Tanksley

Confession. This was my favorite room and even I’m not sure exactly why. Was it the amazing smelling candle burning in the space that immediately put me at ease? Was it the fact that it was on the top floor and I’d just seen everything else? Was it the way I felt cocooned and transported the minute I crossed the threshold? All of the above thank you. There’s a sepia toned mural that appears on an awkward wall when you walk in the room. A fellow designer told me (so forgive me if it’s not true) that that was the view that Alan had from his office when he worked for Mark Hampton. The small space, the beautiful paneling, the mismatched modern chairs, the art, the warmth, the personality, I fell for it all hard. I’ve got a design crush.

The Takeaway: It’s never the size or the shape of your space, it’s the story you tell with it.

If you would like to visit the Kips Bay Decorator Show House visit their website for all the details.