ARF Designer Show House Returns To Sagaponack Memorial Day Weekend

The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons seems to have a particular message for this year’s Designer Show House & Sale: Behind great interior designers are their four-legged friends.

“We salute the designers who have brought such creativity to their assignment, and look forward to seeing everyone,” ARF Board President Lisa McCarthy said in a statement on the eighth annual ARF Designer Show House, taking place over Memorial Day weekend beginning with a preview party on Saturday, May 26.

Just a week out from the soirée, fur was flying to get eight rooms and one outdoor space at the ARF Thrift & Treasure Shop in Sagaponack ready for the more than 200 guests from the design world and South Fork locals expected to buy furniture and knickknacks in the name of animal-friendly charity.

Designers and their dogs, including Tom Samet and Nathan Wold of Hamptons House Design, and Sawyer, their half Chihuahua and half Schnauzer, began filling their allotted space.

“Sawyer is an ARF dog, and I love my rescue. From the minute he walked through the door he was a member of the family,” Mr. Samet said. “He has inspired me to get involved to whatever extent.”

He has transformed what was a cozy, small interior room of the old single-family residence into a cozy beach scene, filling white and blue ceilings and floors and gray barn-siding wallpaper with a wooden desk, a rattan bar and stools, and organic rugs and sofas.

“It reflects on the causal part of the beach community,” Mr. Samet said.

Jack Deamer, of JED Design, didn’t rescue Charlie, a 2-and-a-half-year-old standard Poodle, from ARF, but the animal group has made a big impact on her training.

“She’s ARF educated,” Mr. Deamer said. Charlie had been to several of ARF’s puppy training classes. She still goes to learn tricks from time to time.

Mr. Deamer’s space is the home’s center hall. A center table, chairs, draperies and a mirrored screen were all brought inside.

“We are calling it Toile Hall,” Mr. Deamer laughed, pointing at the loud blue and white “toile de jouy” print of a pomegranate on the set of contemporary-canvased chairs. Charlie the poodle favored sitting upright on one of them.

The entire room is surrounded by that classic 12th century French print.

“It’s not loud, it’s joyous,” Mr. Samet said. “[Mr. Dreamer] took an interior room that is usually dark and dull, and made it light and wonderful.”

Melanie Roy, of Melanie Roy Design, and her Havanese named Dune, were putting the finishing touches on a beach glam-themed home office. The desk was supplied by ARF from prior Designer Show House weekends. Ms. Roy built around the acrylic and mirrored desk and made it “fetch” and new.

“I know everyone wants to come to the Hamptons, and stay and work here over the summer, so I wanted to create a beachy retreat to get work done,” she said leaning up against the walls, which were lined with wiry, twisting faux ferns. “[The ferns] were a low-maintenance way of bringing the outside in.”

A cubby system made of wood and wire, a nautical rope mirror, metallic lanterns and other metropolitan lighting are also prominently on display and for sale. In fact, everything is for sale and all proceeds of the Memorial Day weekend show house go toward animal rescue and adoption efforts. ARF has served the East End as an animal adoption center since 1974. And almost 10 percent of ARF’s annual operating budget comes from funds raised by the thrift shop.

Hong Kong fashion journalist Blue Carreon brought his King Charles Cavalier named Brighton. Mr. Carreon’s space is in the front of the show house.

“Since my space is the first thing you see when you enter, I wanted to turn it into a foyer,” he said. “So, I am covering the walls in lattice to create a trellis effect for the room, and it’s going to be in shades of gray and green with palm leaves.”

The pick of the litter, so to speak, will be of Mr. Carreon’s home decor line that can be found in Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. His collection is handmade in the Philippines and incorporates shell, stingray skin and brass. Also, donations from the Rug Company, EJ Victor, and a piece of signed Jeremiah Goodman artwork will be in Mr. Carreon’s section.

Mr. Carreon did not bring his horse, Hero. Brian Brady did not bring his 10-week-old yellow Lab, Max, and Richard Mishaan didn’t bring his two dogs and two cats. But they did bring a lot of stuff for the sale.

Mr. Brady, of Brady Design, brought in ottomans, a couch, and a few stylish chairs.

“This is going to be a dog sitting room,” he said referring to a classic English tea sitting room, but for dogs. The walls are lined with pictures of dog silhouettes. There are bowls of dog treats for pets to snack on.

Mr. Brady and Mr. Mishaan are decorating a small pair of rooms off the main house. Mr. Mishaan’s space has a quaint couch with foresty throw pillows, an enormous porch lamp, benches, a white lacquer coffee table and end tables, and two Warhol-esque paintings of Portuguese pharmacy receipts. He said he thinks the evening is going to be like a flash sale.

“I expect everything to be bought up in the first three hours. It’s like a designer’s flea market,” he said. “And it’s all for a great cause.”

Barbara Ostrom, Kim Seybert and Thayer’s Hardware & Patio have also designed interiors of the ARF Design Show House.

The preview hour begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 26, for guests who reserve ahead of time at the cost of $250. Or for $150, a cocktail reception runs from 6 to 8 p.m. The show house is open to the public Sunday and Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. There’s a suggested donation of $10 for adults to take a look.