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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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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How to Add an Elegant Touch to Your Dining Room

Jessica Ackerman - If your home is like many, the dining room probably serves a myriad of useful functions. During the holidays and on special occasions, the dining room is frequently the center of attention when it comes to dinners and family get-togethers. However, during the rest of the time the dining room table might be used as a place for children to do their homework, or for you to engage in craft or sewing activities. Although you might tend to use your dining room for casual activities, perhaps you'd really like to transform it into a more elegant space. Here are some easy and quick ways you can add a touch of elegance to your dining room, while still maintaining it's useful and multi-functional qualities.

Take Advantage of Wall Space

If you commonly use your dining room for entertaining or for family activities, you probably won't want to take up too much floor space with your decorating accessories. Busy dining room spaces are the perfect place to utilize beautiful wall decor. In the dining room, a beautifully framed mirror or perhaps a lovely and yet functional wall-mounted wine rack could be the perfect choice. Decorative wall shelves, framed prints or paintings, and wall tapestries can also add a beautiful and elegant look to the room. Contemporary metal wall sculptures can also be used to add a modern, elegant touch to your dining room space.

Pick Accessories that Work with Your Decor

When choosing your dining room decorating accessories, it's important to pay attention to the room's overall style. For example, while abstract metal wall sculptures can be the perfect choice for a contemporary-styled dining room, a beautifully framed print or painting could be a much better choice for a more traditionally styled room. By keeping the room's overall look in sync with your decorating accessories, the end result will be a more coordinated appearance.

Make Small, Yet Effective Style Changes

Sometimes it's the little things that can really add a touch of elegance to a dining room. For example, a beautiful tapestry tablecloth can transform an everyday table into the center of attention. In addition to looking beautiful, a tablecloth can also help to protect your dining room table's surface from the wear and tear of daily activities.

Instead of hiding your good china in a cabinet, display it on a shelf in the dining room. By doing so, you'll free up cabinet space in addition to adding a beautifully elegant look to the room. This can be an especially good technique to use in the case of large pieces that are beautiful and yet difficult to store, such as serving platters.

A beautiful floral arrangement can also help transform a plain dining room into something a bit more elegant. However, if your family uses the dining room table on a daily basis for other activities, the center of the table might not be the best location for a bouquet of flowers. Instead, try displaying a vase of flowers on a shelf, or perhaps on a buffet or side table. 

Dining Room Decorating Bonus

• Click here to read How About Some Tips for Redecorating Our Dining Room?
• Click here to read How Can I Decorate My Small Dining Room to Serve Multiple Functions?
• And click here to watch our Design2Share video on How Can I Make My Dining Room Special?

Jessica Ackerman is Senior Staff Writer and Design Specialist for Wall Decor and Home Accents. 

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5 Favorite Accessories from Bobby Berk Home

Irwin Weiner ASID - Yesterday I told you how I was early for a client appointment in lower Manhattan, so I went for a neighborhood stroll and discovered some teriffic design stores. These next few posts on Design2Share will be devoted to telling you what I discovered during my pre-meeting walkabout.

The second store I discovered was a lot of fun, the well-curated contemporary furniture and accessories store called Bobby Berk Home (in NYC, but also in Atlanta and Miami - and we hear LA will be their next beachhead). Here are five accessories that really drew me in at BB Home; click on each photo to learn more about the items.

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