Architectural Digest Home Design Show
Navigating this massive event — where 500-plus brands of furnishings, appliances, fabrics, flooring and more are both on display and for sale — can be exhausting. What luck, then, that there’s now an Outdoor Pavilion, where you can kick back on comfy D’Apostrophe furniture, under Sunbrella’s revolutionary “Twisty” shade, and catch top chef Jonathan Waxman whipping up quesadillas on David Rockwell’s new Caliber grill (Sat., 3 p.m.).
You’ll also see a lot more technology this year than ever before. “It’s like a consumer electronics show, where technology is finally integrating into all aspects of the home,” says Giulio Capua, vice president and publisher of Architectural Digest.
“There will be traditional products, like Crestron, along with those that are just beginning to penetrate the US market, like the TopBrewer. If you can imagine a countertop with just a spout — all the TopBrewer machinery is underneath, in one self-contained unit. And it’s controlled by any smartphone, so you can adjust the milk, the foam for, say, a latte, then walk downstairs and it will be ready. It’s part of a trend of clean and modern, but also cool and functional.” And pricey, too — a TopBrewer will run you about $11,000.
Fortunately, not everything at the show is so out of reach. “We’ve tried to provide an interesting balance — high-end brands, plus individual artisans all under one roof,” says Capua. “And there’s a new retail area called The Shops at ADHDS — with the Cooper-Hewitt Museum Shop, DwellStudios, several others — appealing to a wide range of price points.”
Info: Architectural Digest Home Design Show, March 20-23, is open to the trade and VIP ticket holders today, and to the public Friday through Sunday. Admission is $30 in advance, $40 at the door. Pier 94, 55th Street at 12th Avenue.
Sotheby’s Designer Showhouse
For the first time ever, Sotheby’s is launching a Designer Showhouse, using pieces from its upcoming spring sales, including European and American furniture, silver, paintings, prints, ceramics and more. The series of spaces — set on the sixth floor of the auction house’s Manhattan headquarters — will replicate an eclectically luxurious home, from a modern-masculine living room to a drawing room that would work in a contemporary English country house.
“It’s a different approach,” says Csongor Kis, specialist in French & Continental Furniture for Sotheby’s, who helped develop the concept. “We show that you can mix and match contemporary art and design and create a modern and livable space.”
Sotheby’s has selected a broad range of marquee interior designers to curate the rooms. Expect a fashion-forward approach to the entry hall, complete with taxidermy, from Ryan Korban — who has crafted retail stores for Alexander Wang and Balenciaga. For the study, design star Daun Curry of Modern Declaration is combining mid-century modern pieces with solid and classical English furniture. Shaler Ladd Design Corporation created the library, using a Francis Bacon print as its centerpiece. “It’s not your typical stockbroker’s Tudor library,” says Andrew Ogletree, specialist in English Furniture for Sotheby’s. “It’s kind of a philospher’s library, where each piece has been thought out.”
The lineup of other design talents includes Olasky & Sisteden, run by Bunny Williams protégé Catherine Casteel Olasky and Maximilian P. Sinsteden, and the esteemed McMillen Inc.
Info: The Designer Showhouse, March 24-28, is free and open to the public. Sotheby’s, 1334 York Ave.
DIFFA Dining by Design
No red-checked tablecloths here — it’s all about crazy, creative dining environments envisioned by top tastemakers from the fields of interior design, fashion and architecture. Among the 34 installations (plus three student designs and four centerpiece tables), look for Diane von Furstenberg’s bold, bright animal-print room using Kravet fabrics; Calvin Klein Home’s totally Zen Japanese dining area; and Slade Architecture for Axor (the high-end bathroom fixture company), featuring wallpaper printed with the brand’s chrome fixtures.
The event shares space with the Architectural Digest Home Design Show — which means you can wander over and check out the tabletops free with your admission ticket — but it’s much more fun to party with the designers themselves. There’s tonight’s preview celebration, Cocktails by Design, with drinks and gourmet bites from NYC eateries like Asellina and Indochine, along with a silent auction; or splurge for the fancy-pants Dining by Design Gala on Monday night, which guarantees a seat at one of the spectacular tables. All funds benefit organizations that help those affected by HIV/AIDS.
INFO: DIFFA Dining by Design, March 20-24. Tickets for the cocktail preview are $200; gala tickets are $650. Pier 94, 55th Street at 12th Avenue.
The lineup of other design talents includes Olasky & Sisteden, run by Bunny Williams protégé Catherine Casteel Olasky and Maximilian P. Sinsteden, the esteemed McMillen Inc. and Rush Jenkins from WRJ Design.