April 25 (Bloomberg) -- Perhaps you would like to enliven your white-box apartment. Have you considered tin can lids for wall texture?

For the first time in 36 years, the annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House takes over six condos rather than a single townhouse.

The site is Manhattan House, a white-brick, postwar behemoth with some 580 apartments that are being converted into condominiums by O'Connor Capital. The longtime renters for whom this process was distressing will presumably not be spending $30 to see improved versions of their abodes.

Twenty-one designers worked with mostly the same type rooms with white walls and low ceilings without moldings.

Geoffrey Bradfield's bachelor pad pairs glossy, bright orange wall coverings by Stark with oversized art by the Spanish team of Caceres & Miranda.

The bar area in Daniel Boulud's fantasy kitchen has an e- sommelier computer system from Architectural Audio Video Corp. that reminds you when the cabernet is ready to drink.

The ``Scarlett's Dress'' salon designed by Nancy Ruddy was inspired by a Carolina Herrera ball gown. The film's heroine would not disdain wrapping herself in the floral drapes.

Other rooms, like ``Jewel Box,'' designed by the Ward sisters, has 1960s-era fonts painted on the floor and a groovy closet displaying vintage accessories.

Monkey God

White Webb styled an L-shaped room as an all-in-one for living, sleeping, working and relaxing. This is where the tin cans come in: Shiny lids cover the bedroom area wall, and the effect is surprisingly serene. A 12th-century statue of the monkey god Hanuman stands in the corner. Moorish and Indian details punctuate the room.

Larry Laslo's penthouse living room is filled with vibrant, colorful art and fabrics. Walk into Laslo's dining room for a glimpse of a large Buddha head on the terrace designed by Michael Spitzer for Landgarden.

In the hallway on the 10th floor, check out photographs of the children who participate in Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club -- the beneficiary from the approximately $1 million that is raised yearly by the show.

The Kips Bay Decorator Show House is open until May 22 at the Manhattan House, 200 E. 66th St. Tickets are $30. Information: +1-718-893-8600; http://www.kipsbay.org.

To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Smith in New York at c.smith@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 25, 2008 00:01 EDT