Curtain Up!: Thirty Years of Spectacular Shophouse Rooms

A glossy compendium of interior designer Barbara Ostrom’s extraordinary rooms that she has created in the last 30 years.

By Barbara Ostrom

Preface by Mario Buatta

Curtain Up!: Thirty Years of Spectacular Showhouse Rooms is a glossy compendium of interior designer Barbara Ostrom’s extraordinary rooms that she has created in the last 30 years for the most prestigious showhouses in New York City, New Jersey, and the Hamptons. With a preface by Mario Buatta, the book highlights some of Barbara’s most wildly imaginative and over-the-top rooms. It also displays her process from start to finish where she often has to begin with a gutted, crumbling room. The results are whimsical and colorful, with details ranging from a crystal chandelier adorned with an umbrella, ten foot high canopy beds, antique birdcages, Fu dogs, a 15th century knight in armor, Grecian gas lights, a hand-woven hammock from Jamaica, to ceilings painted with monkeys, parrots, squirrels, and butterflies. Barbara Ostrom’s rooms are exuberant and uplifting – no wonder she’s been dubbed ‘Queen of the Showhouse.’ 

Barbara Ostrom, A.S.I.D. is one of the nation’s leading experts in design of classical and architectural detailing, she regularly consults with builders of high end residential and commercial installations. She has been participating in showhouses for over 30 years culminating in over 75 rooms. The residential clients of Barbara Ostrom Associates have included President and Mrs. Nixon, Michael Strahan, and Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons.