11 Genius Decorating Ideas to Steal From Designer Showhouses This Year

Along withtrade fairsandproduct drops, designer showhouses have emerged as one of the industry’s most clamored-for happenings. This magical room-by-room transformation of an abode by a cadre of disparate talents is not only visually splendorous but inspiring, as it sparks decorating ideas among fellow designers for their own upcoming projects.

There were plenty of designer showhouses (and eye-catching interiors) to wander through in 2022, but some were especially savvy at reimagining often overlooked spaces, whether they fused beauty with practicality, blurred the indoors and outdoors, or injected a realistic dose of whimsy. Here are 11 of those moments from this year’s memorable showhouse lineup.

Mudroom by Bunny Williams Interior Design

Photo: David Hillegas

Mudroom by Bunny Williams at theFlower Magazine Atlanta Showhouse

Bunny Williams is a self-described passionate gardener, so she opted for the “theme of blue running through the spaces,” she recalls. “Blue is almost a neutral color to me—like the sky—so greens and other colors look great with it.” Rounded out with limestone flooring, Lee Jofa wallpaper, Currey & Company lighting, and Ballard Designs furniture, this mudroom is far more than a dumping ground for soiled shoes—it’s a vivid first impression. “I find that in most houses, people often come in through the back door,” Williams notes, “so this is always such an important part.”

Powder room by Andrea Schumacher Interiors

Photo: Nickolas Sargent (Sargent Photography)

Powder room by Andrea Schumacher Interiors atKips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach

Andrea Schumacher’s maximalist blue-and-white powder bath firmly plants guests in southern Florida with its trifecta of prints: mosaic tile–reminiscent Cubist, fluffy cloud-adorned Flutter, and Wild Grasses, characterized by swaying stalks. All of the prints are from Schumacher’s own Leisl wallcoverings that deftly meld animal motifs. A painting of a graceful bird and chunky elephant stools are bolstered by a playful array of fluttering aluminum butterflies that artist Paul Villinski sculpted from recycled materials.

Salon by Linda Boronkay

Salon by Linda Boronkay atWow!house London

Salons of yore call to mind heady get-togethers, and one can see such an affair unfolding in designer Linda Boronkay’s theatrical salon. Showcasing fabrics from Pierre Frey’s Egyptian collection, the room’s ceiling shimmers in silver and brings together a mix of contemporary designs and vintage items sourced in Italy, all the while paying tribute to Egypt with pearlescent, gold, and metallic reliefs. “The room is a modern and futuristic take on Egyptian architecture,” Boronkay says. “We introduced elements to create drama and scale, such as the columns, oversized door surrounds, and dado rails with profiles that hark back to the traditional designs, but painted them in a striking and bold high-gloss blue.”

Living room by Alessandra Branca

Photo: Jay Simon of Ten Ten Collective

Living room by Alessandra Branca atKips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas

It’s difficult to tell where the outdoors and indoors begin in Alessandra Branca’s soaring emerald-tinted living room. Mirroring the abundance of greenery beyond the quintet of curving floor-to-ceiling windows, the designer enveloped the walls with a custom edition of her large-scale leaf print Foglia wallpaper from the Casa Branca collection. Plentiful plants, including a few imposing potted trees that instill the space with the air of a winter garden, create another soothing biophilic layer.

Kitchen by Baxt Ingui Architects

Photo: Adam Kane Macchia

Kitchen by Baxt Ingui Architects atBrooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse

When contemplating paint swatches for the kitchen, pink isn’t the first hue that normally springs to mind. But after performing a series of color studies in relationship to the limited daylight found on the rear parlor floor of the Brooklyn Heights town house, Baxt Ingui Architects discovered that a warm palette worked best for the enlarged kitchen. The solution? Benjamin Moore’s creamy pink Cashmere. “Combined with the textures and colors in the kitchen finishes, the subtle mauve became less of a statement and more of a binding neutral that worked nicely within the space,” says Sohui Kim, noting how the cabinet doors the firm fashioned out of iridescent leaded glass complement the soft pink.

主卧室,史蒂文rey Design

Photo: Chris Considine courtesy Pasadena Showcase House of Design

主卧室,史蒂文rey Design atPasadena Showcase House of Design

Art Deco meets the hedonistic ’70s in Steven Cordrey’s commodious bedroom, filled with furniture and accessories from the likes of Caracole and Feizy Rugs. The most dramatic statement comes in the form of the metal screens flaunting undulating shapes that flank the headboard. They grandly demarcate the space into a dedicated sleeping zone and a relaxation nook, complete with a mirror-topped fireplace, seating, and candles that are ideal for unwinding with a book before sleep beckons on the other side.

Gentleman’s Dressing Room by Don Easterling and Nina Long of Easterling and Long

Gentleman’s dressing room by Don Easterling and Nina Long of Easterling and Long atFlower Magazine Atlanta Showhouse

By wrapping a curved wall with pastoral Fromental wallpaper, Don Easterling and Nina Long took the first step in turning what could have been an ordinary closet into a transporting gentlemen’s dressing room. The earth-toned hideaway has a clubby and masculine vibe, buoyed by pieces like a Moattar rug and Jamb and John Rosselli lighting. The built-in bench for ease of tying shoes, for example, is every bit as functional as it is meditative, offering an unlikely perch for a morning pause.

Children’s room by JDK Interiors

Photo: Kirsten Francis

Children’s room by JDK Interiors at theBrooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse

Candy Coated Dreams is the apt name that Jenny Dina Kirschner of JDK Interiors chose for her fantastical children’s room, and indeed, the vast mural backdropping the staggered custom upholstered headboard that stretches the entire wall conjures a large and old-fashioned lollipop in swirls of yellow, blue, green, and pink. Hand-painted by Adam Sultan, the artwork is “inspired by childhood memories” of the circus, cotton candy, and carousel rides, Kirschner shares, and “the ultimate goal was to evoke pure joy.” At the same time, the mural maximizes space, cloaking the walls and low ceilings that Kirschner knew “would have to be treated as one outrageously unique element.”

Home office and den by A-List Interiors

Photo: Alan Barry Photography

Home office and den by A-List Interiors atHoliday House NYC

白天,它是一个办公室,但是在晚上room morphs into a den. At all times, it’s classy with an Old-World Italian feel, thanks to objects such as a Murano mirror and a credenza topped in Calacatta Viola marble. “Unlike a large home outside of the city, we don’t typically have the luxury of separate spaces for a study and a den in a Manhattan apartment,” explains A-List Interiors founder Anelle Gandelman of her decision to design a seamless multi-purpose space for the penthouse. The wallpaper, with its pattern of sweeping cypress trees, “visually expands the small footprint of the room,” Gandelman says. The terra-cotta Venetian plaster exudes a “warmth that sets the stage for the intimacy we created,” whether it be to work on the laptop or savor a cocktail.

Laundry room by Noel Pittman Design

Laundry room by Noel Pittman Design atKips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas

实用面积不需要马后炮,is why Noel Pittman’s cozy laundry room stars unexpected finds like an antique Colefax & Fowler tole lantern. “I felt that making it cheerful would help lessen the dread one may associate with the chore of doing laundry,” Pittman says. Cabinets, reached by a handy library ladder, provide storage for linens and supplies, but are covered in gathered panels of Schumacher’s country-chic Elton Check fabric. Likewise, the unsightly washer and dryer are concealed by a skirted counter, even more reason to linger at the small desk that Pittman cleverly incorporated to take advantage of the view.

Balcony by Amanda Reynal Interiors

Photo: Nickolas Sargent (Sargent Photography)

Balcony by Amanda Reynal Interiors at theKips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach

Palm Beach is synonymous with lush surroundings and retro-glam vibes, and designer Amanda Reynal elevates both alluring themes on her alfresco balcony sanctuary, what she describes as “a nod to the Palm Beach of a bygone era.” Reynal’s sunny room reinterprets the classic Palm Beach aesthetic through elements like a geometric abaca rug, a shell-encrusted chandelier, and “bright yellow curtain panels under a crenelated valance that add to the intimate and inviting environment,” she points out. A pink lacquer table, marbleized lamps, and custom-made banquettes swathed in laminated fabric florals are all, as Reynal puts it, “familiar but never-seen-before details.”