Palm Beach Florida Weekly

KIPS BAY REDUX

SHOW HOUSE BRINGS TOGETHER 19 DESIGNERS WHO HAVE REVAMPED 18 SPACES



Suzanne Kasler’s great room, dubbed, “Edited Style,” is light and airy. That’s Benjamin Moore’s Custis Salmon color on the paneled south wall of the space. PHOTOS BY SARGENT ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Suzanne Kasler’s great room, dubbed, “Edited Style,” is light and airy. That’s Benjamin Moore’s Custis Salmon color on the paneled south wall of the space. PHOTOS BY SARGENT ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

The Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach has opened its stately double front doors to the public for a month-long tour benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County.

At the 8,751-square-foot home known as Bamboo Hill, ticket-holders can walk through the sprawling two-story structure that boasts four bedrooms, five baths, two casitas and a large loggia looking out at the garden and pool — an impressive 18 interior and exterior spaces in all.

“I think the house is extraordinarily beautiful,” said Celerie Kemble, who chaired the event’s Opening Night Preview Party on Jan. 31. “The rooms flowed from designer to designer without a sense of jarring contrast.”

Nineteen designers across the country each assigned a space to renovate, transformed the home into an enclave displaying the trends of the trade.

“When you work on a show house, you’re trying to show what’s exciting and cutting edge and what’s fun for you in the absence of a client,” Ms. Kemble said. “I think Palm Beach as a community is very interested in design, so everyone was quick to support the endeavor.”

Besty Wentz and Tom Kirchhoff designed the his-and-her baths. Notice how the chevron design on the towels provided by Pioneer Linens matches the custom draperies by The Shade Store.

Besty Wentz and Tom Kirchhoff designed the his-and-her baths. Notice how the chevron design on the towels provided by Pioneer Linens matches the custom draperies by The Shade Store.

The owner of Kemble Interiors in New York has worked on previous Kips Bay Decorator Show House projects in Manhattan and knows the effort it takes to create a dazzling room out of a demolished one.

“It’s a big-time commitment,” Ms. Kemble said. “I understand by virtue of experience how complex it is.”

Among her favorites are the downstairs guest bedrooms called “The Palmetto Snug” and “Writer’s Retreat” and an upstairs study called “Mindfulness Retreat.”

“I think it’s exciting to see what people have done,” Ms. Kemble said. “Most people go to learn something. They go for charity, yes, but they also go to see the vision.”

Joe Lucas, of Lucas Studio in West Hollywood, Calif., designed “The Palmetto Snug” as a cozy room in which to entertain at the bar or nap on the couch. It includes a form-over-function fireplace that complements Fromental’s geometrically inspired wallpaper.

The father-daughter duo of Brian and Alexandra Brady created the foyer.

The father-daughter duo of Brian and Alexandra Brady created the foyer.

“I was obsessed with this paper, so that was the direction we went off on,” Mr. Lucas said. “Even though it’s South Florida, I like the idea of having a fireplace.”

The space also includes an outside terrace area and a bathroom.

Kevin Isbell, of Kevin Isbell Interiors in Los Angeles, designed “Writer’s Retreat” as an homage to one of the greatest — Ernest Hemingway. An old typewriter in a leather-clad case sits atop a vintage desk accompanied by a wing chair. With Gracie Studio’s hand-painted scenic wallpaper depicting palm trees and other tropical foliage, viewers might believe they are standing in the studio of “Papa’s” historic Key West estate.

“Obviously, I love prints and designs,” Mr. Isbell said. “I just amped it up for the show house.”

Sarah Magness, of Sarah Magness Design in New York, turned a loft area into a sacred space for spiritual expression. The mindfulness starts on the steps that lead the way to the retreat, as their carpeting is overlaid with symbolic tigers.

The outside terrace area of Joe Lucas’ “The Palmetto Snug.” SARGENT ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

The outside terrace area of Joe Lucas’ “The Palmetto Snug.” SARGENT ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY

“In Japan, the tiger gives you strength,” Ms. Magness said. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to use some of the Asian influences I have.”

She lived in the country for four years while attending middle school and high school and began acquiring antiques. Her vast personal collection is beautifully presented in the floor-to-ceiling bookcase.

“This reminds me of when I was in Japan,” Ms. Magness said. “It has that energy about it.”

Tying the home together is Atlanta-based Suzanne Kasler’s great room, “Edited

Style.” A vaulted space with French doors, it is light and airy and fabulously Florida, featuring wicker urns, rattan floor and table lamps and a Paul Ferrante Water Lilies Chandelier, as well as an accent wall in Benjamin Moore’s Custis Salmon.

Betsy Wentz and Tom Kirchhoff had fun with the his-and-her closets and baths — the most colorful and eclectic rooms Bamboo Hill has to offer. Her closet is papered in pink pineapples that contrast with surrounding blues, greens and yellows. A garment cover, shoe case and weekender bag made from the fabric version of the print add to the scheme.

“It is a closet, but we sort of turned it into a lounge,” said Ms. Wentz, of Sewickley, Pa.-based Studio B, noting the pair of hassocks, day bed and serving tray holding a bottle of rosé and a couple of glasses.

The vibrancy carries into his closet, outstanding for its bold orange wallpaper whose shade is picked up by the love seat, planted succulents and artwork. The baths, separate but connected by a peekaboo shower, are preppy yet modern. Pioneer Linens provided custom toweling in a bright chevron motif that The Shade Store matched in pleated custom drapery.

“Everyone has their privacy, their don’tsee me space, but by adding the shower, it makes it more intimate,” said Mr. Kirchhoff, of Kirchhoff & Associates Architects in Jupiter. “We completely redid the space.”

Javier Fernandez, of Transitional Designs in Boca Raton, installed a floor in the powder room to resemble those of The Mark hotel in New York. “Design with Bite” is the result. Leta Austin Foster, of Leta Austin Foster & Associates in Palm Beach, paid tribute to Thai silk dealer Jim Thompson during the design of “Study.” Mr. Thompson, who disappeared mysteriously in 1967 while vacationing in Malaysia, loved the art of the Orient, so Ms. Foster filled the room with it. Out back, the grounds — elaborately named “Palmetto Paradise: A Garden Design in the Mughal Style” — is best seen from above to appreciate its clever curves and Taj Mahal-esque twists. Mario Nievera and Keith Williams, of Nievera Williams Landscape Architecture in Palm Beach, get the credit.

“Having guests stay out in the guest house is kind of off-putting to me,” said Keith Baltimore, of Baltimore Design Group in Boca Raton, who repurposed one of the casitas into a soft and scented massage room with twin tables. “A place for wellness – it is a luxurious, indulgent concept. What’s really cool about this is that it is so chill. I’m totally at ease here, and I hope people will take that away.” ¦

In the KNOW

Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach

» Time: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays
» When: Through March 1
» Where: Bamboo Hill, 260 Palmetto Lane, West Palm Beach48-$73 ($25 for those 25 and younger)
» Cost: $35
» Information: wwwkipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org/palmbeach

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