Old homes are known for presenting design challenges, and when a house dates to the 1700s, it’s sure to come with a few quirks. This year’s Museums of Old York Decorator Show House, which opens to the public with a preview party Friday night, was built in 1719 and challenged the 20 designers who lent their creativity to the endeavor in some fairly typical old house ways.

“Because of the age of the house, there’s a little unevenness in the floors and the old horsehair plaster,” said designer Georgie McGowan of Georgie’s Home & Garden in York, who decorated the guest bedroom. “And in this house, the ceilings are quite low.”

McGowan didn’t realize how uneven the floor was until she went to place a mantle around the bedroom’s fireplace. A few shims remedied the situation.

The focal point of the guest room is an antique four-poster bed draped in a bedspread covered in blue and yellow peonies.

“Because of the low ceiling, my antique bed is more of a petite style than big and bulky,” McGowan said. “The posts are only 5½ feet, as opposed to 6 or 10 feet.”

Other rooms professionally decorated for the tour include the living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom, boy’s bedroom, office and library, along with the bathrooms, hallways and terrace. Designers who worked on the house came from the local area, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

“The house had been divided into two four-bedroom apartment units,” said Laura Dehler, marketing and development director for the Museums of Old York, which has organized a Decorator Show House as a fundraiser for the past 22 years. “Part of what we did is remove the divider between the two units. It’s now back to being one home with two kitchens and multiple bathrooms.”

Known as the Emerson House, this year’s Show House is a Georgian Colonial that started life as a tavern in the center of York Village. President John Adams is known to have stayed in the home during its days as a tavern, and the rooms he occupied are believed to be the current home’s living and dining rooms.

Since the house predates the American Revolution, its walls have likely seen many other interesting and noteworthy guests.

The house has been owned by the Emerson family since 1793; however, due to the advanced age of its present owners, the home is currently on the market.

“The house has come together beautifully from start to finish,” McGowan said. “All the designers have worked their magic. It’s a must-see house on the seacoast.”

Staff Writer Avery Yale Kamila can be contacted at 791-6297 or at:

akamila@pressherald.com

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Twitter.com/AveryYaleKamila