The Newport Showhouse Guild has, since 1994, produced a series of rennovated and wonderfully redecorated houses, raising money for charity and showing off the talents of interior and landscape designers.

The 2003 showhouse is the fourth in the series of showplaces produced by this group. This one is in the historic Quail Tree House, built in the 1860's and once the seasonal home of Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, poet, and short story writer Edith Wharton.

This is a particularly interesting house to decorate since Edith Wharton's fist book, published in 1897, was called "The Decoration of Houses" and was the first book written on interior design.

Today, Edith Wharton would be proud of her house. The Newport Showhouse Guild has gathered over 30 of the region's top designers to transform it inside and out. Keeping true to Edith's design principles of balance, symmetry, and proportion, Quail Tree House also exhibits new trends in color, texture, and fabrics.

The Quail Tree House has 29 rooms, each decorated by different designers. (Thirty rooms, if you include the "secret porch" off the living room.) Designers are largely from Rhode Island, but a few come from nearby Massacheussets and Connecticut to show off their talents.

The 2003 showhouse will donate proceeds to the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and the Women's Resource

Gentleman's Retreat designed by Leonards New England of Seekonk (photo by Nancy Kimball)

Center, echoing Edith Wharton's own devotion to raising money for charities that aid women and children.

Previous show houses include the Swineburne School in Newport's Pelham Street, the Swanhurst Estate nestled among the famous mansions on Bellevue Avenue, and the Mount Hope Farm with over 127 acres and five different buildings. The Quail Tree House is located at 100 Harrison Avenue in Newport.

The 2003 showhouse is open through June 15, Tuesdays through Sundays 10 AM to 5 PM. Thursdays are Designer Night and will be open until 7PM. Admission is $30. Visit their website at www.newportshowhouse.org or call them at 401/846-5574. [an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]