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When Maryline Damour, founder of design-build firm Damour Drake and industry network Kingston Design Connection, began the Kingston Design Showhouse in 2018, the region’s modern makers and design talents were relatively unknown to outsiders. These days, with help of design fair Field & Supply and a pandemic-induced migration of New York City residents to upstate, those talents are seeing a new swell of attention.
“The project has two goals. One, to connect Hudson Valley designers with each other, and two, to show that design sourcing can happen right here in Kingston,” Damour told AD PRO at the show house’s launch. Well, mission accomplished. Now, she’s adding one more goal: Accessibility.
With New York City transplants arriving in the region during the pandemic, the average home value rose 30% in the Kingston metro area, according to Zillow. In an effort to help a local resident find affordable housing, Kingston Design Connection has partnered with the Kingston City Land Bank to rehab a property in dire need of repair for the latest show house. The home will be sold to a first-time homeowner who earns 80% or less of the area median income. “It’s the type of partnership that I’d love to see show houses across the country imitate,” Damour says.
See the incredible transformation of this year’s Kingston Design Showhouse, on view on weekends through October 24, below.
Porch styling, Nest Design Studios
The residence's newly revealed front porch, which was touched up with a coat of Benjamin Moore’s Waller Green paint by the Kingston City Land Bank, creates a welcoming front entrance to the home. For the showhouse, Stacey Anderson of Nest Design Studios styled the leisurely space with outdoor pieces from FN Furniture and local shop Milne.
Entry and hallway, Audrey Sterk Design
As a nod to the Hudson Valley’s waterways, designer Audrey Sterk enveloped the entry in Audrey Home Collection’s Coastal Grasses mural. Great blue herons, red-wing blackbirds, and other avian species indigenous to the East Coast dot the walls. “[The birds] seem to make their way up the staircase and fly through the entry,” Sterk says. “I love the feeling of being outdoors when you step inside.” Upstairs, Sterk pairs a lantern fixture from KingsHaven and a cane accent chair from Dean Babin in the hallway.
Living room, Nesta Studio
There are many incredible collaborators featured within the living room retreat dreamed up by Larysa Sendich of Nesta Studio—artisans Paul Briggs, Jonathan Shlafer, Julianne Ahn, and Stephen Antonson among them—but perhaps the most heartwarming is her five-year-old son, who helped Sendich paint the geometric tiles that cover the mantel. Wall-hung textile art by Molly Haynes and handwoven pillows by Jamie Goldenberg of Hart Textiles cozy the space. “You can spend time in this space, and there is enough movement to give the eye freedom to bounce around and always land on new surprises to discover and enjoy,” Sendich says of the impressive artisan assemblage.
Powder room, JMorris Design
“When I need to recharge my senses, I look to art and nature, so I combined these two impactful elements to guide my finishes and design,” says Jennifer J. Morris of her powder room concept. Voutsa’s Harold wallpaper, with its golden brushstrokes and illustrated foliage, became a natural starting point. From there, Morris tapped millworker Bob Mason of Mason Woodworks to create a bleached oakwood wainscoting to frame the room and add character to the fully renovated interior. The autumnal color palette continues throughout thanks to floor tiles from Juju Papers, a sink skirt crafted from a painterly Sarah Von Dreele fabric, and artworks by Patricia Heal and Bill Phelps through Robin Rice gallery.
Kitchen, Jesika Farkas Design
For interior-slash-production designer Jesika Farkas, creating an interior is all about setting a scene. In the kitchen, she does just that with help from the Zellige Charred Cedar tile by Zio & Sons for Clé Tile, which travels from countertop to ceiling and grounds the shadowy, plaster-painted kitchen walls. Copper countertops and a glass globe fixture from Hudson Valley Lighting create elegant details for the rustic space.
The Scrabble room, Haleh Atabeigi
For the quaint space next to the kitchen, decorative painter Haleh Atabeigi wanted to create, as she puts it, “a dynamic incubator of creativity.” She drew inspiration from the work of legendary designer and longtime collaborator Mario Buatta, namely his “Chinese Tea Room” in Carolands Château. The wallpaper—hand-painted by Atabeigi herself—establishes the playful space, and is accompanied by a Maureen Burns Bowie sculpture and pieces from Buatta’s tea set. (Atabeigi had the latter in her personal collection.) “The way we have all lived the past year has pointed out the importance of having a space in the home that is separated from any reminders of chores, work, and anything stressful,” Atabeigi says. “I see the wallpaper as a membrane that keeps those little stressful thoughts outside the room—and keeps the fun ones inside.”
Dining room, ABH Home Design
In the second floor dining room, Aude Bronson-Howard of ABH Home Design was blessed with good architectural bones in the form of a tin ceiling, lengthy windows, and clean-lined mantel. “It reminded me of those intimate rooms evoked in the work of the late 19th- and early 20th-century European artists,” Bronson-Howard says. To play up the moodiness, she looked to the works of painters Vilhelm Hammershøi and Giorgio Morandi, taking note of diffused light sources and the room’s aged wall paneling. Persian rugs from Darius Nemati, ceramic vessels by Ibu Nabaraki from Lawton Mull, and pieces by Michael Christie-Fogg (“the faux-bois genius,” Bronson-Howard says) delight throughout the layered space.
Primary bathroom, Barbara Fisher Interiors and Suzanne Cook of Atmosphere Kitchen and Bath
From a custom Fromental wallpaper featuring metallic, embossed blossom trees to the ceramic inlay floor detailed with butterfly motifs, designer Barbara Fisher’s primary bathroom weaves in elements from nature. Local cabinetmaker Matt Hogan of Reliquary Studio designed the pared-back vanity and hutch. (“I already have a new project earmarked for him,” Fisher adds.) The end goal of the tranquil space, Fisher says, is to create an antidote to multifunctional spaces. “There should be one room designated to rejuvenating and feeling a sense of calm,” she adds.
Lounge, Damour Drake
Inside the “Anywhere But Here” lounge, designers Maryline Damour and Mel Jones Jr. of Damour Drake encapsulate the adventure-seeking spirit that almost everyone encountered over the past year and a half. Though the room’s inspiration may “speak to our need to escape, physically and mentally,” Damour says, the furnishings featured throughout it are sourced close to home: Artist Kim Markel’s recycled composite-made Glow chair and table coalesce with fine artist Eric Archer’s meditative woodcarving and an Enfumé Acid mural by Flavor Paper owner (and Kingston Design Connection board member) Jon Sherman.
Landscape design, Jeff Keiter of JKLA
In the backyard, Keiter establishes a cheerful outdoor escape with a Benjamin Moore Rosy Peach-painted fencing and pergola. The landscape designer transformed what was once a pile of dirt into a sun-drenched green space, with new trees and tall grasses dotting the perimeter. Nest Studio Designs outfits the space with outdoor furniture from FN Furniture.
