Coming off a hot season of showhouses this summer, the industry still wants more. Fall openings abound, and Editor at Large has compiled a list of all the inspired, can’t-miss events across the country. From South Carolina to New Jersey, showhouses could be autumn’s best weekend adventure.
Westchester Magazine’s Dream Home: Penthouse Edition (White Plains, New York)—through October 19
Construction has been completed and online reservations for tours of Westchester Magazine’s Dream Home: Penthouse Edition are now being accepted. This year’s home is on the 40th floor of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton in White Plains. Filled with sleek contemporary furnishings and featuring the latest appliances, finishes and cabinetry, the house boasts 5,400 sf with floor to ceiling windows and views of Long Island Sound and the New York City skyline.
The house was designed by Barbara Bell, who worked with a wide range of sponsors including ABC Furniture and Carpet, Architectural Mineral & Stone, California Closets, Greenwich Window Treatments, Hunter Douglas, Marble America, Roche Bobois, Safavieh, Sisley and Stickley Audi & Co. among others.
Public tours of the Penthouse are available every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Sunday, October 19. Tours run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Appointments are required and can be made online. Admission is $20. A portion of the proceeds will benefit My Sisters’ Place, which combats the effects of domestic violence and human trafficking throughout Westchester County.
Southern Living Idea House (Bluffton, South Carolina)—through December 14
Situated in the Lowcountry of South Carolina between Charleston and Savannah, Georgia, the Southern Living Idea House is located in Bluffton, South Carolina this year. The area is a vast expanse of pristine land bounded by the May, Cooper and New Rivers.
The newly constructed house represents the best in design and architecture in the South. Conceived by Pursely Dixon Architecture, and built by Shoreline Construction, the interior design features the work of Suzanne Kasler.
The house can be toured Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Sundays from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. (closed Monday and Tuesday) through December 14. Admission is $15. Proceeds will benefit Bluffton Self Help, which provides free food, clothing and short-term financial assistance to area adults in need; and the Boys and Girls Club of Bluffton, which provides activities for the youth in a caring environment.
Designer Showhouse of New Jersey (Saddle River, New Jersey)—October 8 – November 16
Now in its seventh year, the Designer Showhouse of New Jersey will welcome approximately 25 top interior and landscape designers to transform a magnificent French chateau estate located at 11 Sawmill Road in Saddle River—all sponsored by Traditional Home magazine.
Designers participating in this year’s house include Barbara Ostrom Interior Design, Chatham Interiors, Creative Wallcoverings and Interiors, Diane Durocher Interiors, Ellen Hartgers, Emily Wallach, Eurica, Immersive Technology, Jennifer McGee Design Inc., Joel Woodard Interior Design LLC, Ovadia Design Group, Judi Schwarz Interiors, La Bossiere Inc., M.R. Sferra Interior Design, MacLeoD Design Group LLC, Mannarino Designs Inc., Michael Mariotti Interior Design, Naturescape Lawn Maintenance & Design, Parisi Interiors and Tiled Interiors, Polo M.A. Inc., Thyme & Place Design LLC, Tode Landscape and Town & Country Kitchen and Bath.
The showhouse will be open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (closed on Mondays), through November 16. Children under the age of six, infants, strollers and pets are not allowed in the showhouse. Admission to the showhouse is $35 and includes a showhouse journal. Proceeds will benefit the programs and services of the Hackensack University Medical Center, a nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ.
Cape May Designer Showhouse (Cape May, New Jersey)— October 10 through June 14, 2015
This year’s Cape May Designer Showhouse is a classic Mansard-style home that was built soon after the great fire of 1879. It was the last structure to fall to the devastating blaze that swept through what is now the town’s Historic District, and the current house was built on the charred timbers of its predecessor. The Mansard roof is crowned by ornamental wrought ironwork, and the house offers breathtaking ocean views.
A private residence before and after the great fire for nearly 100 years, the building was then restored and operated as an award-winning bed and breakfast inn known as The Inn on Ocean for more than 25 years, before being converted to a retreat for family vacations for the past 10 years. At the end of this year’s rental season, the 5,000 sf home will undergo significant upgrades to the interior. Local and regional designers will then exhibit their creativity in presenting a dozen design spaces, each portraying a favorite holiday.
The showhouse will be open to the public through June 15; hours and days open will vary, click here for more details.
Dining packages with the Carriage House Café & Tearoom at the Physick Estate, as well as popular Cape May restaurants, will be offered on select dates. Admission is $20, $15 if purchased before October 6.
Traditional Home Napa Valley Showhouse (Napa Valley, California)—Open October 12-November 16
Caldwell Vineyard, a stunning 123-acre vineyard estate in the heart of Coombsville's ancient volcanic caldera, is the site of this year’s Traditional Home Napa Valley Showhouse.
Designers transforming the house include Catherine MacFee, Cathleen Gouvela, Elizabeth Cameron and Kathleen Pfaff, Annie Bowman, Tish Mills, Miyuki Yamaguchi, Leslie Kalish, Jonathan Rachman, Thomas Bartlett, Scot Meachem Wood, Kari McIntosh, Laurie Furber, Melina Bartlett, Tim O’Shea and Sarah DeWitt.
The showhouse will open with a special Gala Preview Party on Saturday, October 11, at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $75. The house will then be open for tours Tuesdays through Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (closed Mondays) through November 16. Admission is $30 per person. Proceeds will benefit the Napa Valley Film Festival. To purchase tickets, click here.
Design Showhouse at the Guggenheim Estate (Long Island, New York)—November 1 – 30
The Friends of Sands Point Preserve are gearing up for the second annual Design Showhouse in Hempstead House at the Guggenheim Estate this fall. The 2014 theme is “Home of An American Renaissance Family”—a modern-day interpretation of the Guggenheim’s extraordinary lifestyle and achievements.
The Guggenheim Estate on the Sands Point Preserve embodies the opulent lifestyle that defined Long Island’s legendary Gold Coast era. Its original owners, Daniel and Florence Guggenheim, lived and entertained in the magnificent Hempstead House, a Tudor-style mansion built in 1912, designed by Hunt & Hunt. This stately waterfront residence was the popular gathering spot for the Guggenheim family and the powerful elite of the time, renowned for its society parties as well as performances and exhibitions by world-class artists.
The showhouse will be open for tours Wednesdays through Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (closed Tuesdays and Thanksgiving Day) through November 30. An art exhibition, daily performances and presentations and a fashion show featuring Michael Mui’s Lotus M designs on November 6 will accompany the showhouse. Designers will be announced soon.
Admission is $30 per person and parking is $10. The Masquerade Ball kick-off party takes place on Friday, October 31, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $150 per person. The showhouse and kick-off party will raise funds for essential renovations and improvements to the Sands Point Preserve.
Home for the Holidays Designer Showhouse (Atlanta, Georgia)—November 19 – December 7
Nestled in the heart of Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, this year’s newly constructed English-style home is located at 2865 Habersham Road, and will showcase the work of local and national designers and offer seasonal activities with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Southeastern Horticultural Society’s Children’s Learning Gardens and Farms.
This year’s designers include Amy D. Morris, Barbara Heath, BD Jeffries, Beth Webb, Bill Ingram, Brian Patrick Flynn, Carter Kay and Nancy Hooff, Lance Jackson and David Ecton, Liz Williams, Margaret Kirkland, Mark Williams and Niki Papadopoulos, Michel Boyd, Randy and Dan Belman, Susan Ferrier and Tami Ramsay and Krista Nye Schwartz.
The showhouse will be open to the public for tours Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. It will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. Advanced tickets purchased before November 19 are $20 per person, and $25 at the door or online beginning November 19. Groups of 10 or more are $15 per person, and children 10 and under are free.
Holiday House (New York, New York)—November 20 – December 21
One of the most anticipated show houses on the New York City calendar this fall season is the annual Holiday House NYC at the Academy Mansion at 2 East 63rd Street in New York City. Sponsored by Traditional Home magazine, guests will be able to peruse rooms with themes embodying every holiday from Christmas to Halloween to Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
The showhouse will kick-off with an opening night gala on Wednesday, November 19, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. It will then be open to the public daily through December 21. Tickets will be available online soon.
Proceeds from Holiday House NYC benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Stay tuned for the announcement of the designers.
Photo Credit: Bob Skinner Photography (Designer Showhouse of New Jersey)
