New York City-based designer Vicente Wolf transformed a breakfast room into a calming oasis at the 2019 Kips Bay Decorator Show House. He unveiled an unconventional space that mixes reality and fantasy in this year’s show home, located on the Upper East Side.
The House Tipster Industry team was able to speak exclusively with the designer during the show, where he explained how his relaxing space came to life for this year’s charity-supporting event.
“My room is the Dreaming Room,” Wolf said. “All different things happen here. You can lay in the bathtub, you can read. It’s all about creating a fantasy and creating a space that really can answer all your dreams.”
The room centers around state-of-the-art fixtures like Kohler’s Ceric soaking tub, which is paired with a fine collection of antique furniture and beautiful spring greenery.
“The inspiration came really very simply, because the people from Kohler, who did the bathtub, came to me when we just started thinking about what we were going to do in the room, and they said, ‘Would you like any of our products?'” Wolf explained. “That’s how the bathtub came along.”
On your first-take looking at the space, you’ll notice a striking eggplant wall color and coordinating red-purple accent pieces that set the tone for an enchanting space.
“I am known for creating white spaces, and I wanted to do color,” the designer shared. “Most of the time, clients request the white. I started to think of colors that you don’t see that often, and aubergine, which is eggplant, was a color that I used in the 1980s. I thought that would be a great color, because it’s very contemporary, it has a sense of warmth to it. It’s not grays, beiges, and browns: it has a personality.”
As part of the room, Wolf brought in statement-making products like an early 18th century Chinese bamboo console, marble accessories from India, an antique silver mirror – and a 1940s effigy of a bust from the designer’s own VW Home line.
“We brought in [all] traditional pieces,” Wolf said. “But I wanted the room to read completely contemporary. So that was interesting to work out the balance of elements in this space. I didn’t want it to look like a set.”
To hear Vicente Wolf take you through his room at the 2019 Kips Bay Decorator Show House NYC, make sure to catch a recap of our live video stream in the Facebook player below.
Guests will be able to attend the 47th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House, located at 36-38 East 74th Street, New York, NY, now through May 30, 2019. Stay tuned for more of House Tipster Industry’s exclusive coverage of the show, including more virtual tours guided by the season’s top designers.
