Tour-Goers Agree: The 2024 Kips Bay Decorator Show House is ‘Best Ever’

Design aficionados, mark your calendars. Now through November 13, this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House is open for viewing — and, trust us, it’s nothing short of a “wow.”

The consensus among enthusiastic attendees: “It’s the best show ever.” For starters, this year’s venue is a grand, 25,000-square-foot French Renaissance-style estate in the heart of Turtle Creek. An added bonus: ample underground parking.

Yet the real stars of the show house are the 25 mega-talented designers who flawlessly transformed their rooms into spectacular, covet-worthy spaces. A happy accident: the cohesiveness of the designs. While each is striking on its own, combined they create a remarkably harmonious whole.  

It’s almost as if the designers had compared notes prior to planning their rooms. “I’ve never seen a Kips Bay Show House look this unified,” said CandysDirt.com Senior Columnist Karen Eubank.

Here’s our take on what’s trending.

Biophilic Design

Just about every designer integrated floral and fauna in their décor — proof that the desire to bring the outdoors in remains strong. Case in point: Swoon, the studio’s greenhouse-inspired rotunda.

“We both love nature, so we decided to make the space feel more like an atrium,” said Jocelyn Taylor, who, along with partner Samantha Sano, filled their “conservatory meets tea salon” with natural materials that would patina over time. Original art – including photographs of  floral arrangements, blown up, and framed – were especially intriguing.

Champagne Design’s luxe, sanctuary-like bath is “a heartfelt homage to the beauty of nature and the vibrancy of life,” according to designer Martha Champagne. Highlights include a dimensional Kohler tub from a new collaboration with Daniel Arsham and exquisite marble vanities fabricated by Il Granito.

Deck the Walls

Nondescript walls became a place for experimentation, freedom, and interpretation. The takeaway: the power of wallpaper to totally transform a space.

Case in point: Loudermilk Jordan’s larger-than-life overgrown poppies. Partnering with Gracie Studio, the designers increased the scale on a classic Byobu pattern for dramatic effect. “When you’re in Texas – and you get a staircase – you’ve got to go big,” said New York-based designer Zeke Jordan.

Another standout is French & French Interior’s custom, hand-painted mural depicting an early American landscape. A soft yet vivid palette of blues, greens, and earth tones is set against an antiqued background

Raising the Bar

Whatever your pleasure, there was a supremely stylish bar to match. The first of many sported luscious orange lacquer, the handiwork of Shelby Wagner Design.

Being assigned the tequila bar was “pure luck,” admits Burkle Creative’s Javier Burkle. For his sexy “Sobremesa Lounge,” he converted a vintage French Renaissance library table into a full-service bar complete with storage and sink.

Champagne and caviar more your taste? Check out Trish Sheats’ “Le Salon du Champagne” and Sherry Hayslip’s “Bibliotheque des Tournesols.” The former features plenty of bubbly; the latter, a caviar bar hidden behind a carved 18^th century Brittany armoire.  And in Traci Connell’s “Femme Fumoir,” premium brandies and whiskies pair perfectly with a robust cigar selection.

Inspired by the original club, the vibe of Jan Shower’s “The Cipango Room” is moody and elegant. Of course, there had to be a bar in the room,” she said. “I happened to have a fabulous Italian one that always reminds me of Harry’s Bar in Venice.”

Let There Be Light

The show house’s drab, drop ceilings were no match for the creativity of this year’s designers. In Eddie Maestri’s “Le Salon de Musique,” for example, Jium Ho’s Hanagasumi pendant chandelier “draws the eye upward in an almost celestial fashion.”

And credit Muse Noire’s Ashley Ross for the most innovative use of lighting. In her thought-provoking “Sit Luxe Prive” lounge, Luke Lamp Co’s sculptural rope fixtures masterfully highlight Gordon Parks’ statement-making imagery.

Special Mentions

Class act: INK + ORO’s Creatives’ “The Ladies Room” — the crème de la crème of communal lavatories.

Fashion moment: Silk drapes in Kim Scodro’s “Timeless Dining Room” that matched the dresses in Cecil Beaton’s 1948 Vogue cover.

Best use of 10 doors and no windows: Robert Brown’s bold use of color and pattern in his “Salon d’Art Moderne.” Contemporary art, curated by CoCollect, is a must-see.

Located at 2999 Turtle Creek Blvd., the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas is open Monday through Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. General admission tickets start at $50, with proceeds supporting the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and local beneficiaries Dwell With Dignity and The Crystal Charity Ball.