skip to main content

Tips & Techniques Home Decorating Remodeling

Kips Bay Show House in Dallas

3 years ago

Hi, there. I just came across this article about a design show house, the Kips Bay Show House in Dallas, that I feel compelled to share here. While it's not exactly my style, it's one of the most impressive examples of interior design I've ever seen; and one thing I especially appreciated was the way it integrates fine art into the decor – so often I see design struggling to fill visual voids, when carefully-selected art could add so much more. Take a look and you'll see what I mean: https://glasstire.com/2020/10/13/local-art-in-the-show-house-kips-bay-does-dallas/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Tuesday%2010-13-20&utm_content=Tuesday%2010-13-20+CID_65c7f0595498d3ea6c2e3c28d046b139&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=Local%20Art%20in%20the%20Show%20House%20Kips%20Bay%20Does%20Dallas

(Note: I am an artist but have no art or design in this house and no business relationship with any of the designers, artists, or others involved with the house or its decor.)

Featured Answer

User

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Thanks for sharing - although, I must say that this house seems to be the very summation of the year 2020 in all its upsetting forms. I find everything I saw unsettling to the point of having a strongly negative visceral reaction to it all. I can usually find some redeeming quality in a show house, but not in this one. I love art, and I have a special place in my heart for the unexpected, but this just feels deliberately provocative ... and not in a good way. It's odd and oppressive, IMO. Possibly suited to a gallery exhibition, but displayed in a home? Not so much. It just doesn't work for me. -- Or perhaps I don't fully grasp the intent of the "show house", but it seems to have been turned into tumultuous artistic expression in this instance. Kinda like "IN YOUR FACE" at a time when we are already drowning in all manner of bad stuff.

Just my $.02, and I fully understand that many will disagree with my take on it. That's ok.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

sushipup1
3 years ago
Ida, you said it perfectly. Strong negative reaction here, too.
Related Discussions
And then there's the Kips Bay Show House...
Q
Comments (15)
Thanks for the links. Since this is the premier showhouse, you really do get a gamut of design from firms from around the country. As deee implies, it is more like Fashion Week than your local Parade of Homes. I did like the larder doors in the kitchen, and that hood's mix of limestone and marble is intriguing (but for me, in another style -- and the blending of styles doesn't work for me) I like the main staircase and I can see that Peacock's dressing room would appeal to a certain clientele. However, the upper hall reminds me of a W hotel (in a bad way), and only lacks the club music pulsing in the background. And that daybed reminds me of temporarily relocating furniture from one room to another when remodeling -- like it is being stashed there just for a while. Bedsides the blues, I see a lot of glossy finishes, including that blue ceiling (FPE?). Stools seem to be very popular, and brass and gold are dominant, along with the wallpaper mentioned previously.
...See More
2021 Kips Bay Showhouse - Dallas
Q
Comments (9)
I am planning to go up in the fall to visit a friend, go to the museums (Ft. Worth has some of the best), the Dallas arboretum, and might try to fit this in. Since I live in Austin I will definitely not be going on OU-UT weekend. We have gone several times in prior years. The traffic is a nightmare on I35 that weekend. Go Horns!!
...See More
Kips Bay Show House Dallas photos
Q
Comments (18)
I love showhouses, but always wonder how the family can actually LIVE in it afterward…it’s such a disparate mess! 😂 So of course I adore the exterior, the pool, and all the gardens and outside spaces bc that is completely my favorite style. Most of the rooms are way too much for me…but I liked the kitchen and family lounge (or whatever it is called-the one with the white walls and art. I also thought the child’s accesible bedroom and bath were beautiful and so thoughtfully designed.
...See More
2022 Kips Bay Show House - Dallas
Q
Comments (22)
The tag line in the title about southern hospitality grated with me. That house gives southern hospitality a bad name. Wtf with that thick rope thingy and the mauve carpet with matching ceiling? The landscape design was the only thing that really appealed to me. I thought it was well executed within the existing natural features. Ida, I agree with you pretty much, especially your first photo.
...See More
Carolyn S.
Original Author
3 years ago
I know what you mean – like I said, not my style. I thought of Edward Gorey's graphic works, if you're familiar with those – a sort of intricate, darkly beautiful, Dickensian world; or a set for a Tim Burton movie; and I agree it can be read as a reflection of our times! But all that said, for the style it is, I do think it's beautifully done; and I do love that they incorporated really fine art that, to my mind, adds a great deal both visually and conceptually.

Each room was designed/curated by different people, intended to showcase their skill or what they offer; and the show is also a fundraiser for several childrens' charities.
User
3 years ago
I totally get that, but I wonder why they made the obviously conscious choice to focus on the dark and gloomy, when the vast majority of us are so desperate for the slightest little ray of sunshine. This was, IMO, a swing and a miss.
Carolyn S.
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Well, to speculate wildly with a theory I wouldn't care to have to prove, I do think the show is aimed at very rich people, who might either feel safer than most of us and/or who, I've wondered, might unconsciously be acting out a Freudian "death drive." And yes, I do think the show works more as an art project than as decor you'd want to duplicate.
My3dogs ME zone 5A
3 years ago
I agree with Ida, too, as there were no 'ideas' that I saw that I'd like to try in my house, to the extent that I'd want to leave the Show house quickly.

But Carolyn sums it up very well - "And yes, I do think the show works more as an art project than as décor you'd want to duplicate."
Carolyn S. thanked My3dogs ME zone 5A
User
3 years ago
Interesting take on it, Carolyn. You may be on to something.
Jilly
3 years ago
I like the Jan Showers room (I always do) and the bathroom with clawfoot tub. Love the pool/backyard.

The other rooms feel very disjointed to me, as if I’m in several different homes.
Carolyn S. thanked Jilly
Carolyn S.
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Agreed, @Jinx, re- "disjointed," although they apparently tried to some degree to harmonize with each other. Fwiw, I also assume they were trying to harmonize with the exterior of the house, which looks a bit "witchy" to me.

Related Stories

DESIGNER SHOWCASES Tour the 2020 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas

See how designers transformed a sprawling Texas mansion with earth tones and rich textiles for the charity design event

EVENTS Colors and Patterns Wow at the 2015 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

Go on a virtual tour as 22 designers put on a beautiful interior fashion show in NYC’s Arthur Sachs mansion

DESIGNER SHOWCASES Bold and Daring Designs at the 2018 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

By Rikki Snyder

A rainbow ceiling, faux-turf chairs and a giant light necklace are among the eye-catching details in the NYC showcase

DECORATING GUIDES Two Apartments Enthrall at 2012 Kips Bay Show House

By Lawrence Karol

Top New York designers transform two 6,000-square-foot apartments into incredible color-packed treats for the eyes

DESIGNER SHOWCASES See the Daring Designs at the 2013 Kip's Bay Decorator Show House

New York designers show their latest creations in a fashion show for the home

DESIGNER SHOWCASES Eye-Catching Color and Pattern in the 2017 Kips Bay Show House

By Rikki Snyder

See how interior designers push the envelope in a 1905 brick neo-Georgian townhouse in New York City

DESIGNER SHOWCASES Glamour and Colors Rule at 2016 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

By Rikki Snyder

See how 21 designers from around the U.S. outfitted a 1940 townhouse with vivid wall treatments and edgy furnishings

DECORATING GUIDES Rooms Delight at 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

By Lawrence Karol

Bewitching colors and high-end touches wowed in Apartment 2102 of this year's showcase on Manhattan's Upper West Side

DESIGNER SHOWCASES Sophisticated Hues at the 2019 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

By Rikki Snyder

See how this year’s designers mix patterns, soothing colors and thoughtful touches in a renovated New York City gem

HOUZZ TOURS My Houzz: Contemporary Meets Exotic in a Dallas Ranch House

By Sarah Greenman

From a lushly landscaped pool area to dark woods and cheetah prints inside, this 1950s brick ranch home shows an island spirit

Sponsored

More Discussions

Recommendations on a home alarm company? Anyone but Telus pls

3

Need advice for someone starting in the trades

22

Arranging marble looking porcelain tiles with some pattern matching.

11