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Waltner Wood & Wall Designs |
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Custom Furniture & Faux Finishing |
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Wichita Symphony Showhouse |
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About the Symphony Showhouse Project Every two years, the Women’s Association of the Wichita Symphony holds a huge fundraiser (many other cities do this as well) and puts on a “Symphony Showhouse”. They choose a large house..or this year four houses...and have area designers participate in a grand re-designing of the spaces. The symphony makes money charging the public to tour the house, as well as takes a commission from any furniture pieces or accessories that are bought out of the Showhouse. Participating as a designer in the Showhouse is quite competitive, and we are delighted to have been chosen for the 2009 house. We had applied two years ago and not been chosen, which was quite a disappointment. Apparently, the second time’s the charm! After a look at the proposed plans at a reception on January 15, we were required to turn in a basic design plan for three possible spaces. This year’s Showhouse is different from previous years. For instance, two years ago when we applied, the house was an historic 26-room mansion in College Hill. Prior to that, the choice was a sprawling (also 26 rooms) 1980’s ranch house on a large acreage nestled in the extreme southeast corner of Wichita. The organizers obviously select large properties that will accommodate the dozens of designers who want to participate. This year’s Symphony Showhouse is a departure...the designs are for four complete units in what promises to be a landmark development in Wichita: Parkstone at College Hill. Located near Douglas and Hillside, this new development will be comprised of 3-story brownstones, the first of which are now under construction, as well as high-rise condo living and retail space with loft living above. There are advantages and disadvantages to working on these units: they are new construction, so designers don’t have to work around some of the limitations of older homes, but since the units yet when finished when the designs had to be finalized, we had to work off of blueprints, rather than being able to tour the homes. The organizers of the Symphony Showhouse have designated each floorplan to have a specific style: French Country, Old World, Traditional and Contemporary. Each designer can apply for up to three different rooms, and applications must be turned in by the time the tour/reception is done. This doesn’t allow much time to put together a proposal. Two years ago, we didn’t know about the quick turnaround, and were completely unprepared. This year, we thought we would get a jump on the design, and since Parkstone has all their floorplans online, we spent half of a day before the reception, brainstorming and planning out three rooms we would apply for. We even put together pictures of furniture pieces that would go together in each room. However, the organizers threw us a curve ball yet again...we didn’t know that each model was designated for a specific style, and we also didn’t know that master bedroom designs would have to include the master bath and master closet also..that wasn’t the way it was two years ago. So for two of our rooms, which were master bedrooms, we had to come up with bath and closet designs on the spot! Perhaps because these two designs weren’t as well thought out as we would like, neither of those designs were chosen. Instead we were awarded a powder room in the Contemporary model, the Crestway. We’re hoping that this little room will be our springboard, and that after seeing what a fabulous job we do with this little room, the next time they will give us a more ambitious project!
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Becky, Jerome and Keri work on the powder room |
Our Design: The Crestway Powder Room |
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The room is so small we couldn’t get the entire shelving unit in the pictures, so here’s the top and bottom view! |
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Original triptych by Kylie Neal |
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Hand-thrown vase by Hanna Eastin, Cobalt Gallery with floral arrangement by Keri Waltner |
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Blue agate rock garden by Keri Waltner |
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Star Lumber did a magnificent job of installing the black granite floor with decorative medallion |
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Many of the accessories are for sale during the Showhouse Tours. Click here for a price list. |
Room Description:This small powder room is a serene and elegant contemporary space that showcases organic contemporary forms such as curves and twists and organic materials such as slate, marble and precious stones. The room is distinctly modern, yet makes use of age-old craftsmanship. The custom-made vanity in maple and walnut, the black granite countertop, stunning silver travertine vessel sink and unique curved faucet combine with the striking mirror and light fixture to provide an elegant focal point for the room. The walls of silver Venetian Plaster are framed by borders of hand-made cobalt tiles. The theme of curves and twists is continued in the candlesticks and on the corner shelving unit, all in maple and walnut. This is a room replete with artisan-crafted details, from the natural slate switchplates to the blue agate rock garden, from the hand-thrown pottery, to the custom artwork and beaded towels. |
