The Kips Bay Decorator Show House Opened with a Splash in Palm Beach

In 1973, a group of Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club supporters on the Upper East Side devised the brilliant concept of the decorator show house. Forty-seven years later, the New York City show house is going strong, having raised more than $21 million for Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, which reaches more than 10,000 young people at nine locations in the Bronx. The concept has become so popular that the charity decided to take it on the road, and last Friday marked the opening of the third annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach, which runs through March 1. Individual tickets are $35 and all proceeds benefit the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County.

On Friday, a fashionable crowd flocked to the plantation-style home of interior designer Lars Bolander in the South End neighborhood of West Palm Beach, which 19 designers from around the country have transformed. While a downpour put a damper on the outdoor activities—including a poolside margarita bar with limes being squeezed to order—it provided even more of an incentive for attendees to take a leisurely tour of the interiors and discuss the designers' work.

"At the end of the day, this is where the rubber meets the road," said Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Daniel Quintero, who grew up in the Bronx and learned to play baseball at the club before going on to play for the Kansas City Royals. "The show house has tripled in size from the first year, and I think it's going to continue to grow. "

Scroll down for a look at the opening night party.