Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York Revisits 50 Years of Memorable Interiors

Included in the tome are recent installations, like the Wonderland-like dining room conjured by Kit Kemp, the sultry jewel-tone bath orchestrated by Vanessa DeLeon, or the glamorous living room conceived by Aman & Meeks. Others draw from past show houses, which over the last five decades have highlighted the work of more than 800 designers. Inside Iconic Rooms, viewers can revisit a fiery red library crafted by Juan Pablo Molyneux and a dreamy blue bedroom imagined by Mario Buatta in 1985, and a 1988 conservatory envisioned by Mark Hampton.

“The Show Houses spotlight pure, superb design,” writes Druckman in the book’s foreword. “Many years ago, I chose to become more involved with design industry charities because I believed that with our deep roots in the design industry, we—the New York Design Center at 200 Lex—needed to give back. The Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club was the logical choice. There was perfect synergy between the industry, the organization, and the long history of the Kips Bay Decorator Show House that this book celebrates.”

While show-house spaces often expand the boundaries of what one customarily sees in a private residence, Iconic Rooms does offer a tantalizing run through the decorating trends of the eras. The 1980s ruffles, bows, and chintz giving way to lacquer and chrome in the 90s. And the book too feels like a reunion with longtime friends as readers revisit rooms conceived by industry icons like Buatta, Hampton, Jamie Drake, Charlotte Moss, and Bunny Williams, and step back into those unforgettable installations, like Young Huh’s glorious “Young at Art” loft and the Lady’s Lounge by Corey Damien Jenkins in 2019, or Sasha Bikoff’s now iconic 2018 stair.

Some, like Drake, who is currently on the Kips Bay Decorator Show House board and a co-chair of both the Show House and the preceding President’s Dinner, share memories of working on the project and the importance of the effort, which helps raise funds for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, a New York-based organization that supports children in need with afterschool programming. “I remain in awe of the creativity of the designers every year and am grateful for their help in funding bright futures for the 11,000 plus children that the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club impacts every year,” writes Drake.

While it was recently announced that this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York will be postponed until fall, the President’s Dinner will take place on April 3 and honor landscape architect Edmund Hollander with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“In my view, the design industry is one with a soul,” pens Druckman in Iconic Rooms. “Kips Bay is clearly a charity with a soul. I am grateful and proud to play a role in both. Yes, the rooms are beautiful, almost beyond imagining. But all of us involved have always held the purpose of Kips Bay—improving kids’ lives—closest to our hearts.”