Kingston Design Showhouse designers update and elevate a Colonial home

Andrea Lillo //Executive Editor//October 15, 2024

This past Friday, the sixth-annual Kingston Design Showhouse opened the doors to its oldest home, a Colonial house built in the 1800s in Stone Ridge, N.Y.

Eleven designers participated this year, creating an elevated, stylish home, which required rewiring and a new heating system.

Related: See inside the Kingston Design Showhouse

And as with its other showhouses, the permanently installed elements of the showhouse (such as the kitchen, bathrooms, wallpaper, tiling and cabinetry) will not be removed after it closes, but gifted to the new homeowner, as part of Kingston Design Connection’s mission to enhance local economic development in the area. Designers are also encouraged to use locally made products and area tradespeople when possible.

Here are a few behind-the-scenes looks from several of the designers.

Dining room: Poppy Interiors

What about the dining room appealed to Andrea Hutchman of Los Angeles-based Poppy Interiors? “The light is beautiful,” she said, and the room has big, six-over-six windows. A first-time showhouse participant (she found out about this one through a call-for-designers post on Designers Today’s website), she’s not used to working with historic homes, so this was a new arena for her. But she embraced the challenge and went with bold wallpaper: the Jacobs stripe design from Peter Dunham paired with a custom-colored snake design from Flavor Paper. The snake theme was repeated in the dinnerware, and the décor included a floral piece made by Scott Zimmer, who created it by dipping flowers in clay. She also tiled the fireplace in Delft tiles from Petra Palumbo, which included hot dogs, playing cards and sneakers among its designs.

The Country Goth Parlor: Hendley & Co.

Jessica Lynn Williams of Newburgh, N.Y.-based Hendley & Co. wanted a country gothic narrative for her space, mixing “dark and unusual” items together, while also recognizing the age of the home. “I wanted to celebrate the past but also celebrate tomorrow.” The room’s custom pieces include the Mood Bar, where people can pin notes to its surface, made by Boxo with a countertop by United Marble, and countertop chairs and a mirror from Sawkille Co. The wallpaper, called Millefleur in Masquerade, is from Little Greene. “I wanted it to play into the style of the home being Colonial,” Williams said.

Kitchen: Alison Zavracky Design Studio

For her kitchen space, Alison Uljee Zavracky of Alison Zavracky Design Studio wanted a space that evoked “indulgence and decadence,” she said. She went with a food-inspired and autumn-appropriate color for the walls: Benjamin Moore’s Satchel, which pairs well with the black and stainless-steel SMEG appliances and Benjamin Moore’s Black Beauty paint on the custom cabinets. Zavracky also made the dining table with a pedestal base and glass top. Neolith created the countertops.

Hall bathroom: NJA Interiors

First-time showhouse participant Naika Andre of NJA Interiors had a red tile image on her Pinterest page for years, she said, and decided this was the opportunity to bring it to reality, creating a bold, red theme for her hall bathroom. The red shower tile is Tile America’s Telaio in burnt flan, while the mosaic floor tile is Tile America’s Black and White Flower. Neolith provided the countertop, from its The New Classtone collection.

She also replaced the claw foot tub and rejiggered the bathroom’s layout to maximize the space. The wallpaper from Porter Teleo has handpainted water lilies on it. In Buddhism, water lilies symbolize rebirth, which Andre thought was appropriate for the room.

The Santuary: Casolare 

Leah Beswick of Casolare loves nature and how she feels in it. She wanted to embrace a Japanese forest-bathing theme for her bedroom/meditation space on the second floor. A red Chinese wedding bed dominates the space, and its placement was the room’s biggest challenge, she said. She ended up covering up one of the windows by running a ceiling track with drapery across the whole wall and putting the bed in front of it, because though natural light is always preferred, this space was supposed to be meditative, she said. The forest theme continued with the animal rug design from Patterson Flynn and, on the ceiling, moss-covered circles from a Ukrainian artist she found on Etsy.

Morning room: Damour Drake

Maryline Damour, the founder of the Kingston Design Showhouse and principal of Damour Drake, created a women’s sanctuary for her morning room, which was commonplace in large, country homes back in the day, she said. This allowed the woman of the house “to start her day in a contemplative manner,” she said. “How you start your day is how you finish.” The room included art from Damour’s own collection, including works from Haiti, and a custom embroidered art piece from Alicia Bennett that highlighted one of Damour’s favorite French sayings, which in English says: “There all is order and beauty” from a poem by Charles Beaudelaire. What is the saying? Maybe delete that reference if you don’t have it.  Furniture maker Joseph Canelos the china cabinet, and the round table is from von Miller Workshop. The ceiling, walls and trim were painted with a light pink color, Benjamin Moore’s Head Over Heels.

Primary suite: Kristna Fitzpatrick

The red theme continued in Krishna Fitzpatrick’s primary suite, which used Benjamin Moore’s Cottage Red paint on the wall, as well as a custom-made, curvy headboard upholstered in a mahogany silk wool velvet made by Patterson Flynn. “I wanted a more saturated space” that leaned masculine, she said. Other furnishings included drapery and bedding from Annie Selke, Michael Robbins’ Taza lounge chair and Pencil lamp, and closet sconces from Swell Studio.

The Perennial primary bathroom: Studio Hinterland 

The primary bathroom swung in the other direction, with a bright, floral-focused design. “I wanted it to feel like the room was perched in the trees,” said Jennifer Salvemini of Studio Hinderland, who is also the executive director of the showhouse. Her company designed the Botanical Stripe wallpaper for the room, inspired by original art, as well as the Clovelea side table, serving tray and vanity cabinet. This space has a bathtub – which came from her backyard, she said – as well as fun shower tile, called Fez Lime and Fez Avocado, from Exquisite Surfaces.

In addition, the front garden was created by Zimmer Gardens and Mountain Meadow Gardens, while Shana Luther Interiors designed the back porch. In addition, Amanda Russo Rubman showcased her art in a second-floor gallery.

The showhouse, located at 3714 Main Street in Stone Ridge, N.Y., is open every weekend in October.

Poppy Interiors’ dining room design. Photo: Phil Mansfield

The Sawkille Co. mirror

Home office: KD Reid

For his space on the first floor, KD Reid wanted to create a multifunctional space, one that could operate as an office if needed (without the traditional home office desk) or used for gatherings with friends. He worked with Fromental for a custom color on the landscape-inspired wallpaper (Bucolic in Saxe), which reminded Reid of road trips he took with his father. That was paired with Benjamin Moore’s Blue Gaspe paint. The desk/dining table is Tom Faulkner’s Ava round table, grounded by Patterson Flynn’s snake-themed Espiral rug. Furniture maker Joseph Canelos created a globe stand for the room. Other furnishings included Currey & Co.’s Menefee Silver chandelier and Ruxley floor lamp, and an Italian contemporary carved oak cabinet.

NJA Interiors’ hall bathroom design. Photos: Phil Mansfield

Andre used artwork from Jean Benoit in her bathroom.

The morning room from Damour Drake. Photo: Phil Mansfield

Damour had an artist embroider her favorite French saying as wall art.

Studio Hinterland’s primary bathroom. Photos: Phil Mansfield

The fun shower in the primary bathroom.