The third annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House tours took place in the Old Preston Hollow neighborhood in Dallas on September 22 to 25, despite some controversy and complaints leading up to the event.
Twenty-four designers worked together to transform the home at 9259 Meadow Drive into a luxury show house, open to the public for tours, with proceeds benefitting local charities.
Originally planned as a month-long event, the home tours were shortened to just four days after complaints by residents about previous Show House events in the neighborhood.
More than 8,500 people toured the Kips Bay Decorator Show House on Woodland Drive in 2020, and 11,000 toured the Deloache Avenue Show House in 2021. According to the neighborhood’s homeowner association president, Leland Burke, residents reported parking issues, unmanaged trash throughout the community, and traffic congestion, which caused delays for emergency vehicles and mail delivery in the area during those events.
At a meeting between Kips Bay representatives, the homeowners’ association, and the city attorney, an agreement was reached to shorten the tour dates this year. Police and traffic controllers were made available to assist with parking and traffic, and the number of visitors allowed to tour at any one time was limited.
The designers who worked on the home this year faced some additional hurdles. Work was shut down for two weeks after allegations of improper electrical and plumbing permits.
In addition, the director of special events and corporate partnerships at Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, Nazira Handal, received a letter from the city attorney alleging that the home tour was a commercial event and thus an improper land use of a single-family home. Handal disputed that notion, arguing that the event was a non-profit charitable fundraiser, not a commercial event.
Once those issues were resolved, the designers were able to complete the work on the home in time for the September 22 opening.
The charity home-design show raised funds for three charities, including two local nonprofits: Dallas-based Dwell with Dignity, a non-governmental organization that helps to furnish homes for lower-income and homeless families, and Crystal Charity Ball, which aids children’s charities in Dallas. Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in New York was the third beneficiary of the event’s proceeds.
Daniel Quintero, the executive director of Kips Bay, said, “These show houses are a great way of equipping the future of the children that we serve.” He further explained that the event aims at supporting children as they transition into adults so that they can make a positive impact on society.
Handal confirmed that the designers did a great job and put so much effort into the project. She stated that organizers hoped to give the public exactly what they had given them in the past through the show.
Anyone who missed the opportunity for the home tour can still take a virtual tour of the property. Tickets for the virtual tour are free, but donations are welcomed.