Alex Papachristidis's dining room for last spring's Kips Bay Decorator Show House in New York incited a frenzy on social media—so much so that even the interior designer, a bit of an Instagram sensation himself with more than 52,000 followers, was surprised. Still, he'd expected the room to make an impression. "That's what you do with a showhouse: You go wild," he says. "People want to be wowed."
The hand-painted wallpaper's architectural elements are echoed in the crown molding's honeycomb pattern. Custom table and chandelier, Eve Kaplan for Gerald Bland; Dalva Brothers chairs in a Cowtan & Tout fabric; mantel, Chesney's; painted floors, Boxton Interiors.
And yet it wasn't "likes" Papachristidis was seeking with this project so much as love—for antiques, that is. "The most important thing for me is that people see the relevance of antiques, including 18th-century furniture," he says. "Why do we make so much new stuff when we've got such beautiful old things? Of course I use quality new pieces too, but I mix it up. Antiques just need to be used in the right way." With their superior quality and craftsmanship, he argues, antiques give gravitas to an interior, as well as lending depth, strength, and a sense of timelessness.
Couture dressmaker touches give the room polish and pizzazz. Custom chandelier, Eve Kaplan for Gerald Bland.
Like his work in general, the dining room at Kips Bay was meant to emphasize everything from "the importance of history in the decorative arts, to the great style icons and decorators of the past, to iconic interiors." Check, check, and check.
The dining room incorporates a seating area for gracious pre- and post-meal entertaining. Custom sofa and ottomans in Larsen fabrics, José Quintana; Frances Elkins floor lamp, Liz O'Brien; curtains in a Cowtan & Tout silk with rosettes in a Larsen velvet.
The sublime decor travels an expansive time line, with historic references ranging from 18th-century France to 20th-century New York. Prompted by his clients' own preferences of late, Papachristidis chose a neutral palette. "It pushed me to do all the things I do," he says, "but without color." The Gracie wallpaper design came from the ballroom that legendary decorator Elsie de Wolfe created for the publisher Condé Nast in the 1920s. Papachristidis dramatically enlarged the scale and had it painted in grisaille. "You change the proportion, and all of a sudden it becomes very modern," he observes.
Silver Danish cup, Dienst + Dotter.
The graphic boldness of the stenciled floor adds another contemporary note to the room. At New York's venerable Dalva Brothers, a pair of elaborate gilded consoles stopped the designer in his tracks. Upon learning they once belonged to Mona von Bismarck, the Kentucky-born countess and fashion icon, he had to have them. "I love the consoles paired with the simplicity of modern Christopher Spitzmiller lamps," he says. As for the 18th-century dining chairs: "If they were covered in a heavy damask, you would say hmm," he jokes. He played against type, covering the chairs in light-colored upholstery and juxtaposing them in the space with a striking table with a base made by the New York ceramic artist Eve Kaplan, whose contemporary designs riff on 18th-century decorative styles. "The combination feels fresh," he says.
Dinnerware, Mottahedeh; glassware, William Yeoward Crystal; flatware, Buccellati.
Billowing curtains recall couture ball gowns and von Bismarck's adored Balenciaga wardrobe. Simple parchment side tables allow the eye to rest, only to be re-dazzled by crystal chandeliers impishly draped with funky ceramic beads, custom made for the project by Kaplan, in an unexpected gesture that captures both the room's lightness and its opulence.
For Papachristidis, it seems, the present is all the more enriched by the beauty—and, yes, the relevance—of the past.
Designer Alex Papachristidis and his dog, Teddy. Custom wallcovering, Gracie; 18th-century console, Dalva Brothers; lampshade in a Cowtan & Tout fabric with Samuel & Sons trim; lamp, Christopher Spitzmiller.
This story originally appeared in the January-February 2017 issue of VERANDA.
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