HOLIDAY HOUSE

A LEGACY OF BEAUTY, COURAGE & RENEWAL

Image by Bespoke. Builder East End Building.

Holiday House returns this season with a resonance that feels especially meaningful. Opening in Palm Beach on March 3, 2026, with its much-anticipated gala and welcoming the public from March 4–May 3rd, the showhouse enters its eighteenth year having become far more than a design destination. What began as Iris Dankner’s personal tribute to survival and the restorative power of beauty has grown into an international movement that blends philanthropy, creativity, and cultural influence in a way no other design event has matched. 

Founded in 2008, Holiday House emerged from a moment of profound vulnerability. When Dankner survived breast cancer, she searched for a way to transform her experience into hope for others. She turned to the world she knew best—interior design—and envisioned a home where beauty could serve not as a distraction from hardship but as a form of emotional healing. From that idea came an entirely new genre of design showhouse: each room crafted by a different designer, each space a tribute to life’s moments, and all proceeds directed toward the prevention and cure of breast cancer. Holiday House has since produced thirteen showhouses in New York, seven in the Hamptons, and a London edition, establishing itself as a leader in luxury design showcases. 

Shelley Cekirge Interiors and photographed by Marco Ricca

Its properties have become part of its mythology: a Bridgehampton estate in 2013, a historic Sag Harbor factory in 2014, Water Mill in 2016 and 2019, iconic East 63rd and East 76th Street townhouses in Manhattan, and a sweeping Upper East Side penthouse in 2022. These homes became the canvases upon which designers such as Thom Filicia, Ariel Okin, Melissa Roy, V Starr, Chad James, Vicente Wolf, and Kara Mann have shaped unforgettable rooms. 

Standout moments have become part of the show’s lore: the Bridgehampton home that sold just one week into the run; the Watchcase Factory in Sag Harbor, which sold fifty percent of its available residences during the show; and the now-famous young designers’ evenings and wellness activations that turned Holiday House into a seasonal social hub, drawing editors, influencers, philanthropists, designers, and tastemakers from across the country. 

Through it all, Holiday House has remained unwavering in its philanthropic commitment. More than 10,000 visitors come to each showhouse, and over two million dollars have been granted to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation—an organization known for funding the world’s most promising research, distributing $57 million in grants this past year alone and maintaining top nonprofit ratings for fiscal responsibility and scientific impact. 

Against this rich history, the 2026 edition marks an important new chapter. Set within Farrell Estates Wellington, a new development inside the prestigious Palm Beach Polo Golf & Country Club, the showhouse is positioned among twenty-seven newly built luxury residences ranging from 5,300 to 8,000 square feet and priced between $5 million and $10 million. It is, in every sense, the perfect canvas: expansive, sunlit, architectural, and attuned to the subtropical rhythm of life in Palm Beach County. 

For Palm Beach and Wellington, the arrival of Holiday House is more than an event—it’s a cultural moment. Winter in this region carries its own sensory language: golden morning light, lush landscapes, ocean breezes, equestrian movement, polished social traditions, and a vibrant philanthropic calendar. Holiday House brings these elements together, transforming the home into a living gallery of possibility. Designers, given full creative freedom, craft rooms that feel like emotional vignettes—some serene and cocoon-like, others bold, sun-drenched, or filled with theatrical presence. The house becomes a journey through mood and meaning, where visitors flow from space to space with a sense of discovery. 

KA Murphy Interiors and photographed by Marco Ricca

What distinguishes Holiday House—and what makes it so aligned with the tone of VIVANT’s winter issue—is the belief that beauty is not superficial but strengthening. A home can be glamorous and soulful. A room can lift the spirit. A thoughtfully designed environment can inspire renewal. Throughout its history, Holiday House has proven that design, when paired with purpose, becomes a form of healing. It reflects the courage of one woman, the talent of dozens of designers, the generosity of thousands of guests, and the shared belief that life’s most important moments deserve to be celebrated. 

As Palm Beach and Wellington welcome Holiday House this year, the showhouse carries forward a legacy built room by room, home by home, season after season—a legacy of courage transformed into beauty, of community shaped through creativity, and of renewal found in the spaces we choose to call home. This season, VIVANT is proud to host the VIVANT Lounge within Holiday House, creating a gathering place designed for conversation, reading and connection. We cannot wait to unveil the fully completed Holiday House in our next issue—a celebration of its designers, its spirit, and the beauty still to come.