Architectural Digest – March 2022

Twenty-four designers share their own interpretations of Palm Beach panache inside a 1920s Mediterranean Revival estate.

If the designers of this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach have anything to say with their dreamed-up interiors, is that perhaps it’s time to redefine the region’s quintessential style. Twenty-four designers are now sharing their fresh takes on Palm Beach panache within the glamorous confines of a 1920s Mediterranean Revival estate, complete with a guest house, pool, and life-size backgammon board. Open for virtual and in-person tours, the show house is celebrating its fifth annual edition, with help from sponsors such as The Shade Store, Benjamin Moore, Soane Britain, Kohler, OKA, and more, and proceeds will benefit the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach.

For several designers, the allure of classic Palm Beach—where pink, green, or yellow pairs opposite a crisp white stripe and treillage walls provide a backdrop to rattan seating—is too good to reimagine. Designer Amanda Reynal employs the color palette to a delightful extent in the home’s balcony hideaway, namely on the scalloped outdoor sofa upholstered in a laminated Schumacher floral print, while Janie Molster creates what would surely be a Slim Aarons–approved poolside patio incorporating bubblegum pink stripes, a treillage-layered pavilion, and block print-style umbrellas sourced from a street vendor in Mumbai. That cabana feeling travels indoors, too, as designers Sarah Bartholomew and Ashley Gilbreth construct tented bedrooms using serene striped fabrics from Guy Goodfellow Collection and Schumacher, respectively.

Of course, it wouldn’t be quintessential Palm Beach without a dash of camp. After taking some steps into the home, a moment of fanciful fun reveals as designer Joan Craig of Craig and Company frames the entryway door portals with seashells. Continuing down the corridor into the powder room, designer Andrea Schumacher adds to the whimsy with an installation of aluminum butterflies (made by artist Paul Villinski using recycled materials) protruding from a cloudy wallpaper by Leisl. Elsewhere, in the child’s bedroom, Maryline Damour of Damour Drake tasked fiber artist Sienna Martz to dream up a playful take on the mobile. The result? A totally charming, theatrical-level display of felt clouds descending from the ceiling.

Perhaps even more memorable than the archetypes, though, are designers’ modern and pigment-rich interpretations of Palm Beach living. Philip Gorrivan and Goddard Design Group drew from global influences—Italian and French Modernism, respectively—to redefine the architectures of their inviting spaces. And for designer Catherine M. Austin, Costa Rican inspirations drew her to the banana leaf Martinique Celebration wallpaper by C.W. Stockwell in collaboration with Voutsa, featuring a spritely Matisse–inspired palette that carries throughout the guest house’s kitchen and dining room. “There are lots of colorful characters in Palm Beach, so we wanted to reflect that,” Austin says. In other reflections of the times, Joy Street Design crafts a multi-medium gallery wall as an example for displaying NFT works.

One element that appears in both classic and contemporary interpretations? A well-stocked bar. Whether it’s a cart, built-in nook, or full-on counter service, “I think nearly every room in this house has a bar,” Gorrivan says. “It is Palm Beach, after all.” Below, get a virtual look inside the entire 2022 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach, which will be open to the public for tours through April 3.