2022 Symphony Designers’ Showhouse

Kansas City has so many beautiful homes and I love to go on tours that are generously offered by different organizations around town.  That is, in part, why I was thrilled to have Nell Hill’s participate in this year’s Kansas City Symphony Designers’ Showhouse! This year the Kansas City Symphony Alliance celebrated its 52nd showhouse and it was exciting to see how a family home was transformed so quickly and wonderfully. 

We were chosen to design and decorate the stunning primary bedroom and had such fun! We were inspired by the Tudor style home and wanted to create a space that honored the past, the current homeowners and the home itself. The transformed space pulled old world details into a room made for today.

The primary textile, from which the room is built around, is a historically inspired Jacobean floral from Thibaut featuring sophisticated reds, rich blues, and soft neutrals.  You know I love a red, white and blue color palette and thankfully the homeowners shared my appreciation for the hues! To support this wonderful pattern, we brought in companion fabrics featuring geometric and small-scale florals to be used throughout the room.  This allowed for the eye to travel seamlessly from end to end.  We selected a cream paint color from Sherwin Williams to refresh the walls and act as the ideal foundation for the space.

The space featured three distinct areas where we were able to showcase much of what we do in the shop, from furniture to bedding to décor. Upon entering the room, you were greeted by a rich antique carved wood fireplace. For cozy evenings by the fire, we accentuated the entrance with elegantly upholstered spindle wood leg chairs and a gold metal tray table.

Adjacent to the fireplace sitting area, we placed a rolling pin style four poster bed and topped it with layers of lush, custom bedding. It wouldn’t be a Nell Hill’s design without some pattern mixing on (and under) the bed! We used a variety of floral, plaid, and geometric fabrics for a look that had ultimate texture and ultimate comfort.  The blend of patterns helped the soft and subtle duvet stand up to the powerful fabrics throughout the space. The bed was flanked by deep blue chests and patterned lamps, and a gorgeous red and blue wool rug was added to ground the vignette.  

We grouped a relaxed, striped sofa and layers of cozy pillows in the window-lined corner of the room that overlooked the exceptional gardens. It’s worth noting that the homeowner’s mother (who first lived in this home) was a master gardener so you can imagine what you saw when peeked out the window! Two end tables were added to either side of the sofa to house chinoiserie lamps and treatments were added to frame the windows and the beautiful view beyond them. The botanical art on either side of the windows were an additional nod to the gardener who once called this house her home.

Just off the primary bedroom was a spacious remodeled closet and since it wasn’t yet filled with clothing and shoes, we filled it with furniture! We grounded the space with a colorful yet sophisticated wool rug and layered on a structured blue, wood-base daybed and a plethora of pillows and throws. A drink table made for the perfect spot to pop a morning cup of coffee or evening glass of wine.

Our design team did a fantastic job with this project, and it was a pleasure to work with the Symphony Alliance and the other local designers who helped to transformed the home. While the event ended on July 3rd and the home can no longer be toured, be sure to stay tuned for next year! Until next time – happy decorating!