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Black and white is a theme for designers
5200 OLD SANTA FE TRAIL IS AN AMAZING 36ACRE PROPERTY with a gorgeous, substantial home and stunning landscaping and equestrian facilities. For two weekends in October, the public can see the place thoughtfully and beautifully enhanced by more than two dozen of Santa Fe’s top interior designers. It’s the 2017 ShowHouse Santa Fe, an event that benefits Dollars4schools.org, which was created in support of the local schools in association with the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Now in it’s fifth year, ShowHouse Santa Fe, a nonprofit entity, has given close to $100,000 to schools programs in the city of Santa Fe. The 2015 event raised net proceeds of over $30,000 for Dollars4schools.org.
It kicks off with the ShowHouse Gala Preview ($125) 6-9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, with guest of honor Mayor Javier Gonzales, food, entertainment, and shopping. Then, on Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 7, 8, 14, and 15, self-guided home tours ($30) are available between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
For this event, designers have added their touches around the 2017 ShowHouse theme, “West of Contemporary: A Journey in Black & White.”
“It’s a little not Santa Fe, that we’re doing black and white,” said Jennifer Ashton. “And it really forces the designer to be a little more elegant,” added David Naylor. The two, owners of Jennifer Ashton Interiors and David Naylor Interiors, respectively, are the cofounders of the ShowHouse event. “We do a theme so there will be some cohesion,” Naylor continued. “We like them to go off the theme, but having some reference to it.”
In ShowHouse, each design company works on one room or outdoor space. Naylor and designer Melinda Browning are focusing onThe Eat-In Kitchen. Ashton hasThe Dining Room. “This is kind of about taking this black-and-white theme and incorporating that in a way that is my expression,” she said. “ShowHouse is about designers each year being able to express themselves, and it’s not client-driven. The art of that expression is why we get designers back. We love that.
“Forme, it’s whatwill I show that’s unexpected? Because people are coming for our ideas.”
Some of the designers worked in tile and finishes at last year’s ShowHouse. This time, it’s all about decor only. “We didn’t have to touch the house; it’s just beautiful.”
The original part of the house dates to the 1940s. A series of additions, including byWolf Corp. and Building Adventures, has resulted in a dwelling that totals about 10,000 square feet— but it never feels ostentatious. The grand estate on Old Santa Fe Trail is listed by Christine McDonald, Santa Fe Properties, for $9.75 million.
During a late-September walkthrough, Elisa Macomber (who has Showhomes Santa Fe with her husband, Brandon) was working in The Hobby Room. Nearby, Mandana Nowroozian, Nowroozian Designs, was fastidiously wrapping books in black and white paper. “I’m blessed with big bookshelves. I’m doing black and white and I’m trying to do an ombré,” she said about her assigned space, The Writer’s Den.
“What’s cool is that Mandana is a new designer launching, so she’ll have just a great vehicle,” Ashton said. “We’re all about promoting the old and the new in the interior-design world here, so when a young designer wants to launch and take a space, it’s meaningful. That’s how I started. I wondered, Howdo people see my work? I need a space where the public can come and I can interact and show what I’m about. That’swhy we all do this every year. It’s opportunity, it’s creative, and we’re giving back.”
The other members of the 2017 ShowHouse Santa Fe design squad are Jeff Fenton, Chris Martinez, Trish Spencer, and Amy Leary of Reside Home; Heather andMatt French, French & French Interiors; Edy Keeler, Core Value Interiors; Emily Henry Interiors; Gloria Moss, Moss Outdoor; Levia O’Neill, Lov & Co. Design Studio; Erica Ortiz Berke, Neu Bleu Interiors; Mary D. Patten and KimMcIntosh, Santa Fe Home Furnishings; Jessica Savage, Savage Designs; Megan Smith, Robin Smith, and Janen Korth, Smith Design, LLC; Patti Stivers and Virginia Smith, Stivers & Smith; Troy Tryon and Ilyse Mendel, Santa FeMercantile & Interior Design; and MartyWilkinson, Metamorphosis Staging and Design; with landscape design by Solange Serquis, Serquis & Associates.
For transportation and parking information and ShowHouse tickets, see www.showhousesantafe.com or contact David Naylor at 505-988-3170 or Jennifer Ashton at 505913-0104.— PaulWeideman