By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHELSEA — Furniture created by big name interior designers including fashion model Iman and MTV's vice president of design will go on sale this week at Housing Works' annual Design on a Dime charity event.
The interior design sale, a seven-year-old tradition for the multiservice AIDS advocacy group, kicks off Thursday night with a VIP open house ($500) followed by a sold-out reception.
The public can start shopping the sale, held at the Metropolitan Pavillion (125 West 18th Street), for free, on Friday and Saturday.
This year's event will show off 56 mock rooms created by designers from around the world. The concepts include a "dream boudouir" created by Iman and style expert Robert Verdi, according to Housing Works spokeswoman Rebecca Edmondson. The model and spouse of rocker David Bowie is launching a new fabric collection called "Iman Home".
"You can really see the journey from her background in fashion," Edmondson said.
Shoppers can also check out a neon cave crafted by Bravo TV's "Top Design 2" winner Nathan Thomas, and a "fantasy walk-in closet" dreamed up by MTV Networks' design and construction vice president Yetta Banks, Edmondson said.
Within each room, individual chairs, tables, and all other design elements are sold separately.
The scale of this year's event represents a marked growth from Design on a Dime's origins in 2005, when just six interior designers squeezed into Housing Works' Chelsea thrift shop (143 W. 17th Street).
The goal this year is to raise $850,000 — a jump from last year's event which made $700,000, Edmondson said.
Proceeds will go toward a new residential development in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, which will provide 12 supportive housing units to formerly homeless adults living with HIV/AIDS.
Design on a Dime is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fri., May 6, and Sat., May 7, at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 W. 18th Street.
