Set foot into the foyer of this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House at 230 Miramar Way in the “SoSo” neighborhood of West Palm Beach, and be greeted by a kaleidoscope of color.
Nadia Watts Interior Design created the “Lively Loggia and Jeweled Gallery,” a jewel-toned foyer accented with hand-painted turquoise Porter Teleo wallpaper, a mix of antique and contemporary styles and a green glass Currey & Company chandelier made from recycled vintage wine bottles.
The Seventh Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House, with 9,218 square feet of space, five bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms, is open to the public
through Sunday and highlights the creativity and design expertise of 23 interior designers and architects from Palm Beach and around the country.
The project benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County and the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in New York City and has raised more than $29 million for after-school and enrichment programs for children.
“This is one of our most unique homes to date, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the designers and architects were able to transform their spaces,” says James Druckman, president of the board of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club.
“Raising funds for youth in the Bronx and in Palm Beach is at the core of the Show House and we’re always thrilled with the response from the Palm Beach community who continue to support us,” he says.
Watts is the great-great-granddaughter of Louis Comfort Tiffany and she makes use of the Tiffany Studios Glass archives, creating her palette in gemstone colors, reminiscent of Tiffany & Co. jewels and stained glass windows.
A 28-foot Retorra custom rug in colors of citrus, teal and bright-green defines the space and features center medallions modeled after an oval brooch from the Tiffany archives.
With rooms titled “La Mer Pacifique,” “Le Tropical,” “Golden Hour,” “Shangri-La Lounge,” and “Gimme a Minute” and “Dee-Loo-Loo,” from designer Megan Gorelick, the ambiance and décor evoked in this showpiece home run the gamu
From the sophisticated elegance of Rinfret Limited’s “Seashell Sanctuary at Vizcaya,” a restful, fun and collected bedroom to the wild and carefree Betsy Wentz Interior Design’s “The Parlour,” with its multi-colored, whimsical, fun and playful décor, to the stunning “Bond’s Boudoir,” (as in James Bond) by Donna Mondi Interior Design, creativity is on display.
Mondi planned, designed and executed the “his” room in the “his and hers” bath and dressing room, with its defining central glass shower and open perimeters over the span of three months. The Denver and Chicago-based designer created a dark, masculine and moody environ for the man of mystery by mixing modern and classical bespoke elements to create a bold and luxurious space.
In the dressing area, as a way to bring the high ceilings down, Mondi hung eightt pieces of original artwork from Singulart. Draperies made with an ebony Harlequin fabric (by The Shade Store) create elegance along with the leather wall panel designed for storage.
The custom-crafted sink and companion vanity were carved from one piece of blue marble from Materials Bespoke Stone & Tile and a large portrait by Indiana-born contemporary artist Kris Gebhardt gazes down on the perimeter.
“Because I’m not working for a particular client, the design is undiluted and unfiltered,” Mondi says. “It’s a pure expression of art from the designer’s eye.”
Head up Melrose’s “Climbing Staghorn, Ferns and & Palms Passage” staircase to designer Ariel Okin’s “Trellis Garden,” a 5,300-sq.-ft. outdoor terrace inspired by European courtyards and the historic architecture of Palm Beach legends John Volk and Maurice Fatio.
In the comfortable and relaxing indoor/outdoor space, Okin juxtaposes a mix of antique and vintage custom pieces, such as a white coral chandelier from Serena & Lily and custom lampshades by local artisan Joseph Steiert.
Other highlights include Jacksonville-based designer Phoebe Howard’s “Bedroom,” a romantic respite in blue and white with a tinge of gray. Known for her bedrooms and “keeping it pretty,” Howard, a native Floridian, says she wanted the room to feel “deep and rich and lush and comfortable.”
The large room, with its 15-foot ceilings, presented a challenge she met by selecting lattice work around the perimeter of the ceiling, inspired by a boxwood parterre garden.
“It’s like a midnight garden, a deep, lush, shaded garden and a respite from the heat in South Florida,” she says. “I wanted it to feel cool and welcoming.”
Her first time designing a Kips Bay Showcase House, Howard chose a wrought-iron four poster bed and linens from Pioneer Linens on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach as the centerpiece of the room.
Dgitally printed blue-and-white floral wallpaper — Navy Lily, from Gracie Studio — was enlarged to match the scale of the room. “I imagine this as a sanctuary for a busy couple who needs recharging and rest,” says the author of The Joy of Decorating.
A focal point on the first floor is the large, functional and airy kitchen designed and created by architect Jim Dove of Jim Dove Design of Palm Beach and Short Hills, N.J. It is the designer’s third Showcase House for Kips Bay and the second one in Palm Beach.
Inspired by the scale of the room — 20 feet by 30 feet, and 13-foot ceilings — and the colors and exuberance of Dorothy Draper, Dove created a bold classic and elegant kitchen, with a palette ranging from seashell and flamingo pink to the opposite end of the spectrum with “New York State of Mind” Blue by Benjamin Moore.
A coffee/wine/gin bar (complete with Old Town pink gin), graces the back wall, along with the espresso maker and dual-zone wine cooler, all enhanced by the hand-painted blue and white large-scale Tortuga Azul palm tree wallpaper by Gracie Studio.
Also of note are the two 36-in. JennAir ranges he combined into one large range and the JennAir column refrigerator/freezer with its obsidian interior. He stocked the dry goods cabinets with canned goods from a Latin supermarket chosen to match the décor.
A standout among standouts in the kitchen is the custom Studio Bel Vetro light fixture comprised of 110 handblown glass stars. All hanging at different heights, half of the stars have gold leaf blown into the glass, creating a real-life twinkling effect.
Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach is open through Sunday. General admission hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with tickets starting at $50. For more information, visit kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org.