Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2014 – Mansion on Madison

It’s less than one week left to see this year’s pick for the Kips Bay Decorator House 2014, and I made it!   I’d chose a Thursday evening to attend, it was rainy and quite humid – but the anticipation was well worth it!  I attend every year, to get ideas and see the designer’s amazing work!  All for a beautiful cause, the Kips Bay children!   Here are some pictures of the rooms.  For a full listing of all the designers, please click: DESIGNERS.  If you in NYC, there’s still time – it closes on May 29th.

The place this year is the Villard Mansion on 51st Madison Ave!

The Villard Mansion was constructed in 1884, designed by the architecture firm McKim, Mead & White three years after they started their company. The houses were commissioned by Henry Villard, then president of the Northern Pacific Railway, shortly before his railroad empire began to crumble. Ownership of the building changed through many hands throughout the century.

In 1968, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the complex a historical landmark. Restoration and construction for a new hotel complex was proposed by real estate developer Harry B. Helmsley who constructed the 51-story New York Palace Hotel tower directly behind the original building. The project was designed by architects Emery Roth & Sons and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer in 1977 and completed in 1980.

The original building was restored in 2003 and office space was furnished for city preservation group The Municipal Art Society, as part of an agreement to save the building from demolition.

vMad

 Letia 🙂

More information, please go to http://www.kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org.

Each year, celebrated interior designers transform a luxury Manhattan home into an elegant exhibition of fine furnishings, art and technology.

This all began in 1973 when several dedicated supporters of the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club launched the Kips Bay Decorator Show House to raise critical funds for much needed after school and enrichment programs for New York City children. Over the course of four decades, this project has grown into a must-see event for thousands of design enthusiasts and is renowned for sparking interior design trends throughout the world.

CityBlis be Unique! Celebrating all Things That Inspire!

Fashion, Designs, Textiles, oh MY!   I am so happy to announce my new-found alliance with CityBlis!

There are so many talented designers that you and I have never met!  This is where City Blis comes in!  They have given me the wonderful opportunity to be in on their vision and dedication to a designer’s work; to share with YOU!

CityBlis has invited me to report on these designers and the CityBlis project itself.  CityBlis knows that I am always looking for new designers, new products and new stories to talk about!!!  It’s a wonderful platform to be part of; which helps the designer both locally and internationally.  It helps the consumer too, to also be introduced and become acquainted with a designer based on their own livelihood and bizazzle!

“At Cityblis we celebrate all of these things and bring to life all the people that share their stories with you so that you may be inspired every day.”

So from time to time, I will be able to provide you with finds that I think are absolutely great! Say for instance, designers like Loredana Novotnin,  a young Romanian fashion designer – where the detail in her work is so remarkable; as well beautiful.

Loredana Novotni

Or another designer who takes T – Shirts to another level of extraordinary, that would be Lady Derringer!  New unique designs are added each season!  So if you have a teenager in your home, their right!  T- Shirts are important and Lady Derringer would agree!

Lady Derringer

Then there’s the staple wardrobe piece for men, the hat!  Hat Lovers would love, love  Le Tom!  Very debonaire indeed!

So… be excited, because I am too! All the interactive tools are there!  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest…….and so on! All there for you to interact and “blis” it to share – plus an inside mall if you would like to buy an item or two!

Le Tom

CityBlis is an interactive, multi-platform social eCommerce website that allows consumers to shop and interact with friends, store owners and other consumers. The site is a combination of personalized webstores and an online mall.  Launched in April 2012, the international platform was developed for small businesses to reach out to new markets around the world through a community based infrastructure.  The current headquarters are in New York with satellite offices in Sweden and Australia.

 Letia 🙂

All photos provided by CityBlis © 2013 Cityblis Inc. All rights reserved

Architectural Digest Celebrates AD <3 New York Design Center!

This year at the New York Design Center was quite special! Architectural Digest and their Editor in Chief Margaret Russell gave a warm, warm welcome to all interested in design!

To celebrate at the NYDC with what they believe are great finds! I will follow the beautiful Ms. Russell anywhere, for her signature is so clear!

Margaret Russell, Editor in Chief of Architectural Digest Magazine

Since being with Architectural Digest; I definitely see a difference in the style and content of the magazine! You can just tell, more celebrities are opened to featuring their homes and the creativity is shown on its pages, with ideas that regular people are truly interested in!

So when arriving at the New York Design Center on Lexington Ave last Thursday, there was such a buzz in the air; I could n’t wait to explore the four floors of showroom bliss!

The showrooms were full of people, all scoring a spot near a bar to receive the signature drink of the night and talk about all the one of a kind of pieces; unique textiles, tapestries and how home furnishings keep on envolving. Beautiful pieces! I placed a few pics below of my favorites!

Even Twitter was involved, where the guests were asked to tweet their favorite #ADLOVESNYDC pick and tweet it right there! Although I made the mistake and tweeted (is that a word) a slipper chair I’d fell in love with, not one of AD’s picks!

It didn’t even matter, because the excitement of the feedback was amazing! Some people were tweeting for the first time in their life, which was actually quite funny…”Is it on my phone? Oh, I have to download the app!” The showroom staffers sure did not reckon on that they would be giving Twitter tutorials on how to be a certified tweeter!!!!!!!

The showrooms featured:

Baker Knapp & Tubbs

ARTERIORS Home

Henredon

Julian Chichester

Desiron by Frank Carfaro

Woodwrights Wide Plank Flooring

Dennis Miller Associates

PROFILES

Huge Mirror with Leather Bench and wood magazine rack

Slipper chair out of Linen

Tufted furniture items with Contemporary coffee tables i

Silver tea cup! Unique!

Letia Mitchell, LMLSD tweeting away

Bedroom Suite, with gorgeous Chandlier

Bartenders making the night’s signature drink!

Beautiful Mirror with me in the way!

Slipper Chair I Love – the detail in the Fabric!!!

Fireplace – Movable

More Fireplaces

Architectural Digest July 2013 Issue

Tufted chair with matching Ottoman

The night was quite enjoyable and I’d got the feedback that others also had a good time too! All rejuvenated with great ideas and finds!

The New York Design Center’s is a 16-story, 500000 square foot building with design items for the trade. Showroom search, floor plans, admission policy, news and events, staff, designer and more! Located at 200 Lexington Avenue, Suite 428 New York, NY 10016 Ph: 212.679.9500 Fax: 212.447.1669 @nydc @archdigest

Letia