Sotheby's Showhouse Dining Room

Sotheby's At Home: Designer Showhouse and Auction in April 2016 launched the revered auction house's Spring season. Designing a dining room for her imaginary clients, Shelley Morris envisioned an international art-collecting couple of refined tastes with a home in the Mediterranean who had blended their treasures and heirlooms over generations. Combining her selections from the lots for sale that spanned centuries, she has juxtaposed shapes, textures, colors and materials, layered with new elements, to create an interior landscape relevant for today.

The Sotheby's space is as much a gallery and gathering place as dining room. Within a calm envelope of textured plaster walls, a Saarinen table shares the stage with a 17th century cabinet and a 1970's Paul Evans sculpted bronze cabinet. The art ranges from Versailles portraits of the seasons to works by modern masters Miro and Rosenquist. Many engaging elements enliven the space, yet the eye has a chance to rest before landing upon the next exquisite treasure. It is a room with a hundred views, without once ever peering toward a window.