Newel would like to congratulate the designers of the 13th annual Holiday House NYC. For those who don’t know, Holiday House is a designer showhouse where top interior designers come together to showcase their talent by designing their own distinct room. The best part about Holiday House is that the proceeds from the event are donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
This year Newel had the privilege of working with designer Bennett Leifer on his iconic living room. While all the rooms are uniquely beautiful, Bennett’s room is perhaps the most striking. Bennett created a remarkable tribute to breast cancer survivors by graffitiing names and messages of people touched by the disease across the walls.The seamless juxtaposition of high end furniture and design with graffiti walls is truly an unforgettable sight.
Holiday House takes place at 124 East 65th street and will be open to the public through December 15th, 2019. Tickets are available for purchase here
Q
What was the biggest challenge in designing this room?
A.
With 125 East 65th Street’s rich history, I think the most challenging aspect of designing this room was knowing that people would be looking at my interpretation in comparison to past iterations of the space. I decided to make this challenge into an opportunity and base part of the room’s concept on how design evolves over time.
Q
Can you tell us about your inspiration for your room?
A.
I love to reference history and different design elements in the spaces I create. I recently visited the Neues Palais in Potsdam and was inspired by how dramatically the spaces evolved, with so many events transpiring within its walls. The building retains its elegance but bears a mark of each period that passed through. Our room honors the original architecture of the Holiday House home, cleans up some of the later changes with dramatic Pierre Frey draperies by Interiors by Royale, features contemporary furnishings by Todd Merrill and Studio Van den Akker but also very classic elements like the paintings from your collection and antique silver from Enchanted Home. As the penultimate play on the concept of a drawing room, we collaborated with TatsCru to decorate the walls with one of the most modern forms of drawing, Graffiti messages about Breast Cancer.
Q
What three adjectives would you use to describe your room?
A.
Q
What is your favorite piece from your room?
A.
I’m going to pander to my audience here and alter the question to be “what is my favorite piece from Newel in my room?” and that would certainly have to be the French Louis XVI portrait of a young woman wearing a blue dress holding a pink ribbon. Her pose is so intentional but curious. I want to know more about her!
Q
Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
A.
With 100% certainty: not a thing. From the moment my team and I had our ‘eureka moment’ when envisioning the space, I knew I would be incredibly proud of design collaborations and concept behind what we were doing. I am very happy with the finished product.
