New at Old York
Behind the Scenes at the Show House
By Cheryl Farley
Community Relations Director
Dawn Dube and Lori Eberhardt-Rahill of Manchester, N.H., pictured here, were two designers checking out Mayfair during the frigid Designer Open House held in February. They have been selected to transform the guest bedroom and bath for this year's OYHS Show House.
Courtesy photo
Although the tourist season has not officially begun, preparing for it has long been underway at Old York.
We are often asked, "What do you do all winter?" Our closed museum buildings, although symbolic of a quieter time, are not representative of the activity that goes on behind the walls of our administration building. Downstairs, the Research Library remains open and active all year, while upstairs each department spends long hours planning and preparing for the upcoming events. We sponsor events and programs throughout the year and collaborate on many with other town organizations.
I spend a good deal of time preparing for our major fundraiser, the Decorator Show House.
Preparation for the Show House begins almost as soon as the previous one ends, with the search for a new house. For the past 18 years we have been fortunate to have found a suitable home, which meets all our criteria for parking, safe traffic flow through the house, interesting spaces, flat open lawn for the preview gala, and other such needs. Our house search always begins with "word of mouth" advertising, phone calls to local realtors and sometimes, cold calling unsuspecting homeowners! Often homeowners interested in offering their home contact us.
Once the home is secured and the contract signed, the search for designers begins. An open house by invitation is held in early February. About 200 designers are invited and about 50 or so come to the open house to evaluate the spaces, decide whether to participate and, if so, which rooms to submit proposals for. Each designer must submit first and second choices, complete with detailed descriptions of design concept, floor plan, color scheme and furnishings and include swatches of fabric, paint and/or wallpaper.
Proposals are due about two weeks after the open house. A group of our committee members and I then jury the proposals. We often get more proposals than we have spaces for. Sometimes we get several proposals for a single space, and none for other spaces. We then have to negotiate with designers who did not get chosen for their first or second choice. Sometimes we have to refuse designers a space.
Decisions are made room by room, looking carefully at each proposal for quality of design and how the design will flow with the overall feel of the house. Since we don't dictate themes or give specific guidelines for design, it can be a challenge to choose the right proposals to make it all work together!
In the meantime, the homeowner also has responsibilities. They must move out, have all of their belongings in storage and have all needed construction or repairs completed by April 30. Designers have from May 1 until early July to complete their spaces. Simultaneously, our volunteer committee is busy selling ads and laying out the interior for our catalogue, doing publicity, recruiting and scheduling 200-plus volunteers, keeping the designers on track, troubleshooting and planning the gala, luncheon series and all around overseeing of this major fundraiser.
Many people wonder what happens with all the "stuff" that goes into the Show House. Everything, from small decorative accessories to large furniture, is for sale. Both the homeowner and visitors may purchase anything for sale, but must wait until the Show House is over to claim it. What is left behind varies from house to house, but may include new kitchen cabinetry, bathroom fixtures and refinished floors, and always includes new wall treatments - sometimes one-of-a kind murals and faux finishes.
This year marks the first time we have worked with a homeowner doing a major restoration. Contractors have been working around the clock since December to make our May 1 deadline. To date, newly plastered walls, refinished floors, kitchen cabinets, windows, plumbing, electrical and beautifully restored woodwork and moldings have been installed throughout the 30 elegant spaces. We are looking forward to July 13 when it opens with our annual preview gala. Please stay tuned for all the upcoming events associated with the Show House and please give us a call at 363-4974 or check our website at http://www.oldyork.org/ if you wish to volunteer or need more information.
If you have questions or comments about this article, please email us at: oyhs@oldyork.org.
