The Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach returns for its second year featuring a Mediterranean-style home off the Intracoastal Waterway. The South Florida version of the acclaimed event will take place January 26th through February 20th showcasing the designs of 21 local prominent interior designers.
“We are excited to welcome another talented group of designers to the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach program,” said Honorary Show House Chair, Bunny Williams. “We look forward to showcasing design inspirations by this year’s roster of industry leaders in a remarkable location for a very worthy cause.”
The Show House will take place at 6215 South Flagler Drive. The 10,000 square-foot home features five bedrooms and seven bathrooms with a grand staircase connecting two levels. Natural lights flows through the home offering endless views of the water, garden and pool views.
Originating in New York City in 1973, the Kips Bay Show House has grown into an anticipated attraction for interior design in New York and Palm Beach. The Palm Beach iteration was created to highlight the talent of interior designers as well as to benefit Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County.
Through its afterschool programs, the organizations allow 18,600 youths, ages six through 18, the opportunity to reach their full potential as responsible citizens in their neighborhoods.
Among the selected designers to display their work at The Fountain House, the backdrop of the event, are Amy Meier, Andres Paradelo, Billy Ceglia, Cindy Rinfret, Danielle Rollins, David Phoenix, David Scott, Jason Arnold, Jennifer Garrigues, Jessica Schuster, Krista Watterworth Alterman, Lee Ann Thornton, Lee W. Robinson and Kyle Johnson, Louise Cronan, Mark Williams and Niki Papadopoulos, Meg Braff, Mitchell Brown, Peter Dunham, Tina Anastasia, Vasi Ypsilantis and Leanne Yarn.
For South Florida native, Leanne Yarn, design runs in the family. She often helped her mother, an interior decorator, with various projects while in high school and grew to love her “hobby”, that it was kismet to continue design as a career. Launching her design firm Yarn Design Associates in 2013, Leanne is set to show her work at the event for the first time, adding a modern edge.
“I would say I’m a little more contemporary than the Palm Beach style,” she said. “My style is a little more clean lines, my patterns are more geometric, a little more contemporary. You’re not going to see a lot of prints with fish or palm fronds.”
With tickets on sale online and at the door for $35, Leanne likened the event to “touring a museum of the most talented interior designers in the industry.”
“I feel very lucky to be participating,” she said. “There are so many different artists and designers who are presented. You get to see a little more of their personal style because we’re always designing for other people. It’s kind of like you get a free-for-all and you get to design and interpret things the way you see them and the way you want them.
For people who have never seen [The Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach] I recommend checking it out and proceeds go to a good cause. It’s one of the biggest fundraisers the boy’s and girl’s club does.”
As for the designs exhibited within the house, Leanne was tasked with designing the den. Inspired by the Intracoastal Waterway, water and serenity are evident in her layout.
“[It] is more like a hideaway space,” she said. “I designed it around the views of the outside. There’s lots of different seating arrangements. If someone wanted to relax in the room and read a book they can do that.
What’s not shown in the rendering is on the fourth wall there is a bar cabinet with cocktail drinks and playing cards and games, so that is more of the fun, entertaining side of the space. It’s a calming relaxing space and the windows show the view of the Intracoastal water.”
