Exclusive sneak peek inside the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas

Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club has been celebrating the best of interior design by transforming a luxury Manhattan home into an elegant exhibition of fine furnishings, art, and technology since 1973. In 2020, it launched its newest satellite show house in Dallas, Texas. The highly esteemed design event heads back to the South for its fourth iteration to enlist some of the nation’s most talented interior designers to transform a home in Dallas, Texas next month. Here is a preview inside some of the sensational spaces by Laura Lee Clark Falconer, Kurt Bielawski, and Kristi Nelson:

Laura Lee Clark Falconer’s Living Room

Laura Lee Clark Falconer, founder of Laura Lee Clark Interior Design, Inc., and a showroom in the Dallas Design District, is pleased to announce participation at the fourth edition of Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas, opening on November 2, 2023.

The Dallas-based designer will design the Living Room, joining celebrated interior designers from across the country who are set to reimagine the 5-bedroom home in Old Preston Hollow’s Sunnybrook Estates.

Laura Lee Clark Falconer’ concept for the Living Room was inspired by the much sought after Gracie wallcovering mural, “Kano Garden”, which was derived from the Kano school and is based on an antique Japanese screen featuring flowering cherry trees, gold leaf applied clouds and colorful peacocks on a neutral, antiqued background.

“As a committee member for the Kips Bay Dallas the past two years I have been awaiting the right time to participate as a designer and couldn’t resist this year’s lovely 1940’s Preston Hollow estate,” said Falconer. “I’m especially pleased to be designing the spacious living room, a space where my approach to careful editing and curated collections can truly shine.”

The scattered pools of deep cobalt blue anchor the room as the high gloss ceiling lifts the intimate space —a dramatic backdrop that was the catalyst in developing the design. In contrast to its traditional surroundings, a pair of Hans Wegner mid-century modern Queen Chairs flank the shimmering cast glass fireplace mantle by Stephen Cavallo. The chairs are punctuated with a Robert Kuo cloisonne’ drum stool.

The composition would not be complete without the Selenite logs and andirons by John Lyle. A very rare and exquisite Philip and Kelvin LaVerne “Viola” table, circa 1970 is the centerpiece of the room as it casts intricate, foliage shadows on the rich, silk rug by J.D. Staron. The custom banquette is covered exclusively in Dedar Fabrics.

The design, inspired by a unique, vintage Vladimir Kagan piece, invites visitors to lounge with a drink from the indulgent offerings included on the Julian Chichester bar cart. Niermann Weeks game chairs provide additional seating alongside the vintage, carved walnut T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings game table. Luminous, sage silk draperies with a decadent silk brush fringe embellishment from Samuel & Sons frame the windows which overlook the terrace.

An example of contemporary mastery, the Minosse mirror, perched above the sofa, is one of a signed limited series collaboration between Achille Salvagni and Fabio Gnessi. The Jan Showers “Marilyn” sofa covered in a Rose’ mohair by Pierre Frey is defined by a pair of Porta Romana floor lamps with pale pink velvet shades. Bronze vessel accessories by Atelier Agahzadeh punctuate the room.

The Gloucestershire: A Cook’s Kitchen & Scullery by Kurt Bielawski at Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2023

Kurt Bielawski, Dallas-based designer and founder of the firm MORE+ Design Build, will design The Gloucestershire: A Cook’s Kitchen & Scullery.

As visitors enter the spacious chef’s kitchen and adjoining scullery, they’ll find themselves transported to a meticulously-restored European estate kitchen, where the original tile flooring bears the patina of the years, akin to marble countertops at European bistros. Warm wood cabinetry features glass paneling to highlight the contents, reminiscent of a vintage apothecary. Built-in compartments for produce are meticulously organized by the in-house chef.

“Despite the fact that people like ‘clean’ designs, I do think they want more individual character. That’s what we’re trying to do here: take exciting elements that give the kitchen and scullery more personality than a ‘staged’ space,” said Bielawski.

An expansive island of natural-hewn wood holds gas and induction burners, a griddle, and wok induction and the countertops shine in Artistic Tile’s Calacatta Rosa. Hanging from the vaulted ceiling overhead, a large custom-designed industrial-style chandelier provides adjustable light for cooking.

To preserve the vintage look, modern appliances from Jenn Air’s Rise collection are wrapped in cabinetry and painted warm khaki and terracotta hues. Throughout, millwork wears the character of its original wood, which pairs with two-toned walls in Benjamin Moore’s Lime White Flat and Brandy Cream Flat.

On the back wall, a neatly-concealed area encompasses the dishwasher, trash bins, and a sink by Kohler. Leading from the main kitchen to the working pantry are a sink – also from Kohler – a second dishwasher, and an under-counter fridge with ice. The pantry has ample cabinet space to store small appliances and equipment to keep them off the countertops in the main kitchen. A designated coffee bar is posted between the two spaces. Blinds and shades from The Shade Store control the daylight in the room. Furniture from Scott & Cooner

and kitchenware from Zwilling features throughout. The decked-out island and adjacent seating area allows the chef to be social with guests and makes cooking part of the experience. To complete the design, Modern Matter hardware from the Marcel collection feels contemporary, while the burnished brass finish works in step with our Old World aesthetic.

One of the designer’s favorite features is the kitchen’s root vegetable storage cabinet with its lighting and glass shelves. “It’s going to be dramatic and wonderful, like nothing I’ve ever seen in anybody’s pantry before,” said Bielawski. Hardware from Modern Matter’s Marcelle Collection compliments cabinetry in both the pantry and main kitchen.

Kurt Bielawski’s participation at Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas comes ahead of the launch of his lifestyle brand, KD BIEL, which will focus on curated and custom items that relate to the pleasure of spending time at home.

Kristi Nelson’s “Memoir of Marrakech” primary suite

Kristi Nelson’s “Memoir of Marrakech” concept is inspired by the allure of a bohemian Marrakech in the early 70s, a city that has welcomed the likes of Marcello Mastroianni, Yves Saint Laurent, Francis Ford Coppola, Talitha Getty, and more. That seductive period in time that was defined by the nonchalant decadence as lived by a very elite group of creatives and their iconic counterparts.

“Memoir of Marrakech” aims to encapsulate the reflections, feel and imagery of that period, like that of Talitha and Paul Getty lounging extravagantly, yet so casually, on the rooftop of their villa at sunset. It’s about a moment of possibilities that could unfold in that magical Moroccan city.

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“That romantic golden hour, an experience of place and time on the rooftop of a riad, enveloped as much by the sandy, dusky hues in the sky as by the lush emerald greens of the plants in the garden below,” said Nelson. “The subtle sparkle of brass, the cushions casually strewn about, the textures, the eclectic meld of Moorish architecture and European design elements, the scent of spices filling the warm night air, all speak to the uniqueness of the Moroccan city’s heritage.”

The hall and bedroom are papered in Fromental’s “Travertine” hand-painted silk wallpaper. The effect of the brushed and layered washes of iridescent metallic paints gives the sense of seeing sand dunes sparkling in the “golden hour”, that last dusky light of sunset.

In the entrance, the deep drape, fabricated by The Shade Store in “Rembrandt” linen velvet by Cowtan and Tout, further develops a sense of hedonistic privacy, whereas at the window, they are the luxurious connection to the romantic courtyard garden below. A monumental, custom screen, upholstered in Perennials/Sutherland “Big Softy” mohair serves as a headboard and focal point of the room, cocooning the bed and Noir nightstands within its sheltering “wings”, while softly separating a place of rest for lounging casually. It injects a sense of laidback flamboyance into the room, as though Andy Warhol or Mick Jagger were about to saunter in and hang out.

Dangling from the ceiling is Soane Britain’s “Owl Lantern” bathing the room with a warm pool of light. Its teardrop-shaped openings cast a “dappled light” on the ceiling above, painted in an ombre of “Tea Room” and “Grant Beige” by Benjamin Moore further enhancing the sense and mood of the sunset hour.

A sculptural wall mirror feels both contemporary and slightly tribal, while the vintage rattan lounge chair, Moroccan floor cushions, and “Swan Bench” by Kristi Nelson for Chelsea House allude to a more bohemian era, setting the room as a haven to pass long stretches of time. Tall potted plants, the plush teal green fabrics, and one-of-a-kind area rugs by Marc Phillips, in softly geometric patterns and tones of sand, clay and dark green are all evocative of the private courtyard gardens. Smart lighting and audio systems by Christopher William are incorporated throughout to allow for a full sensory indulgence in the fantasy.

The ensuite bathroom is a celebration of color, shape and material that is directly linked to Morocco’s love of color, pattern, and tile. The stunning “Opia Nero” tile mixes with “Doge Mosaic Black”, and “Tumbled Rosa Portogallo” tile, while all are enhanced by custom bronze metal liners that mix and mingle with the arresting “Vagli Rosato” 3cm slab by Artistic Tile.

Fromental’s “FIAMMA in Ambra”, a flame stitch pattern created using hundreds of brushstrokes, juxtaposes the bedroom’s serenity into a dynamic identity, defining the space as its own experience but connecting to the bedroom through color and texture.

The “Vibrant Brushed Moderne” brass of the fixtures and fittings by Kohler add sophistication to the simple, yet striking, custom brass vanity with its deep stone counter. A large mirror anchors the space. Completing the space and underscoring the suite’s savoir-faire is the beautiful, custom walk-in closet created and provided by Inspired Closets DFW.

Additional sources unfolding Nelson’s vision for “Memoir of Marrakech” include general construction by Alair Homes DFW (Chad Hatfield), Il Granito, Loloi, Samuel & Sons, Haystack Millwork, Peacock Alley, Arteriors Home, Cache Los Angeles, Global Views, and Made Goods.