Design: Kips Bay show house

Designer show house devotees want ideas, and lots of them. They look, they touch, they listen. But at the end of the day, can they figure out how to duplicate what they see, especially if they are on a budget?

Here, some of the designers at the 2011 Kips Bay Decorators Show House try to help out those armchair designers who might feel inspired by what they see but may not know where to start.

Stunning wallpaper -- from China

IDEA The wallpaper in this dining room is one of a kind in every sense -- the hand-painted scenic paper on silk shantung was given to the owner as a gift from the sister of Madame Mao, Communist China's first lady, and it depicts a valley visited by President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. But, says Manhattan designer Matthew Patrick Smyth, "it was a bit overwhelming." He used panels made from F. Schumacher and Co. fabric to tone down the pattern.

HOW TO DO IT "You could shop for a cotton duck or linen blend fabric, it need not be expensive," Smyth says, "and do an inverted pleat or gathered pleat at the top. Sew on an interesting braid or contrast fabric along the inside edge. Add dress buttons. If you are not worried about the wall, then you could apply hardware but keep it high and start at the crown. You could also put in hooks and have pins in the back to attach, then you could wallpaper or decorative paint just the middle parts, not the whole wall."

Lightening up a ladylike library

IDEA This ladylike library by Kemble Interiors Inc. features 17th and 18th century antiques with modern pieces such as a lit Lucite and brass cocktail table. How is it all brought together? With a sisal rug that designer Celerie Kemble, a Manhattan designer who will be summering again at East Hampton's Grey Gardens this year, and her team painted.

HOW TO DO IT Kristen Wilson, who works for Kemble, says that the designer made stencils from paper, taped them down and decorated the 16-by-16-foot rug using flat Benjamin Moore paint in three colors -- celadon, dark green and cream. "It's a fun way to combine chic without being fussy," she says.

Satin and wool? Anything goes

IDEA In the living room, Manhattan designer Richard Mishaan, who has a home in Sagaponack, paired satin couches on a Moroccan wool tribal rug, and mixed black stained woods with lighter colors. The contrasts prove that "anything goes together as long as it has equal value," he says.

HOW TO DO IT When deciding to pair items, look for two things that may not necessarily be the same but have a strong presence, he explains. "The sea urchins on the foyer table could be a beach resort find, but out of that context they become decorative objects that can be set among things of any value."

It's all a matter of black and white

IDEA In home design, "graphics are very important going forward," says Manhattan and Arizona designer Jamie Herzlinger, who grew up in Great Neck. To that end, she created a bold pattern using large black and white tiles on the floor of this master bathroom, echoing the squares in different size mosaics on the walls.

HOW TO DO IT When it comes to tiles, Herzlinger suggests choosing two colors -- not only black and white, but beige and white, or gray and white -- and integrating different size tiles in the space. "You have the opportunity to create texture," she says.

A spiffy ceiling

IDEA The ceiling is a focal point in several of the rooms, from the painting of sky and birds in East Hampton, New Jersey and Manhattan designer Barbara Ostrom's romantic bedroom. Designer Jeff Lincoln, who has an office in Locust Valley, covered the "third wall" with handmade custom canvas panels in a gold leaf Greek Key pattern over a custom teal colored strie glazed background.

HOW TO DO IT "Pay more attention to ceilings -- paint them in a dark color, or in high gloss, or wallpaper them," he says. "It's a nice way to complete a whole environment."

WHAT The 39th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House

WHEN | WHERE Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.; through May 26, 163 E. 63rd St.

INFO $30 (comes with journal and source book); no children under 6; 212-755-5733, kipsbay decoratorshowhouse.org