Dreaming of designing a showhouse space? Seasoned participants explain why it can be a big-time investment with even bigger rewards.

The showhouse is perhaps the closest that interior design gets to a theatrical production, with polished, larger-than-life final results that belie the chaotic behind-the-scenes realities unfolding just before the curtain rises. Any designer who has participated in one will tell you that they were steaming draperies and arranging accessories right up until the doors opened and that there were moments when they truly thought their space wouldn’t come together. “It always comes down to the last second, when the photographer arrives, the house isn’t ready on time, and your furniture hasn’t shown up,” says Portland, Oregon–based designer Max Humphrey of his showhouse experiences. “I’ve gotten better at anticipating that—you just count on it being a nightmare.”

Despite the tumult, most designers say that the results are well worth the weeks of frenzied work, often resulting in career-defining spaces that would never come out of a project for a private client. With showhouses on the cusp (we hope) of returning in full swing to their pre-pandemic splendor, BOH spoke with designers across the country about the ins and outs of the experience: the reasons to say yes, the realities of working with a house full of designers, the importance of finding vendors and tradespeople who can bring a design to life, the very real financial and time commitments—and what you ultimately get out of it.