STYLEBEAT: MARISA'S MEMO- INTERIORS AT AUCTION: 6 DESIGNERS CURATE SPACES AT FIRST EVER SOTHEBY'S SHOWHOUSE

Photos courtesy of Sotheby's

Getting to pick pieces from Sotheby’s upcoming spring auctions, from English, French and Continental to 20th century furniture, Old Master, Contemporary, and Impressionist paintings and more, six interior designers, each representing a range of styles and influences, were asked to create interior spaces with curated auction pieces at the first ever Sotheby's Designer Showhouse. Who is it then, that gets to raid the auction stacks to create sky's-the-limit interiors for the perfect client in their head? They've tapped Ryan Korban, McMillen Inc., Daun Curry of Modern Declaration, Olasky and Sinsteden, Shaler Ladd Design Corporation and WRJ Design Associates, whose spaces are unveiled on March 24th, when the event, sponsored by Sotheby's International Realty. Town and Country and Bespoke Global, launches on the 6th floor at 1334 York Avenue. Up for four days, each 19x19 space will be fully built out and include some of the 1000 pieces from the 15 departments having sales this spring. Imagine getting to pick from that?

Spearheaded by young department specialists Andrew Ogletree of English Furniture and Csongor Kis of French and Continental Furniture, a team of 5 planned the initiative. They saw this showhouse as a way to expand the designer audience visiting them. They wanted to show that "decorative arts are integrated into your life on a daily basis," shared Kis.
Focused on exceptional quality, the showhouse is to expose people to great design that is attainable. They encourage visitors to find items they are drawn to and have a passion for. Having always been a place designers source from, auction houses offer vetted items, in addition to the chance to train one's eye-- looking at as many antiques as possible helps in that education. These are pieces to be used and lived with, they are not meant for only the finest collectors or museums. The rooms will show how to mix styles and value the history and materials of what was created in the past. Sure, provenance is important to some, but to others, the love of a piece is the only thing that matters.