Design Ideas From The Kips Bay Show House
Inspiration from top designers—and how to get these looks for less!
It’s always enlightening to tour a designer show house—especially if it’s the grand dame of them all, the Kips Bay Show House, now in its 49th year in New York City. For ten weeks, 24 interior designers and architects transformed bare rooms in a five-story neo-Georgian townhouse on the Upper East Side before opening to the public in May. Each room is a story unto itself, most brimming with maximalist décor. ‘When you think you’re done, add more!’ could have been the theme. Beneath layers of pattern and texture, there is inspiration for our own homes. Here are ideas that spoke to Calico’s Jan Jessup while touring the show house with camera in hand—and some Get the Look ideas from Calico that are quite attainable:
Kit Kemp’s Pattern Play Dining Room
Kit Kemp’s distinctive boutique hotels in London and New York City are known for happy colors and light-hearted interiors. “A Dining Room of One’s Own” features a medley of Kit’s fabric designs for the GP&J Baker division of Kravet on walls, chairs and windows.
The lamps are embellished with fabric leaf elements that were backed, cut and appliqued to the wicker. The hardwood floor grounds the room; the floor and the plain ceiling create welcome places for the eye to rest.
Dining chair fronts and backs are upholstered in two different fabrics—two colorways of a woven ethnic stripe for the seat fronts and complementary colors of a floral print for the chair backs. Leather tabs are anchored to the top of each chair, for ease of movement.
The left side of each host chair has a side pocket—to hold a cell phone, a pair of glasses, a camera—whatever! Clever. The right side of the chair has no pocket.
The window bay of the dining room creates a social space for a tufted sofa in another ethnic woven stripe. Two classic wing chairs border this space—with a surprise on the back of each chair: a floral appliqué. Long brush fringes add panache to the pillows.
Roman shades in three solid color fabrics add a punch of color and are trimmed in the same ribbon stripe. All are lined in ivory for a more uniform appearance from outside.
Get the Look at Calico:
A multi-color ethnic woven Creative Stripe in Multi flanks the tweedy Common Sense CR in Carmine. Floral blooms add a playful note to Wilde in Carnation next to Naima CR in Blush. Common Sense and Naima are both Crypton easy-care performance fabrics in a texture similar to the fabric on the wing chairs in the Kit Kemp dining room. Although not all fabrics are shown online, all are available at the Calico stores or by calling (800) 213-6366.
This classic style chair is different from those around Kit Kemp’s table, but the use of two complementary fabrics can extend to many frame styles. These two examples feature prints and woven stripes from the Echo Retreat Collection at Calico.
Patrick Mele’s Botanical Bedroom
A fabulous, canopied bed in Schumacher fabrics inspired a custom carpet that echoes the floral design of the interior fabric panels. The top panels are essentially a valance, box-pleated at the corners, attached to a wood frame installed on the ceiling. The floral lining and corner panels hide the structural elements that create this statement bed design.
Curling up in this bed would feel like a complete retreat, a serene sanctuary in a distinctly feminine bedroom. The modernist furnishings and accessories complement the bold floral print that defines the bed and carpet.
Get the look at Calico:
A print with a similar feeling is Gulfport in color Navy from the Vern Yip Collection at Calico. This design not only has flowers and foliage, it features a bird as well! Gulfport is $42.99/yd.
Benjamin Vandiver’s Eclectic French Bedroom
Inspired by the concept of a tucked-away bedroom in a French chateau, this diverse collection of antiques, modern art, layered rugs, garden urns, sculptures and stoneware is held together by the textiles that connect the design elements.
A richly drawn floral from Kravet frames the view, softened by relaxed Roman shades in a neutral semi-sheer fabric. Although it’s a little hard to see the details of the heading of the drapery, goblet pleats create the fullness of the panels. The colors of the floral fabric tie together the palette of all the furnishings in this room.
The unexpected marriage of an antique chair frame with a contemporary fabric creates an intriguing result and enlivens any room.
Get the look at Calico:
A sketch of a drapery with goblet pleats. This style of drapery is best suited for stationary side panels, as the draperies cannot stack tightly off the window due to the pleat style.
Custom from Calico: relaxed Roman shades feature soft folds, supported by rings and cords at the back, just along the outside edges. This allows the shade to fall into a graceful swag. A contrast band of fabric was added at the hem of this shade. Light to medium-weight fabrics are well suited to relaxed Roman shades.
Textiles That Go Big on Texture
Velvets were widely used by designers throughout the house—above are just two examples.
The sofa above in designer Mikel Welch’s “Cotswolds Retreat” bedroom has a plush fabric covering that appears to have come right off a sheep! Below, the cushy textured jacquard fabric on two club chairs adds visual interest and subtle style.
Get the look at Calico:
A tailored edge from Aman & Meeks
This living room features a window wall of Ripplefold draperies, made with an open-weave casement fabric in two neutral colors. It is sewn in grand band fashion, with a lighter-color middle section connected to top and bottom panels by grosgrain ribbon trim.
Calico carries a selection of wide-width casements that can be ‘railroaded’ at the window—run horizontally so that no vertical seams are needed. Most are 118” wide so that they can span a 9-foot window and still allow for hems and headings.
Get the look at Calico: Custom Drapes
Custom draperies highlight the architecture of a room, frame great views and enhance the natural light streaming into a space. They add texture, color and movement to interiors.
