Holiday House Hamptons Celebrates Design and Décor While Benefiting Breast Cancer Research

It’s no coincidence that many designer showhouses tend to open at about the same time as fashion designers are showcasing their latest collections on the runways of Paris, London, Milan and New York. Indeed, the designer showhouse is the décor world’s equivalent of the formal fashion show as we know it: an opportunity to present the latest case for support for one’s own design philosophy, in a controlled setting to a captive audience. In this aspect, Holiday House Hamptons 2025 doesn’t disappoint.

This year’s house, the seventh to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Fund and the Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, is once again the brainchild of Iris Danker, a breast cancer survivor and force of nature. She has singlehandedly strongarmed not only designers, but builders, contractors and suppliers to donate their talents to create an in situ fantasy of an idealized ultraluxe Hamptons home. It’s an alluring convention of the design and décor world — not only as a robust fundraiser for worthy causes, but a chance for manufacturers to put their latest and greatest into talented hands for all the world to see. For the designers, the dividends are also there; a great room at a distinguished designer showhouse has been known to literally launch careers.

Situated on the edge of a nature preserve in Water Mill, this year’s Holiday House is a dramatic contemporary house designed by The Up Studio and built by East End Building Co. Where there’s no glass, the structure is clad in vertical strips of composite wood that reads as the perfect weathered cedar shingle gray. Set on a grassy 1.4-acre lot with a private tennis court, the 11,136-square-foot house looks peaceful and unassuming in spite of its mass and hardness of materials. A subtle curve to the roofline edge and a diagonal siting on the lot adds additional softness to what is a decidedly modern composition.

Within, the scale is soaring and celebratory, distinguished by a spectacular floating staircase. Designed by K.A. Murphy Interiors, the hero here is a triple-height installation of a boldly graphic wallcovering in soft taupes and grays that provides an alluring sense of movement. A hanging teardrop chandelier furthers the excitement.

Beyond, the living room by James Huniford (call him Ford) is a tour de force expression of the zeitgeist of the moment, what with its mix of new and vintage furniture, chic Phillip Jeffries wood-veneer wallcovering and two groupings of pieces from Donald Sultan’s “Poppies” series.

The Ciuffo-designed kitchen is a perfect example of what today’s ultra-luxury homebuyer wants — which is basically a television cooking show perfect display kitchen with a massive island, disappearing cabinetry and high-end appliances, supplemented by a back-of-the-house chef’s kitchen and pantry where the actual cooking and washing up happens, most probably by professionals. This is the Hamptons, after all.

Also among this year’s crop of 17 designers is fashion darling Christian Siriano, whose lower-level living room is anchored by a semi-circular sofa that recalls the genius of the late furniture designer Vladimir Kagan.

The bedrooms and related private spaces are uniformly serene — a departure from the usual dissonance of the typical showhouse, where there is absolutely no attempt at presenting a room that flows gracefully into its next door neighbor. This is intentional — an expressed edict from Danker who insists on a showhouse that reads as turnkey — should the right buyer walk through the front door. It’s a smart strategy in this competitive market. Regardless, there are still many décor takeaways for amateur and professional designers alike, making this year’s Holiday House Hamptons a must-see for anyone who loves the joyful exuberance of inspiring rooms.

The showhouse, at 392 Seven Ponds Towd Road, Water Mill, is open to the public Thursdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until August 17. Tickets are $40 and are available either at the door or at holidayhouse.ticketspice.com/holiday-house-hamptons-2025.

Those interested in more than the décor will want to know that the house is priced at $12.95 million as offered by Bespoke Realty. The furnishings are NOT included.