The Kips Bay Decorator Show House has been a mainstay on the interior design calendar for 47 years—a lauded institution that has showcased extraordinary spaces from top talents and put many a rising star on the map. In 2018, the annual event expanded to West Palm Beach. This September, the showhouse will incorporate a third satellite city into its mix: Dallas.
The inaugural Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas will be chaired by designer Jan Showers, cabinetry brand founder and CEO Christopher Peacock, and Veranda editor in chief Steele Marcoux, and designers Jean Liu and Chad Dorsey will serve as vice chairs.
With a robust, rapidly growing design community, the city seemed like a natural choice for the event. “Dallas continues to be a center of economic, social and cultural growth,” Liu tells BOH. “The city is booming, but has yet to host a showhouse of this caliber—until now. We’re thrilled to be welcoming designers from all across the country, but to also highlight the many and varied talented designers our own state boasts.”
“Being chosen as the third city after New York and Palm Beach is a coup for Dallas,” adds Showers. “Dallas is a great city for both interior design and art. We were selected because we are known to be a great market for interiors and showrooms with wonderful designers, and I am honored to be co-chairing the inaugural event.”
Kips Bay Show House raises money for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in New York, but as it has expanded its reach, it has partnered with local charitable organizations as well. In Texas, the showcase will also benefit the Dallas-based Dwell With Dignity, a nonprofit dedicated to providing homes for families struggling with homelessness and poverty.
Although several cities have inquired about their own Kips Bay outpost, it was Dallas that felt like the most fitting option. “Dallas is a strong market for design, and all of the infrastructure [to support the showhouse] is there—good housing stock of beautiful homes, good contractors, a good design community,” James Druckman, president and CEO of the New York Design Center and president of the board at Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, tells BOH. “Dallas is also a very charitable city, and they welcome organizations like Kips Bay that help 10,000 kids every year.”
Druckman says that he often meets Texans who have flown to New York for the annual showhouse. His hope is that they’ll also rally around the one in their home state. “I hope it becomes an annual event,” he says. “I hope we raise a lot of money to help Kips Bay and the local charities.”
The Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas is currently calling for designers to apply; the deadline for submission is May 1.
Homepage image: A loft designed by Sarah Magness for the 2020 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach | Sargent Architectural Photography
