York Show House Preview!

 with Katherine Hawkins and Rosanne Palazola of Trio Design

After months of traveling back and forth to work on our four spaces at the 24th Annual York Decorator Show House, my Trio Design friends and I celebrated with the other show designers at a special preview party gala on Friday night. We were all very happy to ditch our painting clothes, get dressed up, and celebrate with a round of bubbly ... the hard part is over!

The view from the guest cottage at Secret Cove

This was the first time that we got a chance to see all of the transformed spaces by the many talented designers who are part of this year’s show. Watching bits and pieces of the rooms come together during our weekly visits built up a lot of excitement! Stunning furnishings, luxurious materials, freshly painted walls in seaside hues, dramatic artwork and fabulous light fixtures, have all come together to tell a new story for this seaside home. The resulting spaces, with their special touches and designer style, show just what can be accomplished with a lot of planning, dedication, and real teamwork. Having beautiful resources available for our use, like paint and paper from Farrow and Ball, fixtures from Designer Bath and accessories from Blue Peacock Home for example, made the job that much sweeter. While I can’t show you what’s behind all of the closed doors, I can share some sneak peeks and gala photos ...

SNEAK PEEK: In Syrena’s Bath, a sea fan and ocean coral fabric from Thibaut was my starting point. I paired it with rich, chalky paint colors from Farrow and Ball (from top to bottom: Borrowed Light, Manor House Gray, and Pitch Blue). This full-size bath coordinates with an adjoining teen bedroom filled with thoughtful details selected by Katherine. When you see playful shades of purple and lavender combined with lots of silver sparkle, you will know you are in the right place!

SNEAK PEEK: my husband John in a Trio Designed space.

I couldn’t have pulled it off without him! xoxo

Rosanne and I worked with Mary Donovan of Landry and Arcari to select carpets for two of our spaces. Mary has been by our side for many design shows! Rosanne’s “Poolside Portal” is really fabulous and the new carpet she selected for the custom install is the perfect combination of practical and pretty.   

SNEAK PEEK: accessories in the Petite Powder Room

If you like “runway-to-room” design translations, don’t miss the Petite Powder Room that I decorated based on the aesthetic of fashion designer Jason Wu. It is just around the corner from the show house kitchen and at the end of the hall in Rosanne’s Poolside Portal. Thanks to my friends at Brizo, visitors to the show can see the Jason Wu for Brizo matte black collection in real life. The collection is super glamorous, as is the wallpaper from Farrow and Ball

My Brizo traveling companion, designer Barbara Elza Hirsch (on the right), has decorated a very elegant screened porch at Secret Cove. In it she features mosaic work by tile artist Ariel Finelt Shoemaker (on the left). Their design collaboration is beyond lovely!

SNEAK PEEK: a glimpse of Barbara’s screened porch with vintage accents

with Katherine, Michael Nest, designer Frank Hodge,

designer Helen Hanan, and Dave Hawkins

Frank Hodge and Helen Hanan have both designed unique interiors for the show. While Frank’s study is right next to Katherine and my space on the second floor, Helen’s guest suite is on the other side of the house. It was fun to be able to meet up at the gala and compare design notes, since we didn’t often get a chance to connect while busy working on our separate rooms.

Friends at the gala included artist Susan Siefer (whose gorgeous commissioned works of art grace the halls in one of the spaces designed by Meredith Bohn) and my Blogfest 2013 companion designer Linda Holt. Linda loves color as much as I do, and no we did not coordinate our outfits!

SNEAK PEEK: the master bedroom suite by Pat Finn

Pat Finn of Finn-Martens Design and I have worked on a number of design projects together over the years. Her work always impresses me with its good Feng Shui. Just walk into her rooms and immediately you will feel relaxed! Her Secret Cove master bedroom suite (bedroom, bath, and screened porch with hot tub)  is quite the “after” and includes a few pieces selected from the Designer Bath showroom along with a lighting favorite from my friends over at Dunes and Duchess.  

There are lots of other designers involved and more pictures to come, but do try to make it up to Kittery Point before the show ends on August 15th. It will conclude with a designer auction at a Secret Garden Party and Closing Soiree. Super fun!

While up Maine for the preview party, my husband and I took the kids to stay at my mom’s cottage near York beach. We couldn’t let the weekend go by without a quick visit to Nubble Light, Kittery Trading Post and the Weathervane for seafood. Now that the show house has opened, I am planning to enjoy lots more day trips and summer travel, starting with a quick visit this week to Memphis, courtesy of the oh-so-generous team at Brizo. Stay tuned for updates on my reunion with the Blogger 19 and a special day spent with Brizo’s chosen charity St. Jude’s Hospital. I am excited to see what they have planned for us, and am so looking forward to seeing all my design blogging friends who will be in attendance. Over 100 of us are Memphis-bound, so it should be quite an experience! Follow us at #blogger19 on twitter for real-time updates throughout the week. And if you make it to the show house while I’m away, tag your thoughts on twitter with #yorkshowhouse.

I’d love to hear what you think!