Showhouse Roundup

Showhouses are always a good venue for imaginative design concepts. Here, three designers demonstrate ideas for a kitchen, a library, and a bedroom.

Mansions and Millionaires Showhouse Mill Neck, New York

Although white is often used as a background to allow other elements to shine--colorful food on a white plate or a brilliant painting on a white wall--that isn't always the case. In Beverly Balk's all-white kitchen/dining area in Long Island's Mansions & Millionaires Showhouse, her dramatic fittings created a bit of a paradox--by making the absence of color into a presence.

"White doesn't have to be antiseptic," says Beverly. "It can adapt to whatever accent color is pleasing to you at the time."

Interior Design: Beverly Balk, Beverly Balk Interiors Inc., 708 Glen Cove Ave., Glen Head, NY 11545; 516/759-3198, beverlybalkinteriors.com.
Photography: Tria Giovan
Produced by Bonnie Maharam

Here, the designer drapes the room in scene-stealing white, using red as an accomplice rather than giving it a starring role. The bright primary hue doesn't attempt to compete, making only cameo appearances. Stripes on a bench cushion, piping on table linens, and tiebacks for white curtains framing a shelving display of shapely serving pieces all demonstrate that the mostly monochromatic scheme can handle jolts of intensity. An artful Andy Warhol-like arrangement of Campbell's soup cans on higher shelves peeks through the top, uncurtained windowpanes.

Soft fabric tempers the striking white-red scheme. Gathered skirts adorn a stool at the painted table as well as the sink surround in front of the window. Beverly added a strong graphic effect in the glass-fronted upper cupboards, where shirred sheer fabric covers the bottom two rows of panes.

Sources:
Table; chairs; ottoman with tailored skirt; ottoman fabric; bar stools; white fluted dishes; cutlery: White Furniture, 212/966-6711, whiteonwhite.com.
Paint: Benjamin Moore, 888/236-6667, benjaminmoore.com.
Ottoman with ruffled skirt: House of Design, 516/676-2560.
Ottoman fabric; red striped pillow (awning fabric); fabric on sink skirt (linen): Kravet, 888/457-2838, kravet.com.
Area rug: Stark Carpet Corp., 212/752-9000, starkcarpet.com.
Shutters: Shutter Shack, 877/913-3100, shuttershack.com.
Bookcase; white bowl; cake plate; white pitcher with greenery: Glen Head Flower Shop & Greenhouse, 516/671-2345.
Drapery framing bookcase; red tie-backs; table runners; red-trimmed placemats: House of Design, 516/676-2560.
Dishes under glass-front cabinets: Home Collection at Calvin Klein, calvinklein.com.

Designer Beverly Balk.

Lake Forest Showhouse
Lake Forest, Illinois

Designer Michael Del Piero let armchair travel be her guide to setting up the library at the Lake Forest Showhouse near Chicago. She opted out of traditional library decor--the heavily mahogany-paneled walls and the leather-bound classics. Instead, she used a different sensibility to lead her design, immersing the room in a European ambience.

"In European homes, they have reading rooms, not libraries," Michael explains. "I wanted a space that inspired exploration instead of the atmosphere of a men's club."

Interior Design: Michael Del Piero, Michael Del Piero Good Design, 1914 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL 60647; 773/772-3000, michaeldelpiero.com.
Photography: Werner Straube
Produced by Hilary Rose

To create an air of intriguing antiquity, the designer placed at eye level hundreds of beautifully patinated old books, many with worn and rugged covers, as well as other artifacts exuding a warm aura.

The original dark finish of the bookcases was lightened with a taupe-gray paint that blends with the white walls, window treatments, and upholstered furnishings.

Sources:
Wall paint ("Strong White" #2001); trim paint ("Charleston Gray" #243): Farrow & Ball, 888/511-1121, farrow-ball.com.
Doors and bookcases: original to house.
Banquette/sofa (custom); wing chairs (custom); chandelier ("Prairie Forge," custom); stools; leather chair (vintage); antique books; artifacts; accessories; painting behind sofa (by Joe Boudreau); architectural piece on wall over bookcase; photograph above fireplace (by Janet Mesic Mackie): Michael Del Piero Good Design, 773/772-3000, michaeldelpiero.com.
Banquette fabric ("Earth" #32794): Fishman's Fabrics, 312/922-7250, fishmansfabrics.com.
Fabric on leather chair (by Izit Leather): through Willow Tex, 800/221-1537, izitleather.com.
Wing-chair fabric ("Lorena"/Meringue #ED85083-108, by Threads): Lee Jofa, 800/453-3563, leejofa.com.
Drapery ("Chester"/Cream #J532F-01, by Jane Churchill): Cowtan & Tout, 212/647-6900, cowtan.com.
Fabric on table skirt ("Tamerlane Damask"/Patina #62520): Schumacher, 800/523-1200, fschumacher.com.
Floor lamp (by Lucy Slivinski); coffee table: Michael Del Piero Good Design, 773/772-3000.
Table between wing chairs: Pagoda Red, 773/235-1188, pagodared.com.

Designer Michael Del Piero.

Lake Forest Showhouse
Lake Forest, Illinois

Gail Plechaty's master bedroom suite for the Lake Forest Showhouse presents a Catch-22. On one hand, its envelope of serenity and calmness aids sleeping, which is, after all, the room's ultimate intention. But with a space cloaked in creamy fabrics, natural light, and furnishings that create such elegance, who wants to waste time in shut-eye?

Views of breathtaking gardens guided Gail's decision to produce a neutral suite. She bathed the walls in warm ivory to create a room that doesn't compete with the outdoors but whose tranquil ambience throws the arresting, glamorous furnishings into relief.

"It is maddening to me when the exterior and interior do not flow as one," Gail explains. "After all, the world's best architect and designer is Mother Nature."

Interior Design: Gail Plechaty, Real Simple Design, 17405 E. Millburn Rd., Old Mill Creek, IL 60083; 847/356-1111.
Photography: Werner Straube
Produced by Hilary Rose

In an ensemble that registers as feminine, the designer anchored the large room with a couple of pieces providing masculine heft. A black-painted four-poster is dressed in ivory linens that emphasize the bed's classic silhouette. On the facing wall, a gentlemen's press sits between two windows wearing billowy panels of ivory silk.

A seating area composed of twin all-white upholstered chairs sharing a Lucite table.

Sources:
Paint ("Linen White"): Benjamin Moore & Co., 888/236-6667.
Gentleman's press ("Philippe"); bergères (Louis XVI), table at end of bed; table between chairs: Antiques on Old Plank Road, 630/887-1995, oldplank.com.
Chair fabric ("Diamante"): Nancy Corzine, 312/645-4500, nancycorzine.com.
Chaise: designer's collection.
Draperies (custom); table lamp: Real Simple, 847/356-1111.
Neoclassical intaglios: Dessin Fournir, 785/434-2777, dessinfournir.com.
Chandelier: Sotheby's, sothebys.com.
Rugs (antique): Minasian Oriental Rugs, 847/864-1010, minasian.com.
Drapery workroom: Sylvie Kiesel, SBK Enterprises, 847/234-8554.
Bed (designed by Gail Plechaty): Real Simple Design, 847/356-1111.
Fabrication: Modi Antiques & Restoration, 847/266-8727.
Bed linens: Bedside Manor Ltd., 800/485-4744, bedsidemanorltd.com.
Painted canvas for wall by chaise: Francine Turk Gallery, 312/674-1818, francineturk.com.
Side table: Real Simple Design, 847/356-1111.
Cabinetry; dresser: CabinetWerks Design Studio, 847/572-5252, cabinetwerksdesignstudio.com.
Stainless mirrored top for dresser: designed and fabricated by Mick de Giulio, de Giulio Kitchen Design, 847/256-8833, degiulio.org.
Artwork: Francine Turk Gallery, 312/674-1818, francineturk.com.
Drapery (custom): Real Simple Design, 847/356-1111.
Drapery workroom: Sylvie Kiesel, SBK Enterprises, 847/234-8554.
Chairs: Thomas Jolly Antiques, 312/595-0018, thomasjollyantiques.com.
Table: designer's collection.
Chandelier: original to house.

Designer Gail Plechaty