Design House Favorites

By Kerrysteele @kerrysteeleart

Nestor Santa -Cruz  photo by Angie Seckinger

The dining room at the D.C. design house was spectacular to say the least. Nestor Santa -Cruz knocked it out of the park. It is not what I would call a practical space, more conceptual, but that is what show houses are for.

David Mitchell

I should mention that most of the designers were present to answer questions about their rooms. They were all so friendly and eager to share their passion and vision. David Mitchell was no exception. His library was warm and cozy with tons of sunlight which made it hard for me to get good photos.

David Mitchell

The artwork was wonderful. There were two fine art photos of a Belgian landscape (above) and a very glossy, and thus hard to photograph, painting over the mantle.

Regan Billingsley   photo by Angie Seckinger

The teen boy's room did not disappoint. It was full cool vintage finds like the New York city public school locker and French industrial tables from the 1930s. Regan Billingsley gets extra points in my book for sourcing vintage goodies. Show Houses tend to have everything new and shiny and its wonderful to see and touch all of those high-end goods. In my opinion, it can leave you feeling a little cold and its as though no one really lives there and they don't but I still love an interesting choice.
That leads me to my favorite room of the D.C. Design house, the morning room designed by Iantha Carley.

photo by Angie Seckinger


First of all, the gray and yellow color scheme was right up my alley and the mid-century vibe really worked for me too. I have a crush on that table.

fixture by Fine Art Lamps

It was filled with the coolest stuff like the Lucite table and this awesome lighting Fine Art Lamps.

Art by Sydney Edmonds Merritt Gallery

The room is super cute and it feels "real". This is the chair put it over the top for me. It has a story.

check out the cute doggie bed on the left


This vintage chair is not just any vintage chair it belonged to Iantha's parents. She remembers playing on its orange, groovy Naugahide and she told me it was actually broken. She had it repaired and recovered but it still has a few lovely nicks and wear on the arm from from being lived with...really.