Before & After: Tilton Fenwick’s Kips Bay Dining Lounge

The Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse is by far one of the most inspiring show houses of the year and what always impresses me most is the creativity with which the designer’s tackle the toughest challenges when it comes to decorating their space. While some participating designers are lucky to be assigned an amazing room in pristine condition with a perfect layout, other designers end up with far less desirable rooms to decorate. Case in point: my friends Suysel de Pedro Cunningham and Anne Foster of Tilton Fenwick who were given the home’s butler’s pantry which they transformed into a chic lounge just off the home’s main dining room.

Here is what the space looked like before. It came complete with a useless dumbwaiter, a long gas pipe along one wall and about 10 counter height electrical outlets that all had to be concealed. Plus the space, which was essentially a stair landing, was super tiny and narrow. It was definitely one of the most challenging rooms in the show house to tackle…and they only had three weeks to pull their space together!

Here is what the room looked like once they were finished. Totally fabulous and complete with Tilton Fenwick’s signature mix of bold patterns and a neo-traditional feel.

Here is Suysel and Anne in their finished space. The “Zulla” fabric from their collection for Duralee is upholstered on the walls and anchors the room, providing a stunning backdrop. I also love the ikat flatweave rug which is from Studio Four.

Perhaps the room’s most intriguing piece is the showstopper artwork above the console called “Shakti”” by London based artist Karen Knorr. It sits above a modern credenza from BDDW which cleverly conceals a pipe protruding from the wall that was once an eyesore. And remember the one too many wall outlets I mentioned? They’re hidden behind yards and yards of caterpillar fringe tape trim from Houles that was used to create a chair rail effect and was simply applied with heavy duty double stick tape!

The beautiful pair of English victorian club chairs are from James Sansum Fine and Decorative Art.

Here’s a lovely final detail to leave you with showing a closer look at the tape trim chair rail. Congrats Suysel and Anne on your fabulous Kips Bay room!!!

Photos by Anthony Crisafulli

The Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse is open daily through June 11 in New York. Admission is $35 and benefits the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. For more information, call 212-755-5733 or go towww.kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org.