Summer might just be starting, but already there’s a reason to look forward to fall.
The 2022 Kips Bay Decorator Show House opens to the public Thursday, Sept. 22. Expect to be blown away. This year’s site is a grand 12,470-square-foot Old Preston Hollow estate at 9250 Meadowbrook Drive.
Long-time Daltxrealestate.com readers might be having déjà vu. In 2014, our founder, Candy Evans, wrote: “This is COVETED property because it doesn’t get more lush. You can see manicured landscaping, huge trees, creeks, and charming bridges from every room.”
The home sits on a 2.3-acre corner lot. A creek complete with a footbridge adds to the allure. By the numbers, there are five bedrooms, eight baths, a four-car garage, and one each, a motor court and a pool house.
“As we learned the first year, we hosted Kips Bay, show houses need to be in the Preston Hollow neighborhood due to city ordinances and parking constraints,” says co-chair Jean Liu. “We were lucky enough to find this show house in the estates section of Preston Hollow on an established street with wonderful views all throughout the house.”
Returning co-chair Chad Dorsey adds:
“First and foremost, a Kips Bay house has to have that ‘wow’ factor.”
According to Jan Showers (who rounds out the trio of esteemed designers/chairs), the Meadowbrook property fit the bill for myriad reasons. Size (it has to accommodate at least 25 designers), great architecture, and spaces that lend themselves to high-quality design.
And who will be filling those spaces? “We look for designers who design at a high level with fresh ideas that are still timeless,” says Showers.
Liu offers up this advice: “We would recommend making sure a designer’s website and portfolio is updated before applying to be part of the show house. It’s the biggest way the committee can gauge the quality of work and experience, so an aspiring designer will want to put their best foot forward.”
“And while the concept of one room may seem fairly straightforward, a room at Kips Bay is anything but,” says Dorsey.
“Each room, each detail, has been painstakingly obsessed over in a very short time frame.”
“My advice to aspiring interior designers is to study the details, layers, and restraint and use all of these elements in your own project.”
A President’s Dinner is a new addition to this year’s roster. Guests will dine in a Todd Fiscus-designed tent and be first to tour the house.
The seated dinner, like the show house, will raise funds for Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, which provides educational and developmental programs for New York City children. On a local level, beneficiaries include The Crystal Charity Ball, which supports Dallas children’s charities, and Dwell with Dignity, dedicated to creating homes for families struggling with homelessness and poverty.
Since its founding in 1973, Kips Bay Show Houses have raised $29 million.
Also returning: vice-chairs Laura Falconer and Trish Sheats and honorary chairs Jamie Drake Steele Marcoux, editor in chief of national media sponsor Veranda.
