At Kips, Mixing It Up

NEW YORK The iron-and-glass doors of the 35th annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House opened to the design press from 53 publications last week before welcoming paying visitors Tuesday. Photos from the much-anticipated event will start showing up in magazine spreads this summer. (Two editors were reported to be sparring over one of the rooms as a potential cover shot.) Decorators raced around the 1904 beaux-arts townhouse plucking faded gardenia blossoms and straightening stacks of books to look perfectly careless.

For the most part, the six floors with 22 decorated spaces reflected the current trend of mixing modern and traditional, with lots of 1960s and '70s references (think Halston, Andy Warhol, Austin Powers). Varying soundtracks and flickering flat-screen TVs competed for attention in a multimedia assault (four TVs hung above a single fireplace in a study). Upholstered walls and wallpaper were as popular as paint. And was that actually aluminum foil covering the stairway wainscoting?

When designers got a moment to switch off their BlackBerrys, many took refuge in the simplest space in the house: a tiny Zenlike sitting room designed with eco-friendly principles and lush with plants.

The house at 14 E. 82nd St., open through May 22, is for sale for $25 million. Washington's 2007 National Symphony Orchestra Decorators' Show House has been canceled, so maybe this is the year to make the trip. Or wait for more photos in your favorite shelter mag.

For information, call 718-893-8600, Ext. 245, or visit http://www.kipsbay.org.