‘Home Office Hideaway’ was the perfect name for the room designed by Tish Mills Kirk of Tish Mills Interiors at the 2022 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach. With locations in Atlanta, GA and Charleston, SC, Mills has made her name in the industry by designing spaces that eloquently convey and mirror the client’s personality and lifestyle while maintaining a peaceful atmosphere throughout. Initially a bedroom in the guest house of the show house, Mills added her spin on the room to accommodate the needs of what she has seen as an often sought after renovation in these increasingly popular work from home times. The amalgamation of soft colors as well as vibrant add a flare to the space that really brings the room to life in a playful yet calming way.
We got the chance to talk to her about her vision and the story behind it.
(Q) What is Kips Bay to you? What does it mean to be a designer for this showhouse?
A: Kips Bay is really all about the kids and giving them the opportunity to have the life that so many of our own children have, so I am very grateful to be able to contribute to that effort both here in Palm Beach and the way that it impacts New York and the Bronx. As a designer being a member of the Kips Bay Decorator show house is really a bucket list item, it’s the pinnacle of all showhouses in the country and I am incredibly grateful to be included.
(Q) Tell us about your room and the inspiration behind the design?
A: When we first looked at the space it’s actually a bedroom, our thought was this is actually awkward as a bedroom. We stepped away and thought about if this were a client job, how would we design it? Very quickly we realized over the last two years we’ve done numerous work from home spaces so once we settled on creating that the first thing that we did is pulled out the closet, put in this great slab of Arizona Shadow Quartzite in the fireplace to create the beginning of the home office hideaway.
(Q) When designing this room, what was the most important factor for you?
A: The most important factor in this room is to really create what would be important to a client. I looked at this more as a client project than I would as a decorator showhouse, so if I was creating a work from home what would be the elements that would be important? Something that a client would find inspirational and that they can really dig in and work and let their mind go and create. Everything that I design always has a very peaceful and zen atmosphere to it and a feeling you will always exhale when you walk into one of my rooms and I really believe we achieved that here as well.
(A) What did the Primestones product help you to accomplish in your overall design? What drew you to the stone you selected?
A: The minute we saw the Arizona Shadow Quartzite we were like this is our stone. The reasoning is the coloration, the depth, the movement, it just adds an exciting focal point to the room and it’s exactly what we were looking for. We had not yet settled on any of the other elements that we would bring into the room, but the minute we saw this stone it was the cornerstone for everything else that we did.
