Continuing on my tour of the 2013 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, today I am taking you through the 3rd floor, which consists of “the master suite”, “the lounge suite”, and the “the aquatic pass”, which is the landing that connects the two suites.

“THE LOUNGE SUITE”

Upon arriving on the 3rd floor, I was immediately greeted by a little slice of heaven – “the lounge suite”, which in itself could have been one large, super-luxe, over the top studio apartment. Because if you live in the city, who needs a kitchen, right? The lounge suite already has a super stylish bar, so that along with a stack of take out menus from their favorite restaurants is all one would need! In addition to the super stylish bar, “the lounge suite” also includes a living room complete with wood burning fire place, oversized sofa daybed, which converts to a queen size bed, a lounge area, a walk in closet with top to bottom custom built ins, and an adjacent master bathroom.

“The Lounge Suite” ranks right up there as one of my favorite rooms at the 2013 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, as it is perfectly layered and balanced with meticulous attention to detail. There is a nice play on color, texture, and design elements that immediately made me take notice and want to stay a while. The color in the room is juxtaposed with calm and soothing greys against vibrant orange, which is brought in to provide a little “pick me up” and brings the room to life. The walls consist of panels that are covered with a soft, textured “elephant leather”(actually, sueded buffalo hide) and that is contrasted against the sleek and shiny mirrored and marbled surfaces. Even the art on the walls is juxtaposed, as above the fireplace hangs a hard edged black and white photograph of a woman standing in black panties and platforms, confident as can be, with little in between her and the camera but a teddy bear covering her chest. Yes, I did say teddy bear! On the opposite wall is a painting of an ethereal sleeping nude, floating in the water, painted with not a hard edge in sight. Also, artifacts and sculptures with clean, hard edges are balanced out by placing several organic shapes throughout the room, with the most obvious one being the stack of wood logs that sit in a place that appears to be created for just that.

According to the designer, Louis Jon Garcia-Maldonado of Garcia/Maldonado, “The Lounge Suite” was designed as an urban sanctuary to provide a retreat from its hectic surroundings, and it does just that. I could have easily stayed a while to decompress and soak in all the positive, relaxing energy reverberating around the room.

Detail shot of the wood logs and “elephant hide” wall panels.

The master bath is just as calm and soothing as the lounge itself. With modern audio visual equipment cleverly concealed behind the bathroom vanity mirror, one could soak in the tub while watching a movie, and wash all the stresses of the day down the drain. When not in use, one would not even know that the equipment is there, as it is not even seen!

There was also something about the subtle lighting in the room that was warm and inviting, and not the least bit harsh. A soft glow, if you will, and oh so flattering on the face!

“AQUATIC PASS”
Connecting “The Lounge Suite” to “The Master Suite” is the landing, which Judy King Interiors has dubbed the “Aquatic Pass” because of the series of three unique archival photographs of New York’s Central Park, just a stone’s throw away, adorning the wall. I love the little pop of color that is introduced by the magenta colored Phaelenopsis orchids on the marble top console, but then again having lived off and on in Singapore and Bali for several years, I’m quite partial to orchids and pops of color!

Check out the reflection of the painting below on the right in the reflection of the acrylic gloss of Richard Bettinger Studio’s Modern Aquatic Series on the right. Pretty cool, isn’t it? Yes, I notice little things like that all the time and get a huge thrill out of it.

“THE MASTER SUITE”
And last but not least, to round out the 3rd floor of the 2013 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, we have Kathryn M. Ireland‘s “Master Suite”, which with its traditional textiles, design and execution, is in extreme contrast with everything that has been seen in the home thus far.

The bedroom was beautifully layered with different colors and textures from Kathryn M. Ireland‘s new textile and wall covering collection for Scalamandré. That being said, is perhaps the very reason that so much emphasis was put on the fabrics and wall coverings rather than the overall design of the room. I felt as though there was too much print and too much fabric, given the size of the room and the little light coming through the windows, and that resulted in the room feeling a bit heavy. It definitely did not echo the light and airy bohemian vibe that I have come to know and love of Kathryn M. Ireland’s work.

I was however, drawn to the painting of birds below, as it is the one element of surprise in the room that keeps things looking fresh and new.

Well, there you have it – the 3rd floor of the 2013 Kips Bay Decorator Show House! If you missed my tour of the 1st and 2nd floors, you can still access it here:

1st Floor Tour through the 2013 Kips Bay Decorator Show House
2nd Floor Tour through the 2013 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

If you are in the New York City area and would like to see the 2013 Kips Bay Decorator Show House in person, it’s not too late, but you better do it fast, since June 4 is the last day!

I hope you enjoyed my tour of Floor 3. Next up are the 4th and 5th floors, and whatever impromptu things I might have up my sleeve, so stay tuned!

All photographs were taken by me, Jeanne Chung