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A Look Inside the Palm Beach Kips Bay Decorator Show House

April 9, 2021

The Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach, the fourth-annual Florida iteration of the show house program in New York City, has officially launched, benefitting both Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. The Kips Bay Decorator Show House is open to the public through Sunday, May 9, 2021.

In less than three months, the designers transformed a 4,400-sq.-ft. Mediterranean villa with five bedrooms, six bathrooms and a formal living and dining room. The home, which features direct water views of the Intracoastal, has three outdoor terraces, a tropical pool area and direct access to sandy Flagler beach. KBB virtually toured the home and spoke with the kitchen and primary bathroom designers to find out more.

The Kitchen by Mark Williams Design

 

Kips Bay Show House Kitchen

Cabinetry: Bentwood Luxury Kitchens; Countertops and backsplash: Dekton by Cosentino; Appliances by Monogram

The kitchen in the Kips Bay Show House was reimagined as an informal gathering place by Mark Williams and Niki Papadopoulos of Atlanta-based Mark Williams Design. The colors and materials were inspired by the Spanish Mediterranean style of the house, as well as the rich terracotta hue of the existing tile floor – a decision the homeowner didn’t understand until the final design was completed because the tile looked data in its original context. Tiled kitchen walls in a warm color palette are complemented by white oak cabinetry and a white marble-look countertop and backsplash.

KBB: What were your goals in this space?

Williams: “First, we wanted to create a more functional kitchen for how we live and cook today. The existing decades-old kitchen we removed was not aesthetically exciting in any way, and none of the functional zones were arranged efficiently in relationship to one another. Second, we wanted to create a space that was better for human gathering. We all know that there is no way to keep your guests out of the kitchen, so it’s best to plan a space for them to be, while giving yourself clearly defined functional space for cooking. So our initial efforts were creating a functional layout, and then we set ourselves to the task of making the space beautiful and engaging.”

KBB: What were you challenged by?

Williams: “The size of the space was certainly a challenge. The kitchen/breakfast room was not a big footprint to begin with, so establishing an aesthetic flow that visually expanded the space was necessary to keep it from feeling too crowded. Our limited but engaging palette of materials helped the small space feel clean and streamlined without being boring. Also, our cabinetry detailing helped the kitchen feel longer and larger than it actually is.”

KBB: What was your favorite part of this project?

Williams: “The carefully curated mix of materials. While it looks extremely tailored and simple on the outside, every square inch had to be carefully considered to maximize visual effect, without getting cluttered, in a minimal footprint. Kitchens are really interesting spaces to design because we always want them to be beautiful, but they need to be extremely functional as well. When designing a kitchen, we always have to imagine a layer that we call ‘the stuff of your life’ that always gets added on top of our architectural design. We always need to make sure that a kitchen space doesn’t become a visual circus once it’s occupied by actual people and the ‘stuff’ of their lives.”

Primary Bathroom and Closet by Nicole White Designs

 

Kips Bay Show House Primary Bath

Tub: Kohler

Titled “A Modern Afro-Inspired Palm Beach Retreat,” by Miami-based Nicole White of Nicole White Designs Interiors, the primary bath in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House is a celebration of luxury and diversity. Dark hues take center stage in this space with a matte-black decorative mirror and plumbing fixtures, a reflective bronze 3D tile above the vanity and hints of pink in the wallpaper.

KBB: What were you hoping to accomplish in this room?
White: “We wanted a space that showcased our love of bold colors and textures and expansive bathrooms. This is evident in the graphic colors of the wallpaper, balanced with black walls, black-veined Dekton slabs, black roman shades from the Shade Store, black floors and plumbing fixtures. We wanted it to be ultra-luxurious, so we added some glam by weaving in the gold pendant lights, a reflective bronze 3D tile and a gold trim along the edge of the window treatments. And let’s not forget the tub! It is such a statement piece that anyone would want to slide into at night after a long day. We also wanted minimal walls, so we removed the walls for the water closet and made it a true wet room by removing the glass shower doors.”

KBB: What did you find challenging?
White: “Tackling a massive primary bathroom in just a few weeks was definitely a challenge. Working with trades we aren’t used to was also difficult and we had some woes, but we were thankful we had a general contractor that met every challenge and worked through the night to make sure we met the deadline. We also had to make constant adjustments as well thanks to delayed shipping with COVID-19. Let’s just say our toilet and black p-traps arrived with a day to spare, and our custom vanity made from Dekton was installed on the final day we had to style the space. It was a nail-biter for sure, but we are ecstatic about the finished results.”

KBB: What was the best part of this project for you?
White: “My favorite part is always seeing the vision come to life. The pattern play of the tiles juxtaposed with the wallpaper truly made my heart sing. That’s the feeling we look for when designing, and we hope visitors who see the space have the same experience when they enter for the first time and as they soak in the details.”

Guest Bath and Closet by Alexandra Naranjo Designs

Kips Bay Show House Guest Bath

The guest bath and closet in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House underwent a dramatic transformation completed by Ontario-based Alexandra Naranjo of Alexandra Naranjo Designs. The bath, titled “Interlude in Indigo,” features saturated colors like an indigo blue bathtub, an oversized gold chandelier and jungle-inspired wallcoverings.

KBB: What did you hope to accomplish in this space?
Naranjo: I wanted to create a magical space full of color (since I’m known for doing colorful spaces). The starting point was the brand-new Indigo tub from Kohler. I then used three different wallpapers to achieve this look. The first one L’Eden from De Gournay, the second one a new custom ombré grass cloth from Phillip Jeffries called Le Mirage, and the third one is on the ceiling: a gorgeous metallic raffia that picks up all the gold/brass tones in all the plumbing fixtures and lighting.

KBB: What did you find challenging?
Naranjo: I was challenged with the timeline, since we only had six weeks to make a space that was couture and over the top.

KBB: What was your favorite part of this project?
Naranjo: I loved creating something new and unique, like the wallpaper shower I designed.