Holiday House Hamptons Opens August 10 in Bridgehampton

Holiday House Hamptons, the East End edition of the designer showhouse that has raised more than $2 million for breast cancer research since 2008, returns on Saturday, August 10, with an Opening Night White Party and will remain open for four weeks to provide visitors with design inspiration while supporting a good cause.

Holiday House started in New York City and has also hosted a London showhouse. Founder and chair Iris Dankner — an interior designer and a breast cancer survivor herself — explained during an interview last week that the reason she named her organization Holiday House is “because after cancer, every day is a holiday.”

“The community has just been so wonderful, generous, creative in helping me support and grow this,” she said. “I say the good news and the bad news is that so many people want to be involved because everyone knows somebody that’s been touched by this disease.”

Proceeds from Holiday House Hamptons benefit the national Breast Cancer Research Foundation as well as the local Southampton breast cancer charity The Ellen Hermanson Foundation, co-founded and chaired by Julie Ratner, the sister of the nonprofit’s late namesake.

“I feel strongly that the money has to stay in the community,” Dankner said. “And what Julie Ratner has done for this community is unbelievable. What she’s done and how she’s helped build the Southampton Hospital breast center saves lives daily. She’s a dear friend and a role model for me.”

This year’s Holiday House Hamptons is a new construction home provided by developer Christopher Burnside of Burnside Development, who is also an associate broker and partner with Brown Harris Stevens of the Hamptons. Brown Harris Stevens is the main sponsor of the showhouse.

The three-level home has been divided into 18 areas, each assigned to a different designer.

Designers could be assigned a bedroom or home office, or in the finished lower level, the gym or home theater. Outdoors areas are also among the assigned spaces.

Dankner noted that last year, there were many more home offices. That pandemic era amenity appears to be waning in popularity.

“Home offices were the big trend — not as many this year,” she observed. “It’s funny to see how the world influences the design.”

The participating designers this year are mostly local to New York City, Long Island and the Hamptons, Dankner said.

Fashion designer Christian Siriano, who came to prominence as the 2007 winner of “Project Runway,” designed a room at last year’s Holiday House Hamptons and returns this year as a design co-chair along with returning design co-chairs Campion Platt and Andrea Stark.

“It’s such a great story where someone so successful in the fashion industry has then pivoted to designing a line of furniture and becoming an interior designer,” Dankner said of Siriano. “He uses a lot of the same feelings for designing a dress when he’s designing furniture — the same curves. … He is a really incredible guy, and as a co-chair and as a designer, we’re so excited to have him on board again this year.”

More than 20 designers will participate, all volunteering their time and skills and also responsible for their own supplies.

“We have the old, seasoned interior designers, and we have new, young designers that I love to help launch and give them the opportunity for the world to see their work,” Dankner said.

She said that the main reason people attend the showhouse is to see design trends and take home new ideas.

The 2024 Holiday House Hamptons is located at 4 Windy Hill Lane, Bridgehampton. The Opening Night White Party is on Saturday, August 10. General admission is from 6 to 9 p.m. and costs $300 per person, and VIP access, with early admission at 5 p.m., is $500. Visit holidayhousehamptons.com for tickets. The showhouse will then run from August 11 to September 8, open Thursdays through Mondays, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Showhouse admission is $40.