Fifty years ago, the Kips Bay Decorator Show House was founded to raise funds for the after-school and enrichment programs of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. What began as a philanthropic takeover has since grown into one of the most influential fixtures on the interiors calendar, first in New York, then expanding to Palm Beach and, more recently, Dallas.
This year marks the 50th anniversary, and the tradition has returned to New York in a fresh way. For the first time, the Show House has moved downtown, taking over a six-story Greenwich Village townhouse at 20 West 12th Street. With 13-foot ceilings, seven wood-burning fireplaces, eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a private garden, and even an original Otis elevator, the house offers the grandeur and quirks designers relish. Its cobblestone setting also nods to the neighborhood’s bohemian past.
