apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Some of those rooms are outstanding...
...and others are downright scary.

I didn't see outstanding. I saw lots of scary.

And what kind of tour bans infants?!

pictures 3, 4 and 5 are interesting but the rest of the rooms either didn't photograph well or are pretty blah.

I love and hate number three so much.

Maybe just the images were poorly shot or this was all designed in the dark. But, I must say this is a very sad representation of the 'best' professionals in new york.

#7: Matthew Smyth & Gloria Vanderbilt (the re-creation of her childhood bedroom). Not that it makes a difference.

i agree fringestudio. the work done by folks in the small cool contest was far more interesting. these rooms are either safe and cold or weird and extreme (#3) without adding a new idea to the design vocabulary.

"And what kind of tour bans infants?!"

The kind of tour displaying a house filled with art, antiques and fine furnishings - items that can be easily damaged by children (and vice versa)

BTW - I don't think an infant or toddler is going to miss out on not seeing a showhouse...

I want to know who made the painting in #3. can anyone identify it?

This place is pretty awesome. Is that a real dog, caged up in #4?

meh. I don't love any of it. Even the ones I appreciate still leave me cold. Was it a cloudy day when the pics were taken? It's not even fun to love or hate #3 since that's clearly where they were headed with it. It's really not all that shocking.

kevoncubine, since pets (& infants) aren't allowed admission, maybe this is a dog that attempted to sneak in?

The thing about Kips Bay is being in the rooms. They weren't designed solely to be photgraphed. You really need to be in them in order to judge how they feel and how successful they are. Also, the very best materials and finishes are used, the best workmanship and faux finishes. There is a lot to learn in the details of showhouses. When I lived in New York I voluntreered to docent the show so I could spend more time there. The more you look, the more you see. I will never regret time or money spent on Kips Bay, that's for sure. It's always fun, even when there are rooms that really don't work.

"The kind of tour displaying a house filled with art, antiques and fine furnishings - items that can be easily damaged by children (and vice versa)

BTW - I don't think an infant or toddler is going to miss out on not seeing a showhouse..."

It's not about the children's potential enjoyment of the showhouse. It's about making it possible for interested people to attend. Many such people are parents. I wouldn't dream of bringing mobile, curious young children to something like this. But a newborn in a Baby Bjorn is not going to hurt anything.

Sally--

If they allow you to come in the house w/ your sleeping angel in a baby backpack, they also have to allow the next person with their screaming banshee in a 3-wheeled monster-stroller grabbing at the tablecloths, smearing jelly on the damask and barfing on the Aubusson...

Parents have to make sacrifices for having children - This is one of many you'll face in the next 18-24 years, but you do have a choice: Get a sitter or don't go.

I was there yesterday and I CAN NOT believe you chose not to show Charles Pavarini's room-was the best by FAR!!!!

bepsf,

I have teenagers. I've been there. It's no big deal--I've just never seen a specific prohibition against infants before. I found it mildly interesting.

To your point, though, I have seen plenty of adults with worse manners than three-year-olds. The fine furnishings in this home are probably at greater risk from people like them than from children of paranoid parents who don't want to pay for a broken Ming vase.

My favorite was Bunny Williams's room. She is a real pro and I agree about the importance of being in the rooms. It is so different that I will never read a shelter mag in the same way again.
Tied for first was that incredible kitchen: a whole area for espresso!! Seriously though half the experience was the interplay of textures. I'm working on an essay about it for the Jewish Press.

Re: the last pic with the pull out bench - would your chin even reach the counter if you sat there?

Picture 3 is rad. It's The Shinning meets A Clockwork Orange. Detective marries the serial killer. I think it's sexy.

Cool... except there are plenty of alternatives for that piece of abstract art :)