U. MILFORD TWP., Pa. – A ribbon cutting in Lehigh County on Friday kicked off an interior designer’s dream: the Society of the Arts took a century-plus-old farmhouse in Upper Milford Township and gave each room inside it to a different designer. Each had the task of decorating it into a show house. And it’s all to support the arts.<\/p>\n
From tiles to carpets, up to the ceilings and chandeliers; no detail goes unnoticed.<\/p>\n
Wandra Cain, Principal Designer for WCA Interiors, based in Easton, had to make the best out of an old ceiling, for the outside balcony portion of the section she was assigned to design.<\/p>\n
“We took fabric and then covered the ceiling, something we made work,” she said.<\/p>\n
Shelbie Bemis, Senior Designer at the Allentown-based Stonewood Interiors, decorated one room inside the showhouse. She says the soft pink chandelier set the tone for one side of her area.<\/p>\n
“That was the inspiration, and it was designed around it to be bright and whimsical and happy,” she said.<\/p>\n
The 2026 SOTA Show House takes an 1855 Greek Revival farmhouse and gives each room brand-new life, with the help of an interior designer — one for each room.<\/p>\n
Anthony Sierra, owner of Anthony Sierra Designs, says he made up a story of what the owners would have been like nearly two centuries ago, to help him decide how to make up his small room.<\/p>\n
“Being a farmhouse, I kind of in my head thought that maybe one of the owners was like an equestrian and liked horses,” he said. “I have riding boots and a riding helmet in here. So, I kind of wanted people to walk in here and think, like, ‘oh, maybe she just came in.'”<\/p>\n
Ashley Hayes, founder of Swine Design, says for once, there was no client to dictate which direction they went in.<\/p>\n
“This was able to just be our whimsical funness,” she said. “We wanted to create a guest suite that any age or any person would feel comfortable in.”<\/p>\n
“We want to make an instant impression because this is the one room, the one moment,” Shoshana Gosselin, Principal Designer at Love Your Room, said. “So, it has to be an experience for the people coming in.”<\/p>\n
That’s 18 rooms, 18 designers, and one large historic farmhouse.<\/p>\n
Scott Rothenberger, owner and designer at PLACE, says he’s been working on show houses with SOTA for 28 years.<\/p>\n
“I think this house, honestly, is the best show house we’ve ever done,” he said. “All of us together, the size of the house, lots of rooms, lots of designers.”<\/p>\n
This is the 18th time SOTA is doing this over the last six decades.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been planning this for about a year and a half,” Jill Stevens, SOTA Show House Chair, said. “We have to find the house.”<\/p>\n
The owners of this house vacated the premises for three months, all for the love of the arts.<\/p>\n
“They wanted to give back and this was their way of giving back,” Diane MacConnell, also a SOTA Show House Chair, said.<\/p>\n
It’s all to raise funds for the Allentown Art Museum.<\/p>\n
“Admission is free for all, all the time,” MacConnell said. “And, you know, yes, it does cost money to do that.”<\/p>\n
The house is open for two weeks, starting May 2.<\/p>\n