More Interiors from the 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

Sitting Room by Charlotte MossJanet Ramin - A walk in the French countryside inspired designer Charlotte Moss to create her sitting room at the 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Named “Behind the Hedge,” the space gloriously captures the French outdoors with a trompe l’oeil mural of a chateau garden and flourishes of greenery. The walls are sensuously draped in green velvet by Arabel fabrics and box hedges breathe life to the room. (The trompe l'oeil mural is by Osmundo Echevarria). 

Living Room by Bunny Williams, Brian McCarthy, and David KleinbergDesign team Bunny Williams, Brian McCarthy and David Kleinberg envisioned this bold living room. Providing the main focus of the room is the colorful tapestry by architect Le Corbusier. Its red, black, and white colors are reproduced in the Dupre-Lafon sofa, the zebra rug, the red-upholstered wood chairs and the bright draperies. The parchment wrapped waterfall coffee table is by Vosges.

Library by Jaimie DrakeGreen was the dominant color in this year's Kips Bay, and designer Jaimie Drake dreamed up this jungle mood for a library room. Snaked across the walls is an emerald grasscloth wallpaper. The glacial cocktail table from Lorin Marsh further plays up the green motif. Below, green painted bookcases line the walls. Palm trees emphasize the tropics. To give an air of sophistication to the library, Drake enveloped the ceiling in hammered silver paper. Dominating the room is a phantasmagoric oil painting by Andy Harper called Winter Gate.

Library by Jaimie DrakeCharles Pavarini designed this ultra-chic "Black, White, and Red All Over" bedroom full of decorative delights. The leather-wrapped platform bed custom designed by Pavarini floats over the Ironwork carpet by Stark. A resin painting by Damian Robinson provides red fire to the room as sculpted butterflies dance across the mirrored walls.

(Bedroom by Charles Pavarini)

Bonus

Click here to see more Rooms from the 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House.

Thanks to Janet Ramin and Sheffield School for this Kips Bay article. Interested in learning more about interior design? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you will learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories. 

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Resources to Help You Fill In Decorating Holes

Irwin Weiner ASID - One of my clients recently build a new condo building in Manhattan, and he asked me to stage one of the units for a flat fee. Just like for your own home design projects, I had a tight budget to work with. (Gone are the days of blank checks for interior designers to carry around like Post-It notes!) And to complicate things, in the flat fee for the project, I had to account for all of my decor costs; the fee amount, less my costs, equalled my payment for the project. Smart "shopping for less" was in order. Here are my go-to spots when the budget is tight and I need to put together good looks.

• Overstock.com - sift through the constantly-changing items and you'll find true goodies
• Target.com - good style for mass merchandise
• Amazon - they carry everything your heart desires
• Home Goods - I bring my wall colors along with rug and fabric swatches and stock up on coordinating accessories and artwork
• K-Mart - inexpensive bedding and bath items are good for staging purposes
• Walmart - ditto (see K-Mart)

Are you surprised to see a Manhattan interior designer shopping at such places? Well, don't be. Many of us shop online and at retail for our own homes as well as for our clients. The mix-and-match of high-end custom furnishings and collectibles with mass market merchandise is time honored, and good design pulls off a great look. The caveat, of course: you have to sift through all the rubbish to get to the acceptable and even exceptional items. Here's what I shop for at these locations.

• Accessories: tabletop (placemats, dinnerware, cloth napkins, stemware), centerpieces, tablescapes (decorative accessory groupings)
• Vignette furniture (to fill in around the higher-end custom items): desk and chair; sofa, coffee table, end table, club chairs; dining room sets; bed and night stands - and stand-alone pieces like bar stools/chairs
• Artwork: everything from metal wall sculpture and framed photographs to giclee fine art canvases
• Mirrors
• Rugs
• Bedding and linens
• Accessory lighting
• Bath accessories: shower curtains, towels and bath mats, vanity accessories
• Silk flowers and plants
• Home office accessories: bookends, desk accessories, storage baskets and boxes 

Bonus

Click here to read Everything You Need for Home Decorating on a Budget - including a free Design2Share PDF tips booklet!

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Luxe Styling at 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

Study by Brian del ToroJanet Ramin - Sweeping views of the Hudson River as well as the penchant for green colors were the major features of the 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Every year interior decorators have the opportunity to design a room to their heart’s desire – rather than a client’s – with only their imaginations as their limits. The location of this year’s show house is a beautiful condo complex, the Aldyn Residences, overlooking Manhattan’s river.

Our first room above by designer Brian del Toro is a jewel-like study rich in beautiful materials and a brilliant blue-green and lime green color scheme. The walls are painted in a teal grid-like pattern and the sofa upholstered in a matching teal strie velvet. The throw pillows are wrapped in Japanese obi, the sash used to tie kimonos. The gold, silver, and champagne check rug is from F. J. Hakimian Antique Rugs. The cubist glass mirror by Verner Panton further contributes to the sparkle of the room. Del Toro worked for the famous duo Parish Hadley before opening up his own firm. 

Dining Room by Todd A. RomanoTodd Alexander Romano designed this ultra-sophisticated dining room with many tongue-in-cheek accessories. The dining centerpiece is a Mexican Hilario Madrigal sculpture of a purple pineapple. Can you spot the brass giraffe? The long-neck animal by Sergio Bustamante brings your eye up to the spectacular two-story space and the Venetian Murano glass chandelier. Providing elegance to the room are the French Directoire chairs. They're upholstered in Brunschwig & Fils fabric of the popular lime green color, brightening up the warm chocolate-painted walls. 

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New York City Luxury Apartment Tour - Fifth Avenue with Campion Platt

Irwin Weiner ASID - As upper-echelon interior designer in Manhattan, Campion Platt knows beauty, good proportions, style, and timelessness. It's clever that Corcoran Realty teamed up with 1stDibs and several top designers to videotape luxury property tours.

It promotes the real estate inventory in the City - yes, that's a given - but it also gives us the guilty pleasure of walking through these hallowed, prestige spaces guided by designers who know what's good when they see it. Campion tells us what he loves about this apartment at

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