As winter wraps up, we’re looking ahead to spring and penning in those can’t-miss design events. Read on to find out what events you’ll find Team Chairish at this Spring, as well as the best art and floral shows to break for. We’ve also got a handful of beautiful new books to check out since, hey people, poolside and beach reading sessions are just mere weeks away!
Interior Design
LCDQ LEGENDS | MAY 7-9
Join the design community in L.A.’s iconic La Cienga Design Quarter as they let loose at LEGENDS, the 3-day event dedicated to all things design. On the agenda this year? A chance to meet design mavericks Bunny Williams and Suzanne Rheinstein, design-centric convos hosted by the editors of Elle Decor and House Beautiful, and of course, what LEGENDS would be complete without a Chairish “Love It, or Hate It” throw-down? Anna Brockway will be on hand to lead designers Nate Berkus, Jeremiah Brent, Leanne Ford, Bobby Berk, Nathan Turner, and Mary MacDonald in a round-table discussion.
KIPS BAY DECORATOR SHOW HOUSE | MAY 2-30
Last year’s Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse blew us away (remember that Sasha Bikoff-designed stairwell?), so you can bet we’re anticipating this year’s show house hard. Located in a 19th Century 12,425-square-foot mansion on the upper East Side (with a circular staircase to end all staircases), this year’s show house promises to be a major stunner. Among the designers were most amped to see? The inimitable Charlotte Moss, of course, as well as Chairish design insiders Paloma Contreras, Sarah Bartholomew, and Young Huh.
Garden & Floral
TRADE SECRETS ANNUAL GARDEN EVENT | MAY 18
Spring means it’s time to start exercising that green thumb again and
Trade Secrets Rare Plant & Garden Antiques Sale on May 18th is the perfect reason to get things in gear. Spearheaded by Bunny Williams and beloved by interior designers, this can’t-miss sale includes not only horticultural wonders, but unique garden ornaments and antiques.
RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW | MAY 21-25
While it will require booking a cross-pond flight, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is more than worth it. Featuring jaw-dropping floral installations, shopping, fine dining pop-ups, and even an after-hours music festival, the RHS Chelsea show is the ultimate flower show. If you go, be sure not to miss Tom Dixon’s urban garden collab with Ikea located in the show’s Great Pavillion—It’ll have apartment-dwelling gardeners on cloud nine.
Museums
UNITY BY DESIGN: MID-CENTURY MODERNISM AT WINTERTHUR | MAY 4-JULY 28
We’ll take just any excuse to make our way to Delaware’s famed Winterthur estate come springtime (hello, daffodils!), but this year Unity by Design’s Mid-Century Modernism at Winterthur offers an especially enticing reason to make the trip. Part of the Decorative Arts Trust’s summer grant program, Unity by Design, Mid-Century Modernism at Winterthur explores the Winterthur estate’s hidden penchant for the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. Areas of focus include the estate’s South Wing, Visitor Center, and Louise du Pont Crowninshield Research Building.
CAMP: NOTES ON FASHION AT THE MET COSTUME INSTITUTE | MAY 9- SEPTEMBER 8
We’d be game for any Met exhibition underwritten by Gucci, but given that the topic is camp in fashion (think: irony, humor, parody, and pastiche), we’re literally counting down the days to opening day! Among the designers on display at Camp: Notes on Fashion are Marc Jacobs, Franco Moschino, and Alessandro Michele for Gucci. Movie and music buffs, take note: you’ll also get a chance to see that infamous Marjan Pejoski swan dress worn by Bjork via the 2001 Oscars.
ANDY WARHOL FROM A TO B AND BACK AGAIN AT THE SFMOMA | MAY 9 – SEPTEMBER 2
No matter how many times you’ve seen the King of Pop Art’s work IRL, a revisit never seems like a bad idea. If you’re wondering what makes SFMOMA’s Andy Warhol exhibition different than those that came before, consider this: Andy Warhol— From A to B and Back Again is the first U.S.-organized Warhol retrospective since 1989, just two years after Warhol’s death.
Art & Design
NYC X DESIGN |MAY 10-22
Also known as the easiest way to see everything cool happening design-wise in New York right now, NYC X Design kicks off on May 10th. The 12-day event promises to give your social calendar a boost with hundreds of events spread throughout NYC’s five boroughs. Among the events you can expect to find yourself at? Product launches, exhibitions, installations, trade shows, talks, open studios, and more.
SIGHT UNSEEN OFFSITE |MAY 17-20
Part of New York Design Week, Sight Unseen OFFSITE offers up a killer curation of modern makers, movers and shakers. With a main showcase in Soho and a satellite venues around town, this year’s OFFSITE promises to fulfill any modern design enthusiast’s appetite. If you’re going, keep an eye out for Kim Markel + Glossier, an exhibition featuring furniture constructed of empty Glossier jars and the dust produced from cut quarry rocks, as well as DECASO dealers Kin and Company in collaboration with Henrik Ødegaard.
DESIGN MIAMI/ | JUNE 11-16
Kicking off in conjunction with Art Basel Switzerland is Design Miami/. A week dedicated to contemporary design, Design Miami/ provides a wide variety of ways to experience it, including an immersive gallery show, talks, and commercial collaboration between artists and brands. This year’s program, tentatively titled “Elements: Earth,” aims to explore the role of design, materials and craft in a post-nature, Anthropocene future.
Books
CREATIVE LIVING: BOHEMIAN INTERIORS AROUND THE WORLD BY ROBYN LEA
An ode to the free-spirited, rifled-just-so homes of some of the world’s most sought-after creatives, Creative Living: Bohemian Interiors Around the World promises to be an escapist treasure. Among the tastemakers profiled are Anthropologie artist and designer Rebecca Rebouche as well as Bella Meyer, Marc Chagall’s granddaughter and one of New York City’s most sought-after floral designers.
JOHN RICHARDSON: AT HOME
John Richardson has no shortage of claims to fame. From his role as Picasso’s biographer to his friendships with everyone from Diana Vreeland to Bianca Jagger, John Richardson was as worldly as they come. But the new book John Richardson: At Home pays homage to Richardson’s sometimes lesser-known talent: interior design. The book hops between Richardson’s landmark homes in London, the South of France, New York City, and Connecticut, giving face time to his densely layered, bohemian-meets-aristocrat-style interiors, as well as the famous friends and acquaintances who helped shape them.
LIVING FLORAL BY MARGOT SHAW
You don’t need to be a floral enthusiast to appreciate Flower magazine editor Margot Shaw’s new tome, Living Floral. While a love of blooms will give extra meaning to the 20 profiled tastemakers’ floral-based entertaining tips, Margot’s cozy, down-to-earth narrative will have even floral abstainers feeling the love for this prolific entertaining guidebook.
LOVE AFFAIRS WITH HOUSES BY BUNNY WILLIAMS
Can’t get enough Bunny? Us too. Thankfully this spring sees the release of Bunny’s Love Affairs with Houses. In the book, the legendary designer profiles 15 houses that she’s decorated over her career, explaining what originally drew her to the houses, how she approached them, and the clients who call them home. For anyone who’s ever wondered how Bunny works her magic, this is the de facto manifesto.
VINTAGE LIVING: CREATING A BEAUTIFUL HOME WITH TREASURED OBJECTS FROM THE PAST BY BOB RICHTER
If you’ve ever found yourself overwhelmed at the flea, Bob Ritcher breaks down the intimidation factor in Vintage Living: Creating a Beautiful Home with Treasured Objects from the Past. In addition to helpful vintage hunting and haggling tips, the book tours a series of vintage-decked home, showing how vintage finds can be seamlessly integrated into any abode.
