For interior design buffs, a good show house is better than a trip to Disney World. And a Kips Bay Show House, whether in New York, Palm Beach, or Dallas, is the cream of the crop, the chance to see how the country’s top talents transform their assigned spaces into domestic fantasies. A majority of the 26 design firms in the 2021 Dallas event — which helped fund charities that benefit children, students, and families — seem to have been working from the same playbook: Let the good times roll!
Cocktail culture
Bars in bedrooms. Bars in offices. Bars in basements. Bars at the pool. On the face of it, the Kips Bay Dallas designers were one thirsty crew. And when you think about it, it makes sense. After so many of us spent so much of the last two years sequestered in small cocoons, the idea of a cocktail party, with its mingling, gossip, and free-flowing beverages, is beyond intoxicating.
The permutations ranged from unabashedly grand to tailored and discreet. On the dramatic side, Liz MacPhail Interiors turned part of the show house basement into a moody lounge, imagining it as a female-forward wine cellar full of unexpected colors — walls paneled in rich aubergine; rust and chestnut accents punctuated with warm metallics; a rose-colored granite bar stocked with brass mugs and ruby goblets. This may be a ladies’ space, but it’s more Greta Garbo than Ginger Rogers.
Bryan and Mike Yates of Yates Desygn also had seduction on the menu. They reimagined their subterranean space as a speakeasy, encased in hand-painted walls and a sumptuous Bordeaux-colored palette. The kitchen and bar area are fit for a brooding romantic hero with a culinary bent, with a mix of stone, steel, and wood, starring a dramatic cantilevered island of gold-swirled quartz.
Hedonistic hideaways
Beth Dotolo and Carolina Gentry know that successful businesswomen aren’t all work and no play. The duo at Pulp Design Studios created an office worthy of the most sophisticated exec, then paired it with a sensual lounge perfect for celebrating that signed contract. Custom cabinetry doors reveal a hidden passage leading to a scarlet salon worthy of the wildest woman, with snake-themed wallpaper, a curvaceous red-currant sofa, and an armchair shaped like a giant human ribcage. And, of course, a well-stocked bar.
In a nook tucked off the poolside veranda, Traci Connell transformed a pool bar and bath into a place meant to beguile and delight. Brass-and-glass shelving holds bartender tools and glassware while martini makings rest on the fluted green cabinets. Animals cavort on the hand-painted wallpaper, and the accents are pure glamour: fringed leather sconces, curvy, peach-colored corner banquettes, Fortuny pillows, and marble flooring.
The boudoir-as-bar reaches the height of chic in the tidy and tailored bar-in-a-closet from Burkle Creative. Brass-and-glass shelving (this show house saw a lot of brass-and-glass shelving) holds all the imbibing essentials, while a super-glam green tufted banquette is both undeniably decadent and made for cozy conversation. Because if you’ve got a party to dress up for, and space for several of your pals to join you, the only thing missing is drinks.
Maximalist messaging
Dining rooms have recently filled in as offices, classrooms, and conference spaces. A dining room designed purely for dining feels audaciously indulgent. Inspired by the spirit of Cirque du Soleil, Corey Damen Jenkins took that concept to the max, creating a tented jewel-box where a pair of quartz tables are set for a festive dinner, chairs are upholstered in canary-yellow velvet, and the sapphire-upholstered ceiling is punctuated by a neoclassical chandelier. If it all feels a bit much, that’s the point: The silver, crystal, and linen place settings, the Chinese porcelain jars and marble urns, and the carved lions heads and regal swan would charm any guest into lingering for hours.
Outdoor living has never been more important than right now, a trend Robin Henry Studio embraced with gusto. With spiritual guidance from late society photographer Slim Aarons, Henry says she imagined, “a Dallas version of his beautiful pool-centered photos of rich, witty, and charismatic characters.” Central to her scheme: A deep-coral-and-white poolside raj tent outfitted with scallop-shell pillows, floor cushions, and rattan accents. You can almost hear the rattle of ice cubes at the bar, lined with a mirrored trellis that is the epitome of preppy style.