The Junior League of Greater Princeton’s 19th annual Designer Showhouse and Gardens will be held at 75 Cleveland Lane this spring.

The stone house was once home to J. Seward Johnson Jr., sculptor and founder of the Grounds for Sculpture, and his first wife, Barbara “Kristina” Johnson, a student turned fashion model who became one of America’s top 100 collectors of art and antiques. After their highly publicized divorce in 1964, Kristina Johnson and daughter Jeniah
“Kookie” Johnson remained in the house until Kristina Johnson’s death in 2013.

Today, contractors are rebuilding the house at the direction of Jay Grant, who purchased the property from Kookie Johnson in December of 2015.

Tours will include the three floors of the main house, featuring five bedrooms, five baths, two powder rooms, four fireplaces, the carriage house, and the estate’s gardens and grounds. Internationally celebrated cabinetry designer and craftsman Christopher Peacock will
install his classic British cabinetry in the showhouse kitchen. The carriage house will feature a cafe and boutique for the event.

The Junior League is seeking creative interior and landscape designers
to help make the showhouse a success. A designer open house will be held on site on Nov. 16 and 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Designers planning to attend the open house must register online by Nov. 14 to reserve a spot. Space is limited.

The home will be open for public tours on Sunday, April 30. Tours will continue Thursdays through Sundays through May 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Lectures, luncheons and special events will also be held at the house.

Proceeds from this biennial fundraiser support the Junior League’s mission and are reinvested back into the community via programs that benefit local women’s and children’s initiatives, grants to area community organizations, and scholarships for female high school seniors who have demonstrated a strong commitment to community service and voluntarism.

The Junior League of Greater Princeton is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities with a focus on the needs of women and children in Mercer and Bucks counties as well as the surrounding areas.

Since 1974, the Junior League of Greater Princeton has produced eighteen Designer Showhouses, showcased more than 500 curated spaces, and raised almost $2 million dollars for charity.