A French-Inspired Fireplace Stole the Kips Bay Show House

Winter doesn’t up and skip Florida every year, despite what your weather app may tell you. In fact, Joe Lucas is embracing all things cool and cozy at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House in Palm Beach this month; the haven he created is charmingly dubbed the Palmetto Snug.

The Los Angeles–based designer transformed what was once a bedroom with plain cream walls and warped laminate floors into a sitting room with retro vibes. “I wanted it to be a place where you can whisk away for late-night cocktails,” he says. There’s also an adjoining bathroom (which he swathed in wallpaper and terrazzo) and a loggia outside. Instead of going the typical coastal-prep route, he infused the lounge area with hints of his modern California roots and incorporated one very cool nod to 1940s French design. Let’s just say you’re going to want to curl up and stay a while. 

The Winning Statement

We normally wouldn’t opt for a nonworking fireplace when given the choice, but Lucas’s reproduction of a curvaceous design by mid-century French artist Valentine Schlegel has convinced us otherwise. The designer tasked local company Classic Moldings Inc. with creating a plaster composite version of the real deal. “You can have a fireplace in Florida, even though it won’t get used for most of the year,” he says. “You can treat it like a piece of art.”

The Shapely Wall Treatment

Rather than cover the walls in another solid hue, Lucas chose a new, hand-painted design from British wallpaper fabricator Fromental. We imagine it would be fairly easy (and incredibly liberating) to DIY something similar—all you’d need are a few different shades of pink and a pencil and ruler to outline the abstract forms. 

The Styling Lesson

Peg Woodworking’s Euclid bookcase is the freshest storage solution we’ve seen in a while. It was an obvious pick for the room. The solid oak curves mirror the rounded silhouette of the sofa, while the open slots allow the wallpaper to shine through. Lucas admits the shelves are tricky to style; the key is to avoid overcrowding them. “They’re amazing when completely empty, too,” he points out. What better way to take your mind off the dreary winter weather than with these bright ideas?

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