NYDC Preview Ups Excitement for Openhousenewyork

Gearing up for Interior Design’s second partnership with Openhousenewyork, six of our 20 participating designers and architects previewed their apartments at last night’s “What’s New What’s Next” showcase at the New York Design Center. In Raul Carrasco’s brand new 15th-floor showroom, the crowd packed in to glimpse designers’ innovative spaces.

Introduced by Interior Design editor in chief Cindy Allen, Gregory Wessner and Margaret Sullivan of openhousenewyork took the front first. Wessner, the executive director of OHNY, called the six panelists “brave souls who open up their homes to complete strangers,” fielding a good laugh from the audience. During the weekend of October 12-13, the designers’ apartments featured in our September issue will be just some of the sites open to the public.

Those who spoke at the NYDC event included Brad Zizmor of A+I Architecture, Kathy Chia of Desai/Chia, Adam Kushner of Kushner Studios, Suchi Reddy of Reddymade Design, David Khouri of Khouri Guzman Bunce, and Linda Pollak of Marpillero Pollak Architects. As the designers walked the audience through their creative process and guided them through their apartments, two main themes were repeated. First, the importance of resourcefulness in small spaces. As Zizmor said, “Practical obstructions can create design opportunities.” Second, the designer’s home as a testing ground. “Your apartment is a lab where you can try out new innovations,” Reddy pointed out as she referenced her walls of Tyvek (aka that stuff that FedEx envelopes are made of).

Starting October 2, you can reserve a spot on the OHNY tours here. Watch for a deeper look at the designers’ homes in Interior Design‘s September issue, launching next week.