Southport Congregational Church will conduct the 18th annual "Rooms with a View" showhouse during the first week of November in the church's library and great hall, 524 Pequot Ave.
The event, to take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2, and Saturday, Nov. 3, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4, will display a dozen 5-foot by 8-foot spaces designed by 13 different interior design firms.
A preview party with wine, hors d'oeuvres and live and silent actions, will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1.
The live auction will offer a chance to bid on lunch for three in New York City with Thom Filicia, interior design expert on the television show "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," according to a news release.
The designers include Bachman Clem of Bachman Brown Design; Allison Caccoma of Caccoma Interiors; Christopher Carnes of Finishing Impressions and Rebecca Tier Soskin; Lynde Easterlin of Lynde Easterlin Interiors; and Lisa Ehrlich of Lisa Ehrlich Designs.
Other designers are Ann Franzen, Jody Foote and Katrina Franzen of Franzen, Franzen, Foote and Franzen; Jennifer Gresinger; Ryan Humphrey; John Murphy; Paola Salinas of Paola Salinas Interior Designs; Kelley Schutte; and Sean Michael Waters of Sean Michael Waters Design and Decoration.
Other showhouse-related events will include a marketplace with 30 vendors, a marketplace cafe, a vintage fashion show and English tea and a garden photo slideshow and lecture. There will also be a paella cooking demonstration and children's event with Elinor Biggs, including the reading and signing of her new book, "The Pig with No Name."
This year's theme, "Design on a Shoestring," will present interior designers showcasing their skills in designing on a budget in homage to the late interior designer Albert Hadley, the event's founder, who died in March 2012.
Hadley, in 1959, was commissioned by Vogue magazine to redecorate a bedroom for a story called "Summer on a Shoestring." For the project, he used only refurbished furniture and inexpensive materials and took what existed in the room and used it in a new way, the release states.
Proceeds from the event will go to the church and the charities it services.
Tickets to the preview party start at $100. General admission tickets are $20, while tickets to the fashion show and English tea are $45.
For information or tickets, call 203-255-4538 or visit www.southportucc.org.