Kingston Design Showhouse Returns This October...in Stone Ridge

Since Maryline Damour launched Kingston Design Connection nearly six years ago, the project has been doing exactly what the name promises—connecting. Their annual showhouse brings together local designers, tradespeople, vendors, makers, and artists to transform a Hudson Valley home, with the objective of connecting new collaborators and clients as well as boosting economic development.

KDC took last year off the showhouse to focus on building their partnership with Ulster County’s Habitat for Humanity, plan more year-round programming, and hone their long-term vision. But the beloved showhouse will be making its highly-anticipated return come October—only this time, it won’t be in Kingston.

This year’s location is at 3714 Main Street in Stone Ridge, part of a designated district that joined National Register of Historic Places in 1988. “The Hudson Valley is huge,” Damour says. “ Since 2019, a number of Upstate New York towns have reached out to KDC asking us to develop a showhouse in their area as a way to further activate their town centers. We’re excited to be in Stone Ridge as a way to begin working with more towns and extend our reach."

Built in the early 1700s, the center hall Colonial is flanked by windowed parlors shedding light onto the heart pine floors. KDC will be renovating three parlors, the kitchen, the primary suite, two additional bedroom spaces (function is up to designers), the back porch, basement and an outdoor space. The designers for these spaces are yet to be determined, and KDC is still accepting applications until July 31.

In their geographic expansion, KDC is leaning into its identity as “America’s Main Street Showhouse,” a nod to how embedded they are in the local community. “The showhouse has really become a display of the region's talent,” says executive director Jennifer Salvemini. “It was really awesome for us to also find our show house this year on an actual Main Street.”

Local economic development has always been Damour’s goal, and branching out to new neighborhoods is only broadening the project’s impact on the community. KDC is reaching out to engage businesses in Stone Ridge specifically in the project. Every permanently installed design element from the renovation (landscaping, wallpaper, lighting, tiling, cabinetry) is gifted to the owner of the home as a way to increase the property’s value.

With KDC’s collaborations with Ulster County Habitat for Humanity this year—including designing a Habitat-built home to bring awareness to the nonprofit’s work—proceeds from the showhouse will benefit the ongoing KDC Habitat partnership program.

While KDC always engaged local businesses in Kingston and other towns in the showhouse, what they’re planning in Stone Ridge this year is different.

“We're excited to see how the Kingston Design Showhouse can activate Stone Ridge and the surrounding hamlets, engage with the local businesses there, and to see what we can do and what partnerships we can create,” Salvemini says. “It's a very exciting prospect.”

The Kingston Design Showhouse opens October 11-27, you can find more information on kingstondesignconnection.com.