Each year, top designers and creatives from around the world transform the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach with their innovative ideas and boundary-pushing designs. This year’s Show House—which opens to the public for a month starting February 25—tapped 23 decorators and featured not one, but TWO residences in the Northwood Shores neighborhood of Palm Beach. Not to mention, it’s design that benefits a great cause: All proceeds go to the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club as well as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County (you can buy tickets here).
We love seeing what’s new and next in the world of interiors—and as the national media partner for the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach, we got an exclusive first look inside every room. From a Champagne conservatory to a Slim Aarons-inspired tiki lounge, there’s certainly no shortage of beauty and design inspo to be found. Here are the seven standout design trends from the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach we can’t wait to copy in our own homes.
Unique Valances
The valances seen in this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach are a far cry from your grandma’s window treatments. We’re obsessed with how whimsical and statement-making these look, thanks to thoughtful details like contrasting piping, tassels, and more. In LTA Interiors’ Mahjong Lounge (left), the groovy valances set the stage for zigzag-patterned Perennials draperies with Samuel & Sons fringe trim. In Colleen Rosar Design’s sitting room (right), beaded fringe trim (also by Samuel & Sons) brings the neutral valances into the space’s pattern-packed conversation.
Textured Walls and Ceilings
We’ve been seeing a rise in decorating the “fifth wall” (aka the ceiling) with wallpaper or paint. However, this year’s Show House took things to a new level. In BAMO, Inc.’s sunroom (left), undulating slatted ceilings feel like living artwork (with the Harlequin draperies’ metallic embroidery echoing its pattern), while a three-dimensional wallcovering almost looks like plaster in a hallway by Steven Walsh Design (right). Why settle for plain ol’ paint when you can add some much-appreciated artistic flair?
Funky Sculptural Light Fixtures
Is this the year when we finally say goodbye to recessed can lights in favor of something bolder and more beautiful? (We sure hope so!) The sculptural light fixtures from the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach are certainly making us want to upgrade our living room chandeliers and island pendant lights for something much funkier.
Upholstery fabrics in Wecselman Design’s great room (left)—like the sofa’s terracotta fabrics by Métaphores (back) and Brunschwig & Fils (seat)—enhance the hues of the geometric lighting installation overhead. Meanwhile in the kitchen by Yarn Design Associates, the leaf-inspired pendant shimmers across the stone island (Cosentino) to the dining area’s metallic Phillip Jeffries wallcovering.
Statement Stone and Tile
You won’t find any plain subway tile or white quartz countertops in the Show House this year! Designers definitely didn’t play it safe and instead opted for geometric tiles—like the mineral-hued demilune pattern climbing the walls of a bathroom by Firefinish Interiors (left) to a mesmerizing mosaic animating Amy Young Designs’ kitchen floor (right) (both by Artistic Tile)—paired with colorful veined slabs. We’re so here for the statement-making shake up.
Garden “Rooms”
This year’s Show House made us want to separate our garden into designated rooms. There were different spaces all throughout the exterior of the property that functioned as extensions of the home (think: a wellness-themed area with a sauna by Kohler, a sunbathing space, a seating area, a butterfly garden, and a quiet zone for reflection). We love the idea of dividing your yard into rooms that serve various purposes. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, either: Maybe one section has a cozy spot for you to enjoy your morning coffee while the other has a pollinator garden with native plants and a bird bath. For instance: Made Goods loungers offer a quiet respite among local flora in an area by Lopez Group Inc. (left), while Bell Design, Inc. brought in Kohler soaking tubs and comfy club chairs (cooled by Brown Jordan sunshades) for a relaxing destination (right).
Shell-Encrusted Furniture
Shells and Palm Beach go together like peanut butter and jelly, but this year’s Show House featured an artistic display of shell furniture, from an over-the-top entry table in EERDMANS’ living room (left) to a shell-studded bar in The Lewis Gallo Design Group’s lounge (right). In this case, the bigger the shells, the better!
Fringe and Tassels
Fringe and tassels reigned supreme in this year’s Show House. Many of the rooms featured some sort of playful application, whether on the window treatments or on furniture. We love that this is one trend that you can lean into big time—like the fringe bar stools in River Brook’s tiki tent (left), which pair perfectly with the Artistic Tile flooring—or dip your toe into—like the Samuel & Sons tassel tiebacks on a four-poster daybed by Kate Ives Design (right). Either way, the result is oh-so chic…