What a fabulous trip. Last Friday, we took 35 designers, showroom staff, and representatives of The Fretz Corporation – the local distributor of Sub-Zero/Wolf, on a day trip to see the Kips Bay Show House, followed by an incredible lunch in the NY showroom of Sub-Zero/Wolf at our sister A&D Building.
Here we all are at Penn Station, boarding our charter bus to the show house.
You’d think putting so many people together for 12 hours might get dicey, but it was quite the opposite: It was such a great opportunity for all of us to get to know each other better, both personally and professionally. Many designers were excited to meet the local rep for Sub-Zero/Wolf and plan to spec it in future projects. One designer ordered a custom table from a metalwork artist.
The buffet line at the incredible NYC showroom of Sub-Zero/Wolf
And we all just really had a blast, from the train ride up with boxed breakfasts from Au Bon Pain, to the ride back, which we turned into a moving happy hour — we were having so much fun that most of us didn’t even realize the train was an hour late returning home.
Not to mention, we got to see all the interior design decadence of Kips Bay, and taste homemade pizza, Caesar salad with poached shrimp, and fresh-made vegetable soup made by Sub-Zero’s corporate chef! Thanks to everyone who made this all possible.
Here is a scrapbook of our day, starting with a “yearbook” of the day’s travelers:
Designer Anne Hardock, Blogger Michele Ginnerty of My Notting Hill, Designer Jenny Clark, Designer Roxanne Lumme, and blogger/Designer Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home
Color expert Jean Molesworth Kee of The Painted Room and Desire Greene of Sukio Design Studio
Me, Jennifer Sergent, and Amy Gaeta of The Fretz Corporation, which generously funded our lunch.
Judith Bracht of Stuart Kitchens and Patricia Szymanowski of The Fretz Corporation
Amy Gaeta with Dee David of Dee David Kitchens and her colleague, Michaela Deegan.
Jules Lesher of Schumacher, Jen Chappell of J. Asher, Designer Andy Stazak, and Designer Mary Elfreth Watkins of Sroka Design
Marty Andress and friend Barry Remley of Salvations Architectural Furnishings, whose metalwork creations are displayed in the WDC's AmericanEye showroom.
Mitchell Gabor of Stark Carpet and his faaaavorite designer (and girlfriend) Victoria Sanchez
Designer Ricardo Ramos, designer/blogger Megan Blake of DC Design Coop, V. Carr of The Interior Design Resource Agency, and Designer Gloria Blalock
Designer Susan Gulick, Donetta George of The Brass Knob, and Barry Remley of Salvations Architectural Furnishings
Suzette Delay of Henredon and Kati Pope of Baker, both in the WDC
After experiencing typical Manhattan traffic jams on the way to Kips Bay (including a van that had double parked on a tiny side street whose driver had gone AWOL), the charming Tomas greeted us at the show house entrance.
Suzette is clearly enjoying Tomas' entertaining humor.
To me, the show house was all about details, from stitching on a lamp shade to etched Venetial plaster and perfect lacquering on the walls. Our color expert, Jean Kee, was able to walk into a room and immediately identify which color of Benjamin Moore was used there. Here are some of my favorite details:
Fretz's Amy Gaeta matches the kitchen decor. Notice the bowls filled with Froot Loops.
Hanging glass "bubbles" descend into the bathtub.
Here’s a wider, more dramatic view that’s been shot of this bathroom:
A stack of copper pots in the dining room, which was dedicated to New York's great chefs. Note the metallic, beaded trim and gossamer sheers just behind them.
The carpeted area in the foreground is a hallway, which ends at the entrance to a gentleman's sitting room and a lady's sitting room. I LOVE how a decorative artist repeated the carpet pattern accordingly on the hardwood flooring in the masculine (left) and feminine (right) spaces.
The lady's sitting room -- those walls are upholstered and embroidered, not wall papered!
Artist and scultor Nina Helms created this flower wall decor in the same hallway as discussed above.
Here's Nina (www.ninahelms.com), standing in front of an acrylic screen that she painted with her flowers.
A charming closet vignette
Gorgeous metal structure in the back "yard."
And the rooftop outdoor space -- a black terrace!
Speaking of tables, lets move on to the Sub-Zero/Wolf showroom, the biggest, most incredible kitchen showroom I’ve ever seen.
I think I surprised Jen Chappell when I took this picture, but I wanted to show the fun being had at this super-long table in front of the buffet.
Here's Amy and Patricia (rigth and left respectively) demonstrating product to Judith Bracht of Stuart Kitchens (middle left) and Designer Melissa Broffman.
Chef Coleman visits with Jules, Melissa, Patricia and Designer Andrea Houck as they sit around the "fire."
Henredon's Suzette Delay sits with her gorgeous New Yorker daugher, Juliette, who is half French and speaks French, English and Italian -- what a proud Mama!
Chef Coleman (who is as delilghtful as his cooking is delicious), stands with my counterpart, Linda Foa, who is the A&D Building's director of marketing. She helped coordinate the logistics of the lunch between our local distributor, Fretz, and the Westye East, who runs the NY showroom. Thanks, Linda!
The best part -- pizza!
Caesar salad with shrimp
And mini-cartons of ice cream for dessert! What a memorable lunch.
You would think everyone would be exhausted by the time we got back tothe train that evening, but noooo. Out of nowhere came bottles of wine and… other spirits… and we all had a ball as we rolled back home.
Many people have told me since the trip that they want to do it again, because it was such a great way to meet other people in the industry, network, and get to know each other in a more personal way. So look out for more field trips in 2011 — contact me if you want to get on this list for when we plan another one:
jsergent@mmart.com, or 202.646.6109.
For more images from this trip, check out our new Flickr page, right here.
What a fabulous day you planned Jennifer – thanks again and look forward to next time!!
It wasa wonderful day and you captured it beautifully! We were all having so much fun and you (obviously –thanks for the pics) never stopped working!!! Thank you so much Jennifer!!
I am so glad the Kips Bay Trip was such a fun success! So sorry I wasn’t able to go…..maybe next year!
Thanks again Jennifer, you did a great job coordinating this trip. What a fantastic experience, and it was so wonderful meeting everyone!
What a fabulous trip and great way to meet new industry professionals! Thank you Jennifer for all of your perfect planning. Each part was a highlight on it’s own – the early morning rising hour, the train ride, the show house, lunch, train home, good bye to all until next time.
Jennifer, it was a PERFECT day. All of your expert planning paid off – the trip was wonderfully choreographed: Fabulous design inspiration at Kips Bay, an almost desperate desire to redo my own kitchen after visiting Sub-Zero/Wolf and wonderful new friends. I cannot wait for the next excursion!
Wow! What a memorable trip for everyone. Loved the post and all the great images!
What a delightful trip with a great group of exemplary, talented and fun driven professionals! I had a great time and thanks to Jennifer Sergent, our hostess and her crew from the Washington Design Center who made this day possible. We had a blast and learned new ideas and applications from NYC’s best designers at The beautifully done Kips Bay Show House.
Ricardo A. Ramos
Jennifer… I can’t believe that I just saw this! Nevertheless, it is never too late to say ‘THANK YOU’ for planning and executing a memorable day for all of us who were lucky enough to go on this excursion to the Kips Bay Show House in NYC! Please plan another one soon… a repeat is a definite MUST!!!