The soft palette of Mark Taylor’s living room is tasteful and timeless in its elegance. Photos by kc kratt.

Didn’t it rain, children? Talk about rain, oh my Lord. With one of the rainiest springs recorded in more than a century, this year’s Show House was clouded by bad weather. Despite the downpours, the women of the Junior League worked diligently, the decorators performed their magic, and the landscapers somehow completed the outdoor transformations. Accessorized with umbrellas, visitors waited patiently in line to experience the finished Junior League Show House, which itself was quite sunny indeed.

The Bayliss-Oshei residence at 360 Depew Avenue may not be the grandest of all the mansions the Junior League has transformed over the years, but it might be the one remembered as the most livable and homey. With no room overpowering another and without clashing schemes, there was an overall flow to this warm and welcoming family retreat that wasn’t just lovely—it really worked. Visitors seemed better able to identify with the livability of this home than the mansion proportions of past venues.
Michael Donnelly Interiors’ dining room was a showstopper—each element played off the next to create a dynamic and thoughtful dialogue.

Cortney Morrison-Taylor and Hayley Carrow are two of Elmwood’s youngest business owners. Photos by kc kratt.
The home’s beautiful gumwood interiors and its Tudor-arched doorways are its most memorable features. A wise decision to keep all wood in its original state allowed it to serve as a wonderful backdrop and anchor to the decorators’ magic. With the wood preserved, other substantive changes seemed sensible and respectful, and worked more toward bringing the house to current standards of comfort and less toward effecting massive change.

One of the most successful spaces was created by Michael Poczkalski and David Brugh of BABYroom, a recent offspring of room. Decorated predominantly in shades of gray, black, and white with accents of yellow and orange—a taxi, blanket, lion, dog with interior illuminations, even rubber duckies in the sink and tub—their nursery suite was simple, inventive, affordable, playful and very pleasing. An original window covering in the form of a city skyline provided privacy but did not block out natural light, while small sections of black-and-white coloring books called out for crayons. A mobile of clear glass balls hanging above the crib was prettier than it was practical, but it was fabulous enough to be coveted for any space.
The bedroom design by Julie Dana uses the rich autumnal colors of Roycroft and cleverly weaves the warmth of copper throughout the scheme.

The slanted ceilings of a third floor home office became an asset instead of a problem when decorated by the team from Buffalo Office Interiors.

A “Palm Beach Glam” bedroom was created by Christopher’s House Interiors.  Impressively, all of the furniture was sourced from local vintage and antique stores, and transformed for its second life.

Show House veteran Terry L. Litzinger used a champagne glaze accented with silver leaf to create “Champagne & Ice” in what she calls an all- over design that elegantly warms an upstairs hallway. The original gumwood woodwork was preserved throughout the home.
Two other professionals who never miss are Michael Donnelly and Tony Rogers of Michael Donnelly Interiors. Their dining room was as appealing as it was functional, comfortable, and stunning. Inspired by the organically-shaped base of the round, glass-topped dining room table, the pair chose furniture that was absolutely not a set, but instead a collection of interesting pieces that melded smashingly well: two triangular ebony bases supporting a zebra wood console, a handsome rosewood chest with gilt details, and a Baker display cabinet (circa 1980) with a faux malachite painted finish. The captivating, contemporary design of the wallpaper’s over-scale botanical print set the tone for the room and tied the pieces together. Simple drapes adorned gorgeous bay windows framed by a pair of Boston ferns, a sisal carpet bound in bold persimmon drew attention to the floor, an elegant crystal chandelier lit the space, and whimsical half-eaten ceramic apples completed the picture.

The Auburn Watson kitchen marked the company’s twelfth year of participation in the Show House. Realizing the property had no committed new owner, Wayne Watson seized the opportunity to do something more contemporary than the traditional kitchen he’d originally envisioned. Cabinets featuring a rich graphite stain over maple wood contrasted with the crispness and angularity of a huge stainless steel sink, faucet, German refrigerator, and Italian hood fan. A galley wall of appliances, plumbing, and cabinetry was balanced by a large center island with cooktop. A fabulous slab of Chinese red granite, with beautiful colored-glass tile backsplash topped off the whole composition.
A third floor game room was dubbed “Buffalo Reclaimed"—all furniture was made from reclaimed hardwoods and natural products. Decorator Robin Reback Janiak accented with Buffalo memorabilia.

The kitchen eating area, attractive with its black-and-white theme, was done by Homeward Bound. Drapes and pillows framing a small table and chairs had a dragonfly motif, while a sturdy etagere held a stock of black and white tableware. The chandelier was a real conversation piece: A single bulb circled by empty Pinot Grigio bottles.

Nine-year Show House veteran Mark Taylor took on the living room, which featured a soft palette of watery blues and greens inspired by the Robert Havell, Jr. painting of Niagara Falls that hangs above the fireplace. Taylor stripped the fireplace mantel, hoping to discover natural limestone; instead, he found concrete which artist Ruth McCarthy whitewashed to a weathered appearance. A pair of comfortable loveseats upholstered in natural linen offered a seating alternative to the French antique chairs surrounding a game table sitting on an oriental rug. The effect was tasteful and ageless, right down to Taylor’s signature live goldfish. In past years, the fish have been in the fireplace, bathtub, and in-a-picture-frame aquarium; this year, they was in a bowl on the mantel.

The master bedroom was done by Kittinger Gallery and Design Studio, and featured bold furniture, including a tufted sleigh bed with a camelback headboard that floated away from the walls toward the center of room. The monochromatic beige-and-cream scheme was accented with ocean blue to create a peaceful respite. The adjacent dressing room was nicely finished by students from the Villa Maria College Interior Design Program, with furniture, window coverings, and elements crafted in their studio. Particularly appealing were the three panels of art glass suspended in front of the window as a beautiful privacy screen.

Another bedroom was decorated for a female college student by first-time participants Christopher Hempel and Karen Sperrazza of Christopher’s House Interiors. Hempel kept it youthful, letting one fabric inspire a design that he describes as “Palm Beach glam.” Impressively, all the furniture was bought from used or antique furniture stores on Elmwood and Hertel Avenues. Original hardware was re-plated, and the furniture was hand-painted and upholstered with bold-printed fabrics in a mix of purple, lime green, and white patterns that played against the celery walls. Birds and a palm-tree-and-scarf lighting fixture were perfect accents, all of it reflected in a path of mirror circles on the ceiling.
The solarium was handsomely transformed by Maryann Lavin Rodgers, who respected and enhanced its original wood carpentry. Highlights are the beautiful granite fireplace and painted ceiling. (The pair of table lamps are individual recycled legs from a discarded oak table.)

Decorators Cynthia Chamberlain and Joanne Stewart collaborated on a highly successful “Serene Repose” sitting room. It felt like the Irish countryside with an eclectic mix of artwork hung on soothing grey walls and a rug to mimic cobblestone paths. Old wood closet shelves were replaced with slabs of blue/green granite whose edges were kept ragged and unpolished. Beautiful fabrics and comfortable chairs beckoned visitors to sit and notice the careful attention paid to each and every accessory.

"Penny Lane," the bedroom and bath over the garage, was designed by Julie Dana. Her guest room featured the warmth of copper, made more “approachable by using pennies.” Pennies appeared where you least expected them—as the entire surface of a carpet in the bathroom, as a surface mat atop a chest of drawers, threaded on a valance, as a picture frame, or a mirror frame—and effectively carried the natural patina of copper through the spaces.

The home’s master bedroom was designed by Kittinger Gallery in a scheme of monochromatic beiges with ocean blue accents. The bedroom’s generous size allowed decorator Karen Bialkowski to boldly float the bed in the center of the room.

Decorator Robin Reback Janiak dubbed a third floor game room “Buffalo Reclaimed” and appointed it with items made from reclaimed hardwood and natural products. The pool table—which was dotted with Indian Head nickels (Buffalo sides face up)—comprised pine logs, furniture was made from reclaimed barnwood, and carpets got their color from natural vegetable dyes. The room also celebrated the restoration of the New York Central Train Terminal by featuring train memorabilia, including a toy train circling a freestanding chimney, and model trains filling a display case. Actual copies of the Buffalo News newspapers were thumb-tacked to the ceiling, a decision that could have been rethought.

A third floor bedroom with slanted Cape Cod ceilings was transformed into a woman’s office, courtesy of first-time Show House decorator Buffalo Office Interiors, which used a risky color theme to pull off a powerful space. Kile Krawczak explains that she and co-designers Mimi Fierle and Casey Eoannou were inspired by the bright Italian patent-leather upholstery on the office chair. “They might refer to the scheme as ‘chocolate and fuscia,’ but I think it’s better described as ‘latte and the magenta crayon I used as a kid,’ ” she laughs. The room was full of fun elements, the best a freestanding console made from a thick slab of glass resting on two tall fanned-out stacks of books. “Use dowels, but read the books first!” recommends Krawczak.

Despite Mother Nature’s challenges, Show House Chair Astrid Willis called the 2011 project a “great experience with fabulous energy” and sees the home as “very livable with a nice flow and energy.” And Memo Bayliss Oshei (who grew up in the house) loved seeing the decorators “bring out all the house’s possibilities.” She especially liked the hand-painted ceiling in the Solarium and the transformation of her former bedroom (the college room). An active Junior League member, she had great fun leading some tours and hearing stories from old friends who visited: “I think my parents would have been very happy!”

Barry A. Muskat is Buffalo Spree’s architecture critic and frequent contributor. He led the design team for Spree’s Reading Room in the 2007 Show House. His “Before the After” coverage of the 2011 Show House appeared in the spring issue of Home.

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