One of my favorite things to do is visit the Kips Bay Decorator Show House in New York City. There is always something interesting to see and NOT! Each room has a story, some with beautiful things and others, with not such beautiful things but that is the glory of design; each to his own style. As they say, ” One mans trash is another man’s treasure” well this works in design as well.
Years ago I was nick named the “Queen of Pattern” because of my penchant for liking wallpapers and fabrics. So I will focus on rooms with patterns, as they are always the most interesting to view. First up, is the living room by designer Richard Mishaan. Love the abstract expressionist artwork he painted for the walls.
End view of the 40 foot living room designed by Richard Mashaan
Photo Credit: Trevor Tondro for The New York Times
I like Richards comment about his paintings”“Nobody can understand what they are. They’re like, ‘Clifford Sills? Helen Frankenthaler?’ I’m like, ‘Whatever you want them to be.’ It’s more about the vibe it gives your room.”
Living Room by Richard Mishaan
Photo Credit: Trevor Tondro for The New York Times
He also says some other interesting quotes. Apparently, when he was viewing the original room, he said looking at the gilded floral frames ” At first I thought, ‘Oh, no!’ But you know what? Everyone has stuff. Everyone I work with has their collections. It doesn’t matter what it is; giving it context is my task.” In my view, that is really what being an interior designer is all about, creating a vision that personifies the clients style is really the task at hand. The lattice wallpaper pattern holds this vast room together. One thing wallpaper does is keep a sense of rhythm throughout a rooms decor and it creates a feeling of intimacy when used in large spaces such as this living room.