Kips Bay Palm Beach ~ part 1

 The Kips Bay show house moves South.  For the second year, Kips Bay Palm Beach brings together 22 designers from across the country to The Fountain House, a 10,000 sq. ft.  mediterranean style home on the intercostal in West Palm beach.  The transformation is amazing.  I understand this show house fills the void that was left by the American Red Cross show house that had been a staple on the fundraising calendar for many years.

I had the pleasure of touring it during a press preview and thought is was magnificent inside and out!

Cindy Rinfret designed the entry and living room.  I referenced it on instagram as Moroccan meets Palm Beach.  She delineated all the seating areas beautifully.  The custom grasscloth ottoman wallpaper, a collaboration with Nicolette Mayer , sets the mood.  The huge space is layered, luxurious and has a collected look expressing the lifestyle of many who reside in Palm Beach, their lives are often full of culture and travel.

LA's Peter Dunham using his namesake fabric lined the walls of his "Blue Paradise"den with a cubist collage pattern and his Hollywood at Home furniture to create an energetic, moody lounge space.  Love the lips from Gavlak Gallery.

The living room by David Phoenix is sophisticated and serene. Not taking anything away from the beautiful views outside on both sides. "There's no bad view," says David.  Fabrics throughout, David Phoenix for Kravet.

I rarely say the kitchen is one of my favorite rooms but Vasi Ypsilantis may have changed that.  I saw the before pictures, this is quite a transformation!  This clean lined, European style kitchen is as simple as it is chic! I loved the lack of a hood range.  There is a vent but it is built in because the focal point is the magnificent Sonneman chandelier and view out the window.  The deep built in sink with the below counter faucets was also something I had not seen.  She eliminated upper cabinets to make the space feel more expansive but those that she did use are from her showroom in Manhasset.

I fell hard for David Scott's dining room as well.  It is a beautiful combination of uptown elegance and Palm Beach panache.  A room referencing the old and new, the artistic and the classic.  A  Jeff Zimmerman chandelier, leather rug, fun sculptures and a large scale painting by Larry Poons keeps things from being too serious.

And now for something completely different!  Jessica Schuster Design created a surrealist's dream in what was a breakfast room now a "she office".  The 1st question I had was, where did the inspiration for this entrance come from?  The answer ~ a Celine store in France in the 1960's!  Referencing Dali and Matisse (Dali's photo is hanging in a corner) Jessica created these exceptional wall panels.  They were hand drawn, then printed, then made into plaster panels by USIMM  .  All the pieces reinforce the overall theme.  It's a WOW!

and that's just the downstairs.  More to come....

The show house is open thru February 20th so you have plenty of time if you are planning to be in that area.





full room photos: Nickolas Sargent, others by me

Sight Unseen Design

Sight Unseen is an ode to top American design.  It is a collection of under the radar designers pushing the boundaries of design and creating, in many cases utilitarian pieces; mirrors, decanters, placemats and wall hooks ~ everyday items, but making them extraordinary.  For the second year in a row a hot list of 20 designers is featured on  the website Moda Operanti.

These are a few of my favorites  ~

 Bench ~ Ood Studio

Paper planter ~Drew Seskunas

Lazy susan ~ Kelly Behun Studio

Mirror ~ Another Human

Lamp ~ Apparatus Studio

Stool ~ Asa Pingree

and thank you Moda Operandi for bringing us new and noteworthy designers, fashion or otherwise, that allow us to discover and learn about such talented creatives.

Check out the hot list!




top photo placements ~ Slash Objects

French Girl Hair

Austrian born, reknown Parian hairstylist  David Mallet is considered one of the best in the business.  He is known for his unstudied, natural, individual approach to each of his clients . His 1st salon is in a 16th century hotel particulier in the 2nd arrondisement in Paris and he has another in The Ritz Paris. Misure Mallett  now has opened a location stateside, in New York on the 5th floor of  The Webster  Soho.  If you are unfamiliar with The Webster, put it on your list of fashionable addresses to visit.

 “A French woman wants to feel understood without communicating,”   Which begs the question, "what do American women want?"

At the heart of the salon's mission is to make a woman feel truly taken care of.  His intention was not to create an American salon but to reproduce the intimate interiors of his Paris salons.
    

The NY salon, designed by architect Charles Zana was created as a place for gathering.  The 1,600 square foot, 8 chair interior mimics the style of his beloved French salons. which includes old world grandeur  amid taxidermy and custom furniture.   Every floorboard and light switch imported from France, conveys the authenticity he insisted upon and would transport any jaded New Yorker to the city of light.  Beauty is universal and David was happy to share the magic.   

His line of products is available for purchase and he has a signature treatment, which now that I know about it, I want!  It's called the Tokio Treatment or hair facial.
 It is a "deep treatment method that targets chemical and mechanical damage for a period of 4 to 6 weeks.  The treatment is done in 4 steps, each one targeting a different hair-layer.  Each phase uses different combinations of molecules.  The ingredients include 8 keratins and numerous vegetal extracts, which are combined with fullerene.  These molecules help the product penetrate the hair and fuse with natural fibers, meaning that the Tokio Treatment can deep-repair and protect in 30-60 minutes depending on hair length

Note to self ~ "put your name on his waiting list!"

Antlers as Artistic Lighting

I have always loved deer antler chandeliers!  I have been going out west since I was a child with my parents, and in turn I took my kids to Colorado.  So from a young age I have always been enamored with all things western and western decor.  Some might say, "but it  looks dated" or" it's too western."  I have seen it in quintessential mountain homes or paired with modern furniture in an effort to make it  transitional or mountain modern.

Thank you Wyoming based designer Shawn Rivett  for making an antler lover's  dreams come true by making contemporary a natural material that transcends a specific look and becomes sculpture in your hands.

The antlers of deer and elk are naturally shed each winter.   Shawn has no problem finding plenty of material collected by friends and friends of friends in and around Wyoming.  Shawn not only captures the wild west in his antler sculptures but also his large format western photographs.  He is a prolific photographer as well.  His art and interior design bring the outside in.  Each antler lighting piece is unique and is designed for the space with which it will occupy.

One has to ask, "why didn't anyone think to do this sooner?" I love it!