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magazine | Jul 12, 2017 |
What was your best (or worst) showhouse experience?
What was your best (or worst) showhouse experience?
Dana Wolter

Storm Trooper
“Our April installation day at the Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Southeastern Designer Showhouse was a weather wipeout. Severe thunderstorms, flash floods, lightning, and washed-out roads were all on tap for us during our installation. We literally moved thousands of dollars’ worth of furnishings through torrential downpours. With borrowed raincoats from kind strangers, we managed to preserve pristine carpets by taking off our soaked shoes. The day ended with the sun coming out, three beautiful spaces complete and a rainbow to top it off.”  —Dana Wolter, Dana Wolter Interiors 

What was your best (or worst) showhouse experience?
Jonathan Rachman

Just Say No
“‘Heroine Chic’ was the title of my grand entry and grand stairwell at the 2014 San Francisco Decorator Showcase, inspired by Lorde’s album [Pure Heroine] and song, as well as by Kate Moss. A few visitors tried to correct me by telling me that I had misspelled ‘heroine’—that there should not be an ‘e’ at the end. I tried to explain that, although English is my fourth language, I do believe ‘heroine’ does have an ‘e’ at the end. Turns out, they thought I named my room after the intravenous drug.”—Jonathan Rachman, Jonathan Rachman Design

What was your best (or worst) showhouse experience?
Michelle Nussbaumer

Through Thick and Thin
“I was designing an upstairs hallway in the American Hospital of Paris in New York and a landscape designer happened to be creating a floating lawn on the upstairs terrace. I had a beautiful light carpet and he and his crew traipsed through with muddy shoes. We thought WW III might break out, but they helped me with a very heavy mirror installation and, in the end, we forged a friendship that lasts today. Sometimes installation on these projects can be tricky, but in the end there’s this great camaraderie and, miraculously, all the pieces just fall into place.”—Michelle Nussbaumer, Ceylon et Cie

What was your best (or worst) showhouse experience?
Michel Boyd

Flash Sale
“We drove seven hours with all of our supplies for the study in the Southern Style Now house in 2016. Once we arrived, we discovered an entire box of our most prized accessories was missing. So what’s one to do? We hightailed to the design district, where we were met with Southern charm and the most fabulous antiques that were even better than the ones we left in Atlanta. When in New Orleans, create an excuse to shop!”—Michel Smith Boyd

What was your best (or worst) showhouse experience?
Maxime Vandal and Richard Ouellette

Natural Wonders
“During the installation of our dressing closets at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House last year, we experienced a few unexpected challenges. The first was a small fire in our room, which, luckily, was quickly contained. While the room was being painted a circuit shorted and protective paper caught fire. Then, there was a minor flood to add to the fun! That happened during the actual show when we were arranging flowers for the space. We cleaned it up and nobody saw a thing. ”—Maxime Vandal and Richard Ouellette, Les Ensembliers

What was your best (or worst) showhouse experience?
Harry Heissmann

Bedtime Story
“In the Holiday House SoHo in 2016, I used a vintage bed by Tommi Parzinger from Evan Lobel in an all black-and-white, Christmas-themed room. To make assembling the bed easier, I had ordered a special blow-up mattress, which disappeared during the last days of construction. I ended up not being upset, as I figured that if someone had to steal a mattress, they probably really needed it. Charity overtime…”—Harry Heissmann, Harry Heissmann Inc.  

This article originally appeared in Summer 2017 issue of Business of Home. Subscribe or become a BOH Insider for more.

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