As Promised....
The 2012 Symphony Show House
Every year decorators and furniture stores in Oklahoma City decorate a large mansion and open
it to the public for tours to benefit the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.
This year the home was in Heritage Hills.
Built in 1925, it was referred to as "The Jazz Age Manor" by this year's show hosts.
I'll go through it room by room with my thoughts.
Of course the outside of the home is just magnificent. No complaints from me here.
This home has had some unfortunate updates made to it that the designers tried to design around and enhance.
Let's see if they were successful.
Personally, I think it's bordello meets oil baron.
This home is now on the market and can be bought for only $1,800,000.00.
This is the front entrance hall.
Lots of faux painting in this room. It's not offensive but it's not what I would want either.
I think the furniture is not special at all.
An adjacent hall leads to the dining room. Tons of faux painting in this hall.
It's way too much. I do like the chandelier but that is it.
The formal living room. This looks very old lady-ish.
From the window treatments to the gold brocade sofas.
There is nothing in this room that grabs me. At least there is no faux painting.
The room is boring.
Dining room
I like the color of the walls and that is about it.
The master bedroom is painted in egg plant.
It's very dark. I think this room looks gaudy and cheap.
I know the furniture is not cheap...but it just looks tacky.
more of the master.
This room was a sitting room just off the master bedroom.
The same color scheme carries into this room except with more emphasis on gray than the purple.
This room is just a jumble of stuff if you ask me.
The connected master bath.
Again emphasis on purple and black.
Elizabeth Taylor was the inspiration for this decor.
I guess it didn't occur to the designer that Liz was not of the Jazz Age.
The bathroom walls are covered in mirror...so the task was to make the mirrors less noticeable.
That was achieved but this bathroom looks like 1960's Las Vegas.
Little girl's playroom.
Again more faux painting. This time done very badly. Moss green sponge painting all over the walls.
This room was perfect for a baby.
I could have lived in this room easily.
The prettiest in the home. Of course it's sicky sweet but that is perfect for a baby girl.
And girl's bathroom.
I love that they left the original medicine cabinet and lights over the sink.
Hate the wall painting.
Boy's room
This room was quite nice for a boy. The blue was not that bright in person.
The desk was polished steel. I'm sure a young guy would love this room.
Office
I think there were animal prints or some sort of animal hyde in each and every room.
Everything in this house is so heavy and ornate.
A funky guest bathroom includes an unusual rough wood sink vanity.
Where the idea came for that...I do not know. Why, oh why?
This bath doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the house at all.
Guest bedroom has a more contemporary feel.
I liked this room better than others but I didn't love it.
The headboard is cool.
The den off the dining room had a very masculine feel.
More faux painted walls!
Bar and pool in the basement.
This is the downstairs hall bath.
The walls were covered in mirror. The black toilet and sink were pre-existing.
To cover up the mirror....wall decals were designed and stuck to the mirrors.
That was ingenious but this room is still very gaudy.
The butler's pantry/ bar area lacks all the charm that an old home like this should have.
The large kitchen does not go with the style of the house either.
There are pretty knick knacks brought in by the store that designed this room.
But it just looks like a bunch of stuff.
I'd paint those cabinets white immediately if I bought this home.
This was my favorite room in the house.
It's connected to the kitchen and looks out onto the pool.
I wish the whole house had been decorated like this.
Although, it does not say Jazz Age.
I don't like that mirror.
And finally at the end of the tour, Mom and I ended up on this side porch where we sat for
about 30 minutes enjoying the day. It was the best part of the tour.
I have to say I loved this furniture. It was very comfortable.
As I said, this house is now on the market.
See the full listing here.
The listing shows the decor as it was before redone for the show house.
It was pretty bad.
This is an improvement but if I bought this home...I'd think everything needs to be redone again.
What do you think about it?
It's very Donna Decorates Dallas...
Isn't it?
40 comments:
"Heavy and ornate" were the perfect words to describe it. Ugh! It could have been lovely, but it's full of too much frou-frou. I think they were trying MUCH too hard ;-)
We watched the movie "the woman in black" last night. This looks a bit like horror movie style! What is up with the faux painting that looks like mold?? Ugh! I would take my little cottage any ol day over this!
Definitely too heavy and too ornate! Needs to be toned down quite a bit!
The porch is my fave!
The porch is my fave!
When I lived in Norman, my MIL and I would go to this every year. I do love the porch. That mirror is sort of atrocious...
Brenda
Your comments were spot on...that faux painting was awful!
I think the boy's room is the only one that feels at all fresh. The rest is ripped from '80s.
I have to agree with you, most of those rooms are just gaudy, not my likes, for sure. But it has great potential and anyone who can get a mortgage for nearly 2 mil will be able to hire a decorator to truly beautify it.
Cindy
It feels like a store instead of a house...very chaotic and not a good feeling from what I can see. I totally agree. Too much of the wrong stuff...I thought I was maybe going to appreciate it, but even Donna has better taste than this!
An Explosion in a paint factory?.. You know sometimes I can go for the unusual and daring in decor, but this was a real miss for me. However, like you, I love the exterior and the porch...wow... Thanks Nita , Sally xxx
This is why I don't care for show houses. It's like they go for all the expensive stuff they and find and just put it in whether it fits or not. I'd live on that porch though!
Carole
Oh my, it looks like they ruined the house. How sad. I do like the porch. Kind of a disappointment on the rest. Super tacky. Hugs, Marty
As is typical with show houses, each designer does his/her own thing and ignores the rest of the house and the period. I actually liked the before pictures from the ad more than the show house designs. I especially preferred the landscaping in the before picture. A house that large needs the old trees in the before picture. It looked like a new McMansion at the time of the show
house not a vintage gem.
Sue
I can NOT find anything that I like about any of the rooms except the outside porch. I just looked at the "before" photos on the listing and it was also awful but I actually like the mirrored bath better before the horrible Elizabeth Taylor makeover. I would think if someone could afford that home, that they would have to gut it and then why buy it?
Soooooo overblown and gaudy. I'd go crazy living in that house The walls and the purple and black are the worst for me.
Bordello meets Beverly Hillbillies or lotto winner !! You are spot on. It's an embarrassment to anyone from OKC and anywhere else to think that this might be considered Oklahoma design. I suspect it might be the wives of some furniture store owner or maybe some far reaching student? Too sad ! I crossed the path of some of those in my long design career. It's scary ;) Thanks for sharing my friend. ( I'm not trying to be mean....but ugly is ugly and there's no denying that this is ugly design work.)
Wow! I agree with every word you wrote! Yuk!
So overdesigned and gaudily overdesigned at that! Felt a bit unwell looking at some of those rooms...though the nursery was very sweet, and I agree...nicest room in the house.
xo J~
Surely there were better qualified designers in town. This looks like a bunch of decorators/designers who think they are something they are not.
I think your description of it was very kind. Hopefully someone who isn't afraid of a big project will buy and restore this poor house.
Yikes!
Thanks for taking the time to show us the house.
How on earth did you stay in the house long enough to make pictures? I would have run screaming something like "Off with their heads!". I can usually find something to like about any room but not this time. The porch was the only thing even remotely UN-tacky.
Honestly, I don't think the Clampetts would have gotten it THIS wrong!
Oh the horror! I was nauseated just looking at the pics. I can only imagine the torture of seeing it for real. Guess this is what happens when you have a big budget, no imagination, no appreciation for natural beauty, and enough tacky furnishings to fill Caesars Palace. Such a shame. This is really a beautiful neighborhood and home on the outside. I'm still confused though, where on earth does the Jazz Age come in? I didn't see one art deco piece in the entire house.
One more thing.
In the adjacent hall leading to the dining room, on the floor, there are two Pottery Barn lanterns wich I actually kind of like and have been admiring for some time (surprised to see those there).
Now I've got to go view some Martha Stewart magazines, or some old Pottery Barn catalogs, or Graceland Mansion ... anything to get this atrocity out of my mind.
Unbelievable
I am sorry that you had to see this side of Oklahoma City. Sherwin Williams paint was a sponsor of the showhouse.
Just as awful as promised - so horribly, horribly awful!
Like the horror movie you can't turn your eyes away from, this home keeps you glued in complete awe while gawking at the badly done design schemes.
I loved everyone's comments. Yes, this house was much worse in person. Such a disappointment. In past years there have been rooms I hated but also rooms I liked. This year there was nothing I liked. They called it the Jazz Age Manor because it was built in 1925 but then the furnishings did not reflect it at all. There nod to the Jazz Age was something musical had to be in each room. I didn't even bother to look for the musical things in each room. I just was not interested enough.
Just as Michelle said, "Oh the horror!" about sums it up for me. lol
usually there will be at least one room that will somewhat redeem the rest of a house - didn't happen there, did it?
Overspend and under-deliver was apparently the motto for the designers.
Kim@reposhture.blogspot.com
Well, here I am again. I couldn't get this house out of my mind. And I wanted to apologize. It's really not my style to criticize someone elses decor. I like individuality in design. But somehow, through all the glamming up, this home had lost it's original soul. It became more 'Las Vegas showgirl' and less the glamorous, Jazz Age 'Gatsby mansion' that I expected her to be. That said, I will admit, I rather liked the funky guest bathroom with dark gray walls and chandelier. But then I've been leaning toward darker colors lately. Thanks again for sharing this with us Nita. I am looking forward to the Heritage Hills home tour in the fall.
that is the tackiest house i've ever seen!!! so ugly! I agree with you on everything. the nursery was the nicest room.
Oh. My. As we say in Texas, bless its heart. Such a lovely house, but dang.
There is no flow, no theme, nothing. The nursery & patio were the only areas I liked. It's like they gave each room to a different designer and turned them loose with no consideration that it all is in the *same* house. Gah.
I'd love to start over. It could be amazing!
As with any showhouse there are redeeming qualities in some areas. Overall it is very "Housewives Franchise" looking. I hate their interiors and someone please alert the media, this is NOT how interior design is headed. Kim Zolciak and all the New Jersey gals have the sponge painted walls, ceilings, etc. Awful dated decor.
We had dinner there with a big sponsor. And it is truly the worst Symphony Showhouse I have ever been to. The patio area was by far the most pleasant place to be in this house. I don't know what they are thinking!!!!
The whole house is fantastic of course, but my favorite would be room #7 and #8. I'm a sucker for little girls stuff.
~Bliss~
Oh My Nita. This home has such a deceiving exterior. What a shock it must have been the futher you went inside. And who in the world would want to sit on a toilet and see themselves in every wall??? AAGGGHHH.
But I love you new blog look - the banner at the bottom is so adorable and love the weenie dog button too. My favorite colors I love the turquoise against the crisp white.
Hugs…Tracy @ Cotton Pickin Cute
Living in Oklahoma, this is what I have to choose from. Tacky, tacky, and more tacky! That show house is a big disappointment every year.
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