Normally my days are spent in the office (doing such things as updating our website!) but this afternoon, I had a short reprieve! Instead Sam and I took a long lunch to explore the 2012 Decorators Show House.
The sheer vastness of the Tobias home (5 East 71st St) and grounds are impressive enough, but each area of the 20,000 sq. ft home was impressively decorated as well. I expected each of the 40 rooms to be stunning, but even the grounds were incredible. (The fountains, pool, hot tub and gardens are beautifully landscaped) An absolutely perfect setting for this years Decorators Show House!
Decorative Hardwood Flooring
One of my favorite features of the home (besides the giant in-wall fish tank!) are the beautiful hardwood floors that are throughout the house. The floors are not limited to one parquet design or one hardwood flooring pattern, but each space or room has its own unique hardwood flooring feature. While each had a distinct pattern or decorative border, they blended beautifully and seamlessly together. The rich, dark color stained flowed throughout the rooms.
I captured a couple of pictures of my favorite areas to highlight some of the hardwood flooring features in the Tobias House.
The most prevalent hardwood flooring pattern is the Louvre parquet. It covers most of the downstairs hallway and through the Great Room. In order to balance the openness and grandeur of the space, they used large 24×24 parquet blocks.
The Louvre pattern can be seen here in the North Foyer (area #14 in the home), which was the original entrance to The Tobias house.
This area was decorated by Dani Kohl of Kohl Interiors for the Decorators’ Show House and called “One of the most playful areas of the home” by the Indy Star. You can clearly see the Louvre parquet pattern of the hardwood floors and even a small piece of the mural by Magdalena Segovia. Unfortunately, from this angle you cannot see the glasswork by Lisa Pello that adds a delicate whimsy to the walls.
The Louvre pattern continues into the bathroom but the size of the block is diminished to 6×6 in order to take into account the smaller sized room. It is subtle but thoughtful details that truly make this home worthy of being part of the Decorators’ Show House!
Decorative Hardwood Floor Borders
Another way the Tobias House is a perfect pallet for the Decorators’ Show House are the use of decorative borders in the hardwood floors.
Library
The Library (Area #5) has a simple double lined border that adds a touch of elegance to an already sophisticated space. (Tay Ruthenburg of Evaline Karges Interiors did an excellent job decorating this room)
Dining Room
One of the most impressive borders was the one in the Dining Room (Area #15). The shape of the room forced the architects to chose a border design that wraps around the curves of each corner. This touch gives an otherwise “normal” room a unique appeal. (The room was beautifully decorated in memory of Carolyn Stevens by some of her designing friends)
I definitely recommend the Decorators Show House to anyone interested in home interior design and landscape design. You will walk away inspired!
And if you walk away inspired to refinish your hardwood floors or install hardwood flooring, give us a call at 317-759-2575! We’d love to help make your home a Show House!
This area was decorated by Dani Kohl of Kohl Interiors for the Decorators’ Show House and called “One of the most playful areas of the home” by the Indy Star. You can clearly see the Louvre parquet pattern of the hardwood floors and even a small piece of the mural by Magdalena Segovia. Unfortunately, from this angle you cannot see the glasswork by Lisa Pello that adds a delicate whimsy to the walls.
The Louvre pattern continues into the bathroom but the size of the block is diminished to 6×6 in order to take into account the smaller sized room. It is subtle but thoughtful details that truly make this home worthy of being part of the Decorators’ Show House!
