Nebraska-based firm Studio Eckström brought the formal drawing room to life at the 2025 Kips Bay Decorator Show House in Dallas.
Rather than stipulate a narrative brief, Kips Bay directs participants to contribute to a cohesive house whilst maintaining a distinct voice and working within the existing shell. Studio Eckström seized the opportunity to invent ‘Mr Trotter’s Drawing Room’ – a space that felt inherited rather than installed.
The character of Mr Trotter – “a cultivated, slightly mysterious collector whose life could be read through objects” – became the narrative device through which the story of the space was conveyed.
A tonal palette of warm brown, ivory, and umber was enhanced by the softness of pale blue and blush to create an intimate, cinematic space.
Textiles were central to the Studio’s vision for “a room that reads as a living archive.” Seeking to create an enveloping space whilst rejecting minimalism in a house of extraordinary rooms, layers of Fortuny prints and textural contrasts of chenille, velvet, linen, and trims abound.
