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Village Improvement Association hosts Empty House Party

Visitors tour 2018 Designer Show House at 42 Pennsylvania Ave.
VIA Designer Show House co-owners Brian, Ellen and Mary Kadow look forward to seeing the home transformed. In back are (l-r) Designer Show House Co-chair Carol Hall, Mary Kadow, and Co-chair Ann Sebastian. In front are Brian and Ellen Kadow, and VIA President Rose Marie Patin. DENY HOWETH PHOTOS
February 1, 2018
Rehoboth Beach Mayor Paul Kuhns stopped by to see the home before its transformation. In back are (l-r) Co-chair Carol Hall, Mary Kadow, Kuhns, and Co-chair Ann Sebastian. In front are Brian and Ellen Kadow.
Amidst paint cans and ladders, Kristina Alexander plays harp for the Empty House Party.
Discussing the potential for the renovations are VIA members (l-r) Doris Nilson, Cynthia Ritthaler, Margie Sherwood and Kathy Bruffey.
VIA member Pat Tosi chats about design with Peter E Designs owner Peter Edmond, right, and Steve Reed, center, Peter E Designs office manager.
DSH committee member Beth Magnus keeps the hors d’oeuvres flowing.
Kate FitzGerald-Wilks of Timeless Design surveys the porch that she will be designing.
The living room is lively with potential.
DSH committee members Monica Maiese, left, and Karen Adams pour Prosecco.
The house at 42 Pennsylvania is alive with possibilities.
The talented Kristina Alexander plays harp for the Empty House Party.

The Village Improvement Association of Rehoboth Beach hosted a highly successful Empty House Party Jan. 16 for more than 150 attendees. They welcomed designers, the media, local VIPs and VIA members to tour the 2018 Designer Show House at 42 Pennsylvania Ave. in Rehoboth. The house has been completely emptied in anticipation of the restyling that will take place over the next four months.

Thirteen home and landscape artists will create their visions in a complete redesign of this cozy family home. They will renovate the kitchen and bathrooms, refresh the rooms and update the patio-garden areas.

"We are delighted to be working with some of the premier designers in the region for our 2018 effort," said Carol Hall and Ann Sebastian, co-chairwomen of the Designer Show House event. "The VIA Designer Show House is one of our most successful fundraising events, and that success extends the outreach to the community."

The original owners, Helena and Stanley Kadow, spent many happy years entertaining family at 42 Penn, and now their three sons and families, who have enjoyed the house for almost four generations, look forward to having that new-house feeling in their venerable home.

The VIA Designer Show House will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday to Sunday, April 26 to 29, May 3 to 6, 10 to 12, and 17 to 20, at 42 Pennsylvania Ave., Rehoboth Beach. Tickets priced at $25 are available at the door or in advance at designershowhouse.org. Thursday group (4+) reservations are available for the tour at $20 each and an optional lunch $15 each. For more group information, call 302-836-1140.


The Village Improvement Association is a unique women's civic and charitable organization located in Rehoboth Beach. Since its founding in 1909, members have been harnessing their collective powers to make enduring contributions to the town of Rehoboth Beach, as well as the surrounding Cape Henlopen School District communities. The VIA is a member of the Delaware State Federation of Women's Clubs and the General Federation of Women's Clubs.

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