Upstate

Creative Collaborations Abound at the Fifth Annual Kingston Design Showhouse

The transformation of an early 20th century house for the annual Kingston Design Showhouse nods to history and displays an array of local creative talent.

kingston design connection showhouse 2022

The dining room in the Kingston Design Showhouse by Creatures of Place. Photo by Phil Mansfield

by Susan De Vries

10/14/2022 7 minute 0

The transformation of an early 20th century house for the annual Kingston Design Showhouse nods to history and displays an array of local creative talent. After decades of use as a commercial structure, the building has been purchased by a new owner and turned back into a residence.

The showhouse opened last weekend and runs through October 23 with the skills of more than 180 designers, artists and makers on view in nine interior spaces and the exterior and landscaping of the house. Hosted by Kingston Design Connection, a network for area creatives founded by designer Maryline Damour of Damour Drake, this year’s showhouse marks the fifth for the organization.

While in typical showhouse fashion each room is its own environment to be explored, there is some connective tissue with natural materials, hand dyed or treated fabrics, lush colors and a focus on craftsmanship. Participating designers this year include BNR Interiors, Brooke Cotter, Quittner x Worth Preserving, Michael Gilbride Design, Creatures of Place, E. L’Alease & Co., Hendley & Co., Simone Eisold Design, Hinterland, Unlimited Metalwork, Chris Bick & Buddy Valentine and Christian Cruz.

A kitchen by Hendley & Co. makes its nostalgia with a twist apparent by dubbing the room ‘Ode to Grandma.’ An oversized checked wallpaper, avocado green ceiling and sputnik-like chandelier are paired with custom cabinets by Hudson-based E. Penderleith & Co. In the dining room, Creatures of Place focused on sustainable and local design with a romantic installation overflowing with dried flowers paired with earthen dyed silk fabrics by Silk & Willow of New Paltz.

kingston design showhouse — A bedroom dubbed ‘A Room of One’s Own’ by Quittner and Worth Preserving. Photo by Phil Mansfield

Upstairs a study by Quittner and Worth Preserving takes the early history of the dwelling at 60 Maiden Lane, which was a household of women, as inspiration for its ‘A Room of One’s Own.’ A cupboard bed is carved out of a former closet, the walls are filled with art, and research on the history of the house is available for perusing.

That household of women was headed by Elizabeth B. Van Gaasbeek and she shared the residence with her nieces Anna B. and Alice E. Van Gaasbeek. The Queen Anne-style house, which lost its porch sometime after the 1950s, was constructed in 1901. Elizabeth was in her 70s when she and her nieces, then in their 50s, moved a few blocks away from St. James Street to the new house on Maiden Lane. Earlier census records list Elizabeth as a milliner and dressmaker, but she was no longer working by the time she established her new home. Elizabeth had just a decade in the house, dying in 1911.

While a hunt through historic newspaper accounts doesn’t turn up much on the lives and interests of Elizabeth or Anna, who died while visiting Brooklyn in 1914, a bit more info emerged about Alice.

Like her aunt and sister, Alice never married and wasn’t working outside the home while living on Maiden Lane; the 1910 census notes “own income” for the women. She was active in local organizations, though, with newspaper accounts showing her as a member of the First Reformed Church of Kingston and the local chapter of the D.A.R. During World War I she participated in the Kingston Community Canning Kitchen, which demonstrated the benefits of canning and supplied the local Red Cross with jam for hospitalized soldiers.

Alice died in 1931 at the age of 78, ending the Van Gaasbeek history in the house. It was purchased by couple R. Frederick and Harriet S. Chidsey, and city directories show that it served as a family home and business office for Frederick’s insurance business. The business continued to operate in the house after his death in 1954 and the house remained a commercial property until it was bought by a first-time homeowner last year.

The renovated home will be turned over to the homeowner when the showhouse closes, and proceeds from the event will support the work of the Ulster County Habitat for Humanity (which was not otherwise involved in the project).

The showhouse is open to the public for two more weekends, October 15 and 16 and 22 and 23 from noon to 5 p.m. Advanced tickets of $22 are required. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Kingston Design Showhouse event page online.