The North Fork Designer Show House, a charity event where local designers transformed a 19th century farmhouse from a dated and rundown building into a stylish assemblage of meticulously decorated rooms, will be back for a second showing this holiday season.
The new event, dubbed the Christmas Show House and Best of North Fork Emporium, will feature furnished rooms decorated for the holidays, works by local artists and crafts and food from local artisans. It will take place in the same 12-room 1835 farmhouse next to the Village Green in Cutchogue. The vacant home is on loan from the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church.
“We’re riding the wave of success of the August show house,” said Bob Tapp of Greenport, one of the organizers. “We’re not trying to outdo ourselves, but it’s going to be a beautiful event.”
The summer event, which benefitted local charities Community Action Southold Town, Maureen’s Haven, Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch and Katinka House, attracted more than 1,500 visitors and raised more than $40,000, Tapp said.
“We gave our four beneficiaries five-figure checks,” he said. “We would be remiss not to help additional people in need.”
The holiday-themed event will benefit the Wounded Warriors Project, local families in need and a not-yet-determined breast cancer research charity.
Designers like Debra Gildersleeve of Renee’s in Mattituck, Lori Guyer of the White Flower Farmhouse in Southold and Christine McCabe have all signed on again to design a room. Santa’s Christmas Tree Farm in Cutchogue will do the exterior decorations and North Fork Self Storage is the corporate sponsor, Tapp said.
A new twist this season will be the addition of a vendor’s market where local crafters like Tate’s Bake Shop and Blooms by Design will sell their goods. The Giving Room in Southold, Clawflowers florist in Greenport and Clarke’s Garden center in Greenport have also signed on.
Works by artists like Hilda Glasgow and Steve Alpert of Quogue will be on display and available for purchase.
“Virtually everything in this house will be on sale,” Tapp said. “It’s like a mini-department store under one roof.”
The curator of one of the inaugural show house’s most popular space, designer Conni Cross will again decorate the home’s attic and sell live greens in the space.
“Even her bundles of greens are gorgeous,” Tapp said.
Entry in the home will be $10, a considerable discount from the summer’s admission price of $25. Organizers said they are hoping to tap into the same crowd as well as new people who heard about the original event, but did not get an opportunity to check it out.
“People came from everywhere. From all over the island” said Terry Hofer, who will design one of the rooms and is one of the organizers. “It was such a resounding success. The energy and the spirit is just amazing.”
The Christmas Show House and Best of North Fork Emporium will run Nov. 28-30 and Dec. 5-7 and Dec. 12-14 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Visit the event’s Facebook page for updates.
