Kips Bay Palm Beach Decorator Show House

West Palm Beach, FL

We took inspiration from the architecture of the 1924 Mediterranean Revival-style home and mixed classic garden ornaments with contemporary furnishings and elements of fiction and fantasy to create an estate for entertainments of all sorts.

For the home's front entrance, we placed monumental 19th century terracotta urns in masses of orange bromeliads to flank the gates and Moorish-inspired ikoro wood planters filled with silver palmetto for bold texture along the entrance walk. Along the foundation we repeated the palmetto with frosty serpentine lines of Snake Plant 'Black Coral' for flowing Art Deco theatricality

This garden and pavilion are inspired by artist Orville Bulman, a painter and fixture in Palm Beach society in the 1950's and 60's. Bulman painted riotous jungle landscapes filled with animals, people and exquisite filigree stuctures inspired by his travels in Haiti. The plants are wild and colorful and include bonsai Croton, cutleaf Monstera, and extravagant Parasol Leaf Tree. Our pavilion references classic Chinoiserie style and woven rattan patterns but is made entirely from computer-milled PVC with mirror inserted into the doorways for a bit of modern shimmer

Privacy and a sense of containment informed the design of the dining and cocktail garden we placed under the Indian Crepe Myrtle tree. We used a plethora of palms, elephant ears and philodendrons to separate the space from the busy front of the home and curated 19th century limestone garden antiques with modern furniture in similar tones for cocktails and dining. Planted “hanging gardens” drape from the tree branches to create colorful mini-jungles enlivening the space.