Design House: NYC-style

Last weekend, we went to NYC for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (essentially a huge trade show with the latest styles from all over the world). We also worked in something called the Kips Bay Decorator Show House (you probably know the drill: the design world takes over a swanky house, pimps it out in all manner of design, sells tickets to schmucks and wannabees like me, and raises money for some children's cause.)

Having been to several tasteful designer show houses in LA, we figured the one in NYC would be over-the-top classy. And (bonus!) we'd get to see how the other-half-lives on the Upper East Side. This year, however, was apparently the weakest in decades. Instead of taking over a 5-story Fifth Avenue manse, they did 6 (disorganized) apartments in one massive 1950 apartment block on 66th Street. It was still interesting, though. Check this out:
Army of Boston Terrier Death Masks

I am a lover of dogs, to be sure. I even like the scrunchy-faced kind (Hello, Daisy!) and yes, that includes Boston Terriers. What I cannot endorse, however, is this army of what can only be described as Boston Terrier Death Masks that filled the windowsill of one of the bedrooms on the house tour. One word: FUGLY.

Death Mask (Detail)


In case you cannot fully appreciate all that fugliness in the one photo, here is a detail for you. OUCH. Tough to look at, no? And what if this army is the first thing you see when you wake up and look out the window to greet the morning sun? Clearly these rooms were "for show purposes only" and had not been nightmare-tested.

Tin Can Alley


One thing that was very cool and memorable, though, was the treatment of this wall in one of the apartments- made of thousands of tin can lids, carefully and artfully nailed to the wall. It was really luminous and surprisingly peaceful. Like the death masks, also not user-tested.