I’ve been quite busy the last few months working on and participating in The Kaleidoscope Project Designer showhouse with 20 other interior designers within the black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) community. The Kaleidoscope Project is the brainchild of interior design industry veterans Amy Schwartzbard, Patti Carpenter and Liz Nightingale, to produce a designer showhouse showcasing the diverse talent within the creative design industry. Their intention is to amplify the voices of those who rarely, if ever, have been given an opportunity to be heard.

The Cornell Inn is a 280-year old bed and breakfast nestled in the woods of Lenox, Massachusetts. The designers were tasked with renovating and decorating 18 guest rooms and suites, a lobby area, small dining room and bar. Rest, reflection and rejuvenation imagined in a natural, cool or warm color palette would be our source of inspiration.

Each designer was designated a room and the beauty of this project is that after the showhouse ends, each space will remain intact and renamed by the designer who orchestrated the transformation. Formerly known as the George Room in the Carriage House, I loved my space for both its size and layout, which naturally leant itself to separate sleeping and sitting areas, with its own porch! With the exquisite wallpaper guiding me, I settled on my signature style of relaxed glamour and sophisticated elegance in soothing tones of green, cream and silver-gray.

A second far reaching and consequential benefit is the Kaleidoscope Project has partnered with educational programs and 501(c)(3) organizations providing scholarships to those in the BIPOC community interested in a career in the arts and design industry.

The before of what was formerly the George Room…I see some room for improvement, don’t you?

The designer showhouse ends this weekend and The Cornell Inn reopens to receive guests on June 7th. If you’re planning to visit Lenox this Summer, perhaps for Tanglewood, which is close by, do consider staying at the Cornell Inn. It’s simply gorgeous in its new incarnation.

The showhouse has been hugely successful and all the designers received an enormous amount of coverage from media publications, including Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Veranda, New York Magazine, Metropolitan Magazine and BOH among others.

I am honored to have been part of this important initiative. The Cornell Inn Designer Showhouse promises to be just the beginning of greater things to come from The Kaleidoscope Project team.

The Cornell Inn, 203 Main Street, Lenox, Massachusetts … (p) (413) 637-4800