With stylistic motifs aplenty — walls cloaked in hand-painted coverings and bespoke fabrics adorning settees and headboards — maintaining focus in the Dallas Kips Bay Show House requires considerable restraint.
It’s hard to move beyond Shelby Wagner’s exquisite, redesigned tangerine-toned foyer bursting with exuberance, and the perfectly placed cocktail bar that replaced the mundane entry coat closet is ingenious.
“Every Southern home needs a bar to greet guests upon entry,” Wagner (only slightly) joked.
A 90-degree pivot draws the eye to Sherry Hayslip’s vividly colored library showcasing a set of colossal, elaborately carved cabinet doors that reveal a hidden caviar bar.
Through the window, an intricate sunflower motif displayed in an iron design by Hayslip’s late husband, architect Cole Smith, who designed the stunning French Renaissance-inspired façade in 2004, shines in. “Bibliothèque des Tournesols,” or Room of the Sunflowers, pays homage to the renowned architect.
“He loved sunflowers,” said Hayslip, “His craftsmanship is woven into the details of the place.”
A saunter to the left of the show home’s rotunda reveals Javier Burkle’s “Sobremesa Lounge,” a brass enclave cabinet and freestanding tequila tasting bar enticing guests with the perfect spot for an after-dinner drink.
His and hers marble vanities in “Sogno Verde” showcase the meticulous “no-stone-unturned” designs of Martha Champagne, with a stunning blend of color, stone, and art enveloping a covetable free-standing Kohler tub, and mood lighting beckoning tranquility in the exquisite washroom.
Rounding out our list of best-loved chambers, Traci Connell’s “Femme Fumoir” cigar room presents a feminine flair of luxe furnishings seamlessly melded with a touch of masculine panache — the oval glass cabinetry affixed with brass cremone bolts; the comfy bench seating inviting visitors to stay awhile.
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