Kips by The Bay – Part I

The 40th Annual Decorator Show House 2012
The Aldyn Residences

While many will concentrate on the well deserved Albert Hadley tribute which those three design masters pulled together with a vitality that is so rarely seen in a room, I found it hard to take my eyes off from the gorilla in the room – Le Courbusier’ tapestry which adroitly anchored the room.
Brian J. McCarthy Inc., Bunny Williams Inc. and David Kleinberg Design Associates
Living Room tribute to Albert Hadley

Raji Radhakrishnan Design

This tapestry is rarer than one thinks since Le Corbusier designed a total of fifty tapestries of which thirty eight are in France and twelve in Chandigarh. This one most likely made its way to the US with some public auction.

Raji Radhakrishnan is the type of designer that draws her clients in by using her charm, openness, skills, and genuine love for art and design. Being a museum hopper as well, I strongly identified with her subject – The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This home office for The Met’s Head Curator stems from Raji’s love for art and how she envisioned the various pieces that a Met curator would want to surround his or herself with. And what are they? Ancient and modern art, classical and contemporary architecture, fashion and the performing arts. She carefully chose furnishings dating back from the Secessionist, Art Deco and Modernist periods to the present day contemporary ones. I absolutely LOVED the Jules Leleu chairs from Maison Gerard.

If only my current projects called for this enormous sunburst mirror which drew me into the room even more… This showstopper is a reflection of the bright, lightness of the room, and it is simply glorious. Susan Zises Green

Susan Zises Green‘s room overlooked the peaceful flow of the Hudson River, and her color scheme is as soothing as nature itself. She envisioned this room as a grand living space for a newly married couple – and the furniture that you see are the joint efforts of two hearts which now beat as one. “Storage lockers opened and trucks were dispatched to collect the bounty within.”

Unlike what we sometimes experience with large spaces, the soaring ceiling compliment instead of overwhelm the carefully selected furniture, textile choices and art pieces. Susan’s room is next to Patrik Lönn’s dinning room, and the harmony between them ought to be explored and absorbed.

The idea behind this library was to create a new retreat for the book lover, and philosopher as they surround themselves with lacquered spruce green mill work that is contemporary, yet with a retro feel. These custom chairs are über chic and inviting. Along with the custom sofa they were inspired by a Maison Jansen design from the 1940s. The trims on the chairs, and the textile choices for the pillows are immaculate and compliment the lacquered wall to an exact science.

The Murano glass light fixture overlooking Robert Schwartz and Karen Williams’ kitchen for St Charles stood out like no ones business. And that was a good thing. The latest effort from the designing duo, Karen Williams and Robert Schwartz was not what I would call an inviting kitchen, even though it had all the “right fittings”. Recognized brands like the flamberge rotisserie from La Cornue, faucets from Frantini USA, counter tops from New England Stone were overshadowed by the fabulous 1940s Murano glass tulip fixture which was a sight to behold.