The Colorful 2018 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

A view down the show house's seven floor staircase, which was decorated in vibrant Memphis Milano style by designer Sasha Bikoff.

TD and I attended the 2018 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Opening Night Preview last week and it was an eyeful! Twenty-two talented designers decorated the rooms of the huge, seven-floor mansion at 110 East 76th Street, which is now on the market for $51,000,000. We went up to the top and then worked our way down, it's easier that way, no? There is also an elevator that will take you to the top floor. The house was packed with stylish guests checking out what the decorators had whipped up. Here are some of my favorites –
Blue is a signature color of Mark D. Sikes, who is based in Los Angeles, and his elegant bedroom offered many soothing hues –
(room photos by Nickolas Sargent, room detail shots by me)

A pretty handpainted wallpaper set the tone for the relaxing room –

Mark also decorated a crisp-looking bathroom with blue and white paisley, and arranged some bright tulips in the foyer in front of handsome, striped wallpaper –



A colorful and charming guest bedroom was designed by Katie Ridder, who is married to classicist architect Peter Pennoyer, who I recently interviewed for an Architectural Digest feature about architect Rosario Candela. Katie told me that for this room, she had been inspired by a recent exhibit at the Neue Galerie on Fifth Avenue about the Wiener Werkstatte (Vienna Workshop), the artist and craftsman collective that thrived in Vienna from 1903 to 1932. Her walls were trimmed with hand-painted stencil borders –

Alessandra Branca told me she didn't really have a theme for the bedroom that she designed, but that she had been thinking about comfort and mixing things up - like the big plexiglass bed with a large Tina Barney photograph on the opposite wall –

On the bedside table I spotted colorful totem sculptures by Ashley Hicks, who is the son of iconic English decorator David Hicks and grandson of Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was a mentor to Prince Charles. Alessandra told me that she is honored to be the godmother of Ashley's newborn baby boy. 

Bunny Williams' sophisticated living room, which combined modern furniture with antiques, was covered in pale paneling. She reported that it was faux bois with golden knots for a "tree house feeling." A very elegant tree house indeed –

There is a lot more to see at the Kips Bay Show House, which is up for the month of May, ending May 31st. Proceeds from tickets go to support the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx which provides educational programs for kids. Find ticket information here to enjoy this inspiring, annual New York City rite of spring.