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Decorator Showhouses
I was clearing out pictures from my camera and came across some images from a show house I'd visited earlier this year. My issue with many showhouses is that they're so unrealistic. They're not cohesive. They're too over the top, with designers pulling out every trick in their bag to catch your attention.
This house, a lovely 1920's place, perched on a hill overlooking Baltimore had been totally ruined. First, someone had thought to re-stucco the house, taking away all of the patina that had built up over the decades and making it look like a newly built house. 
Then, they'd taken a house with classic Tudorish lines and tried to force it to become Craftsman-style by adding strangely-placed lanterns and stained glass windows.
The new decor was practically hateful, with faux finishes,
road maps adhered to the walls,
and all sorts of strange painted treatments (not to mention the skirt on this chair!).
Worst of all were the furnishings, which looked like they came from a cheap warehouse store,
or the auto-body shop (see map room above) or local thrift shop where they must have found this sofa/bed. 
I am generally a very positive person, but I truly hated this house and only spent about a half an hour there. There was almost nothing that interested me, except for this sweet house which I found when I got lost leaving the showhouse.
What do you think of Decorator Showhouses? Are they all this bad (Kips Bay not included)?
Only been to Kips Bay, before it moved out of the real house. Even then, there were things to love and things to hate, but that chair, yikes.
ReplyDeleteI fear most of the ones that I see contain all the aforementioned offences. And what is with all the faux finishes and decorative painting? Ugh.
ReplyDeleteMeg- that little darling darling house was a gift from God sent to you after going through that inferno.la
ReplyDeleteI used to be involved in program book production for a bunch of showhouses and, unfortunately, I think a lot of them are pretty bad.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, when they got a good house, the now defunct NSO showhouse in DC could be pretty great. One year it was a gorgeous house in Georgetown and the designers totally stepped up to the challenge. The next year, it was a brand new mcmansiony travesty in Potomac. The only room I liked that year was by my friend Christopher - an elevator covered in leopard print and pink and chandeliers.
"unrealistic. They're not cohesive. They're too over the top, with designers pulling out every trick in their bag to catch your attention."
ReplyDeleteWell, that's what I go to showhouses for. And no, I don't think they are all that bad, honestly. In Boston, the Jr. League showhouse is usually pretty great, and JCC of the North Shore also usually pulls out a beautiful showhouse, which they do on the off years of the Jr. League.
The showhouses I think are bad are the ones that are run by national outfits that are ostensibly for fundraising for a local organization. But, the local group isn't running the show and there is no QC. The long running ones usually have higher standards. Meanwhile, Kips Bay has some off moments as well. Listen to The Skirted Roundtable this week - we take on a biggie from Kips Bay!
Wow. That was really bad. Don't you wonder, just what were they thinking?
ReplyDeleteOur local symphony show house is usually quite good. Cohesiveness is sometimes a problem, but it's nice to see each designer's work highlighted.
Eeek. I'm still reeling from that awfully bad show house. I'm so sorry.
Linda - the Boston Junior League houses was one of the ones I worked on. I never got to visit the house itself, but they were a great organization - totally on top of things.
ReplyDeleteLinda and Kit... I've been to a couple of other ones this group has done and they've been okay. This seemed to be catering to a whole different crowd than before. It was in an odd location, too. To me, there seemed to be a lot of weird elements in the house that seemed very unprofessional.
ReplyDeleteLinda... can't wait to hear the SR this week!
Wow - the skirt on that chair is just about the worst thing I have ever seen on a blog!
ReplyDeleteAtlanta has some great showhouses, and for the most part they are done quite well. My favorite is the Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles showhouse. The designers seem to get together and come up with a cohesive vision before going in their own direction; I am always amazed at how well the house hangs together despite all of the different designers. There are some other showhouses in Atlanta that can't claim to have the same end result...
This year the Symphony showhouse was in the new St. Regis residences. They had a contemporary space, traditional, and transitional. It was a brilliant idea - each space worked quite well as it had a similar design aesthetic and approach. In years past it has been jarring to have a contemporary room right next to an ultra-traditional room.
I think that these houses are like any "Haute Couture" fashion show..they are "showy,unrealistic" but meant to "inspire". Unfortunatley, like any "art" project they sometimes miss the mark or even worse; fall apart.. Every piece of art speaks to different people.
ReplyDeleteThis one looks even worse than usual and that's saying something. That chair is mind-boggling.
ReplyDeleteThese showhouses are at best ok. The top designers in Baltimore never ever participate. They must have determined they have nothing to gain from it. Compare this to Kips Bay which has the likes of Bunny Williams and Jamie Drake. I don't know why it's like this, but if you want to see a good showhouse you need to leave town. (I'm not trashing B-more. I love it.) Saw a nice one this spring in Georgetown. Farrow and Ball was a sponsor and all the rooms used their paints and wallpapers.
Aaack, what they've done to that chair is a travesty! How horrific for you to experience ;> Did you get to sneak into that last house pictured? I'd love to see the inside!
ReplyDeleteI find show houses, for the most part, enormously disappointing, especially outside of the northeast section of the country. I do not know why this is. But it disappoints me. I think designers should be up to par wherever they practice—be original, be lively, be coherent, be realistic, be inspiring. Frankly, I'd give anything to be invited to decorate a show house room. Any takers???
ReplyDeleteOh dear! No they are not all this bad!!
ReplyDeleteI think the chair win hands down in double categories: What Were They Thinking? and Ugliest Ever. I agree with comments that the houses are for inspiration not for imitation. Although one of the best tips I ever got came from a designer in a show house and that is to design your garden with flower colors that look great in your house. No brainer for harmonious bouquets.
ReplyDeleteYou were wise to empty the camera. An exorcism might also be in oarder.
Oh no. That poor house. I think to call a home a "showhouse", there should at least be good design, over the top or not. The Pasadena Showcase House, open in April and May every year, is always very good... just enough over the top to be fun. And the local homes that open for holiday fundraisers and such are usually very "real" and tasteful. Lucky you to have found the one stinker in the country!
ReplyDeleteI have done 3 Decorator Showcase houses in San Francisco- and generally showcase houses support a charity. These rooms can cost THOUSANDS of dollars to design and designers do them to help out charity but also get new clients. I do admit that people have "different" tastes that I might like- but they are trying and there is design for everyone. All different levels.
ReplyDeleteThese designers still put time and $ into the project.
I have to wonder if the condition of the house on the outside affected the quality of the workmanship inside.
ReplyDeleteI know when we ripped off the vinyl siding and liberated our Victorian farmhouse, suddenly, our cheap, second-hand, yard sale furniture didn't fit. We didn't go whole hog buying all new stuff, but found a way to mix antiques and new more intelligently.
Not successful, I would agree. As Grant metnioned, San Francisco has some wonderful showhouses. I would say that most of the rooms are great. There will always be a few misses, but on the whole very successful! Sacramento is a MUCH smaller market and a smaller designer pool to pick from. We have had showhouses in the past, some successful, some not so much. But it is true that alot of time, money and effort is put in by all involved for charities in the area. (And I agree with Mrs. Blandings! stop with the faux finishes already!!!)
ReplyDeletebless their hearts. A lot of effort and thought put into this. and you're right, never are these things cohesive. I participated in a showhouse in the early 90s. And even back then, the faux wall treatments seemed tired and cheapened the space.
ReplyDeletebut really, the saddest part about this is what they did to the outside. That poor little house.