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The Guild- Show House 2024

 

Good Morning Friends,

This past weekend was actually a good one! My family and I attended the Indiana Peony Festival, got to tour a new Victorian Airbnb, and had brunch with some friends. The weather was perfect and so were the peonies. I also made time to just sit. I have been craving some porch time. So, I carved out about two hours on my Sunday to just sit on the porch and read. It was so wonderful! This week I am taking two extra days from the office. I need it! I want to get some house chores done. I really need to get my new vintage plates hung on my wall. I am about done with purchasing them and can’t wait to share my end result. I was inspired by the showhouse to do the plate wall and hope that you all enjoy this year’s home. 

 

photo credit: St. Margaret’s Guild 

 

This year’s showhouse was called the Sylvan House and was located in the Northern Estates in Indianapolis. It was built in 1927 was about 9,000 square feet! It was a huge house! One thing that I loved that we were able to do was keep the original floors. Most of the floors in the home were the original floors. How wonderful is that! We had 21 different local interior designers all assigned to different areas in the home. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Now I did not take photos of all of the areas. I really wanted to enjoy the showhouse this year. This was the foyer. It was designed by Julie O’Brien Design Group, and it was the “koi fish” room. Designers Megan Watson and Joel Contreras created a hand painted mural with 3D fish. It was quite incredible. 

 

 

Now when I saw this area I gasped. Of course, this spoke to my “grandmillennial” or “granny chic” style that I have! This space was designed by Jennifer Eggers who also invited me to her recent tag sale. 

 

I spoke with Jenni about her space, and she told me that this space was inspired by an English country home. She had the couch reupholstered and the plates were found at different antique shops. I actually managed to find a few of them and will be hanging them in my sitting room very soon!  

 

 

Off of Jenni’s lounge area was the powder bathroom where the original tile was kept, and Thibault wallpaper was added. I actually love the chinoiserie fishbowl sink! Jenni said that she found this on Amazon!  

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Woosah! I was actually a docent in this room twice! It was wonderful. It was the sunroom and greenhouse. I wanted to take a bunch of photos but then I decided not to. I wanted to enjoy the space. This sunroom was actually orange previously, so I was happy to see that Monica Due from Cornerstone Interiors painted this room a beautiful green color. The floors were original, the table was vintage, and the ferns were real. All of the rugs from the showhouse were from a company called Joseph’s. The greenhouse was original to the home from 1927 and was still intact! It was so beautiful. I could see myself having tea in the sunroom and having my English flower garden in the greenhouse. The greenhouse was decorated by Allisonville Home & Garden by Sullivan. 

 

 

Vintage inspired plates made another debut in the sunroom. I used my “Google Lense” on my phone to figure out what these were, and I managed to find a few. I will be sure to share them soon. 

 

 

As you went upstairs this was the guest bedroom suite. It was designed by Stacy Thompson of Compass Design, LLC. I loved the bed linens from Parkside Linen. The chinoiserie prints were wallpaper I believe from Thibaut Honshu. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

Attached to the guest bedroom suite was a guest bathroom. The tile was original, and I was glad to see that Stacy worked with it. I think that the wallpaper in this room was a 1920s Japanese inspired Thibaut Honshu wallpaper. 

 

 

Now down the hall was my favorite room of all, and it was the master bedroom designed by Sassy Green Interiors. That name should sound familiar because it is the same interior design firm that I did my first collab with last month.  

Maryellen and Christy told me that the lush woodland landscape in the window was the inspiration for their design. Their bed linens were from Parkside linens and Schumacher. The antiques were from Architectural Antiques of Indianapolis which I hope to add to my radar to visit soon! I loved the Schumacher damask fabric draping over the bed. 

 

 

This was the office area in the master bedroom. The Babylon willow wallpaper was from House of Hackney was supported by deep greens and soft neutrals. 

 

 

This was to the left of the master bed. I loved the double vintage lamps. These sold at the showhouse. 🙁 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

Another focal point in this room was the double chaise lounge chairs and this beautiful painting. This painting was done by local artist Deb Slack. 

 

 

Across the hall from the master bedroom was the summer sleeping porch room. This photo does not do this space justice. This room was decorated by Blake Richardson of BWR Home. I actually got to speak with Blake about this room. The centerpiece of this room is the vintage Chinese wedding bed that he found in an antique store in a corner in pieces, with dirt all over it! Now what a find! 

 

 

This is the other side of the summer sleeping porch room. These chairs were another centerpiece. Can we talk about the color? How bold and grand! The walls were covered in curated statement art pieces and custom furnishings. 

I am already looking forward to the next showhouse. I can’t wait to see what the designers will come up with next. Another great part about this organization is that all of the money from our showhouse ticket sales goes to our charity Eskenazi Health. 

And I have news… 

Speaking about all these chinoiserie pieces in these homes, the boutique has a new chinoiserie item! 

 

 

The Chinoiserie Silk Scarf is available to purchase! It is 100% silk and measures about 53×53 inches.

 

 

I also have it in blue. They are the perfect addition to any elegant woman’s wardrobe. The Cameo Blush earrings are also on sale for only $10! Order a scarf and a pair of earrings for your events this summer!

 

 

 

March Favorites ~ 2024

 

Good Morning,

Easter is this weekend! We thank you Lord for your sacrifice and your love. I still can’t believe how early it is. I am not sure if my kid is coming home this weekend. I hope she does.

I have lots of interesting favorites to share for this month and I hope that you find use in them.

 

 

First on my list is this iron holder. I needed somewhere to put my iron. Every time I used it, I would just place it on my shelf (while it was hot) and it made me very nervous. I always believe that everything should have it’s place. This has been so helpful to have. I can even place the iron on it HOT and push the cord in the hidden compartment. 

 

This is a photo of my cabinet under my sink. It was a hot mess. I kept trying to find organizational shelving that could help me. 

 

 

This is wonderful! I ordered this 3- tier shelving system from Amazon. The drawers slide in and out making the access of products so much easier. It’s been a win. 

 

photos via Mrs. Shockley 

 

I have been on the hunt for a cord organizer since Covid. I saw this on an influencer’s page and had to give it a try. You can literally store your cords inside to hide the horrible appearance. 

 

 

Looks much better!

 

 

My fourth favorite is my newest FMBP purchase. This cane chair was on FB for $50. Now the stripe fabric is a little faded and I may have to reupholster it but it’s quite beautiful. 

 

 

A purse hook? Yes PLEASE! I found myself putting my bags on the floor and various places when I was in restaurants. I have also had to squeeze it in between me and someone else when the floor was too dirty. So, when I saw this, I was desperate to give it a try and I must say I don’t leave home without it. Order one!!! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Sixth on the list are these simply chic and sweet house slippers. I have been on the hunt for a new pair, and I saw Jennifer L. Scott wearing these. I have had them in my Amazon cart for a while and I am so glad that I ordered them. They are quite enjoyable to wear. 

 

 

Next are vintage plates. I was recently inspired by a beautiful, decorated room at the Showhouse this year. Vintage plates have been at the top of my home decor list, and I have enjoyed adding them to my personal spaces. 

 

 

Aren’t these beautiful? I recently received them from Dillards and cannot get enough of the green roses. They are so gorgeous! You can watch my unboxing on my Instagram account. 

 

 

My ninth favorite of the month was a recent discovery. I saw this vintage birdcage at the antique and from the moment that I saw it I knew that I wanted it. Now I am not getting a bird, but I figured I could use this just for decor. I am waiting patiently to make an offer. 

 

 

Last favorite organizational item for the month is this dryer sheet box. I have been one of those people (nothing wrong with it) who kept their dryer sheets in the original box. I saw this on someone’s video and thought well I like that! So I ordered one from Amazon. It’s great!

I hope you all enjoyed this month’s favorites. The boutique is still having a dress sale. Order a few dresses for your wardrobe. Also don’t forget to watch my most recent YouTube video. 

 

 

  • Affiliate links attached. 

It’s Been 10 Years for the Blog!

 

 

Good Morning Everyone!

It is still cold here, but we are used to it. I have swapped out my fall/winter shoes and accessories for my spring/summer items! I think this past weekend just staring at my shoes and accessories made me feel a little sad and that’s when I realized that changing things out will not hurt. Our weather has gotten a bit warmer but wearing a few spring items will certainly cheer me up! I just ordered these amazing green roses and ivory sandals from Dillard’s. I can’t wait to wear them this spring and summer. The dress is on my radar, but I will have to wait a moment for that. 

Please share below how you are preparing for spring!

As you can see from the title, it has officially been 10 years since I started my blog A Home for Elegance. Pretty incredible to me honestly! I cannot tell you how many times I have contemplated quitting. Blogging is hard, coming up with daily inspirational posts is hard! It is SO HARD! 

But I love the space that I have created for myself and for all of you. This blog has also become a journal for my life. There I have been times where I have come to my blog to try to remember what I did or what was the name of a certain place or location. I do hope that you have found inspiration as well!

In honor of my 10 years, I am linking my very first blog post here. As I journeyed back to my first month of blogging, I still remember what I felt and how my home was back then. So much has changed in the last 10 years. I only hope that the blog will get better. That I will be allowed to create my own brand and that beautiful things continue to follow. Thank you for reading all this time. 

Please comment below how long you have been reading A Home for Elegance. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

 

Top Posts of 2023

 

 

Good Morning,

It has taken me a few weeks to get this post written. Goodness, I had some website issues and then my photos begin disappearing from my website. It was a mess, but I got it fixed so…

Now let’s get into the top posts of 2023!

January:

February:

March:

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

April:

May:

June:

 

July:

August:

September:

 

October: 

November:

December: 

 

Enjoy all of the reading! Have a great weekend! 

 

 

January Favorites ~ 2024

 

Good Morning,

Oh my goodness everyone, I had a good weekend, but I sure do feel like I was hit by a truck this week! I don’t feel sick but I am emotional and physically drained. I had lunch earlier last week with some of my Guild friends to work on a special project for the showhouse this year. During our lunch we started talking menopause and perimenopause which I think I am in the thick of. 

I talked about how I loss 18 pounds during Covid and then last year it ALL came back within a few months. My friends shared a doctor with me that has a podcast, and I have started watching some of her videos regarding symptoms of perimenopause. I am on a journey right now to figure things out, but I will be SURE to share with you all what I am learning and supplements that I have started to take. 

I also binged watched Operation Niki’s organizing videos on Instagram. Oh my goodness! I love them all. I have so many items in my Amazon cart. Lord! I have also joined TikTok! My handle names are of course @ahomeforelegance and @mrs..shockley. I hope you can find me and follow along. Now let’s get into my favorites for the first month of 2024! 

 

 

You all know that I have been on an organizational kick recently and finding this bag was a part of it! I get stopped non-stop about this bag and the trolley that it comes with! I mean even men stop me about it! This has been a game changer. I normally carry two totes to the office every day and having this tote that I am able to put on the trolley and pull it into my office has been wonderful. Now my particular color is quite expensive but there are other colors that are a little less. Let me know if you get one!

 

 

The second was a crazy find! So for Christmas last year I really wanted a Christian Dior advent calendar but at $1,000 (with products) I could not stomach spending that. Also, with products it could be hit or miss with if you like them or not. I really just wanted the calendar part and then it dawned on me, “hey I wonder if anyone will just sell the calendar on Poshmark”. So I checked and found one! This particular seller was selling hers for just $40 and I quickly added it to my cart and purchased it. It is so elegant, and I cannot wait to use it this upcoming holiday season! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

Now with these shoes I understood the power of an influencer. These shoes were posted on the LTK app. There were about 4 pairs left in my city and I thought I would just pop by one and pick up a pair. Wrong! By the time the evening came there was only ONE pair left and I had to call the Target which took them 2 hours to answer the phone, to find out if the pair was still there! I was able to put them on hold and pick them up but oh my goodness! My city was filling online orders because of the demand! It was incredible! So glad I got a pair but sadly they are sold out! 

 

 

My fourth favorite is a table full of wonder. While I was putting away all of my Christmas decor, I decided to change my floral arrangements around my home as well. I put all of the arrangements on my dining room table and saw this. It was so wonderful! I left it like this for a few hours and just enjoyed it. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Speaking of flowers doesn’t this pink bouquet look wonderful in this vintage vase? This was one of my antique finds during my shopping in January. It is stunning and looks wonderful on my dresser. It is from FrenChic in Franklin, Indiana. 

 

 

My sixth favorite was my very first avocado toast! Yep that is right! My very first avocado toast. This had avocado, poached eggs, bacon, and was marvelous! This was what I ordered at a place called the Garden Table with my Guild friends. 

My last favorite is a newly discovered YouTube channel…

 

This channel is called American Viscountess and it is spectacular if you love touring historical castles and properties! You could seriously binge watch her channel. It is quite enjoyable! 

I hope you all enjoyed my favorites for this month. I will have some more organizational finds and decor ideas coming soon!

 

 

 

“And Why are We Living this Way?”

 

Good Morning Everyone,

I have had a very busy week! Lots of meetings and Zoom calls! I am looking forward to the extended weekend. I plan on finally taking down all of my Christmas decor. I have been so ready to get everything put up but with my recent closet organization project, I knew that it would take up my entire weekend and it did!

I also need to stop by Bath and Body Works. I want to get some spring scents for my home but I may need to check my cabinets. I think I already have a stash of candles waiting. I also need to film a YouTube video or maybe post a short. We will see what I can get done.

Now what is the deal with this title you may ask? Well, I will be glad to tell you. 

For the last few weeks, I have been doing things around the home and to my frustration things have been broken, I can’t find it, it’s not organized, and so on and so on. So, the phrase, “why am I living like this”, came out of my mouth. As soon as those words came out it was like a revelation. My mind said, “well why are we”? There are so many tools, tips and tricks out there that honestly, we are without excuse not to bring order to our lives. 

I will start with these few things…

 

 

First is my new battery organizer from Amazon. So my husband had a giant sandwich bag of batteries, and they were just stuffed in one of our drawers in the kitchen. Every time we opened that drawer to look for something the bag of batteries would be in the way, some would come out, and I just said out loud, “why are we living this way”! So, I ordered this. Easy fix! And you know what? I had been dealing with that for over a year! A year people! Ridiculous! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Next was my mouse. I have been wanting a white mouse for years for my downtown office and other staff kept saying, “can’t the office just order you one”? Well, a few months ago I had a “why am I living like this” moment and I just decided to order one myself from Amazon. Then when I would take my laptop home to work from home the next day, I would stuff my mouse in my laptop case. I then thought, “why don’t I just order my mouse its own case”? So, I ordered this case from Amazon. Problem solved! 

 

 

Now we move to my car. Now I shared a few things that I purchased for my car last year, but there were still some things that I wanted to get for it. I loved my other purchases so much that I decided to finish my list. I went ahead and ordered this car trash can. I absolutely LOVE this thing! Oh my goodness! It’s a great addition to my car. It comes in a set of 2. 

 

 

Then I moved on to my closet. I have been wanting to re-organize my closet for months. I will be honest; this is what it looked like before I got to work on it. This is the worst it has ever been! I sort of just let my shelves go for a few weeks until my new organizational items came.  

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Here is the end result! I felt like I was not using my space in the proper way. I wanted my shelving system to have more of a boutique feel. So I just and looked at it and figured out what I needed. I knew that I wanted to see my sunglasses, so I ordered this sunglass display, and it looks so much better! I also put my sunglass cases in a box next to them for easy access.

 

 

I also purchased these purse organizers to separate my cosmetic bags and wallets. 

 

 

 

 

Next were my totes. I have been wondering about these tote hangers from Amazon for a while now. So I decided to order one pack and I could not be happier! Oh my goodness! I love them!

 

 

And last on my list were my robes. Now I only have a few but I wanted them in a more centralized area. They were on hangers in a different section in my closet and I never saw most of them. I want to be able to see them and use them so I purchased this over the door hanger rack. It has worked our marvelously! 

I now feel like I have a better system going on in my closet. I am using my space in a way that benefits me and it looks beautiful. Since I did a closet purge, I am selling some of my items on my Poshmark closet. Take a look and make an offer if you want! 

Oh and I almost forgot! My boutique has a new arrival. The Gatsby pearl necklace is available for purchase. It would look lovely with a pair of the blush Cameo earrings! Have a great weekend!

 

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Tips for Antique Shopping

 

 

Good Morning Friends,

I feel like I got a lot accomplished this past weekend. It could be because I got an hour back. Boy does that help A LOT! I did do some fabulous antiquing. A few shops in Franklin, Indiana had an early Christmas sale, so I went down and purchased a few things. I will share those in a later post. 

Today I wanted to share a few tips from Ajiri Aki recent book called Joi. I have been reading this book slowly on my lunch breaks and I am being honest, this is a wonderful book to read if you really want to know how the Parisian’s live. Ajiri has created such a beautiful, wonderful life in France. I envy her antiquing opportunities that she has there but let’s get into her tips for antiquing! 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

  • First tip is to, “use your imagination”. Look beyond what the object once was and imagine how it can serve you today.  Oh my goodness! I use this tip all the time when I go antiquing. I immediately think, “okay where can I use this. Where will this fit in my home. Will this be beautiful and useful”. Thinking about antiques in this way can help you to find those treasures. 
  • Find perfection in the imperfect. The imperfect bits give antiques character and make them unique. Of course, it’s important to inspect pieces before you commit- especially textiles. But embrace the patina on copper or silver objects; even small chips on ceramics are okay. These are signs of use. Plus, you can reupholster or polish any damage or imperfections you don’t want to live with. 
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for a better price. In France, you ask, Est-ce que c’est possible de faire un petit prix pour moi? Which literally means, “Is it possible for you to make the little price for me?” It’s a cute and polite way to ask for a price reduction. They expect you to ask- in fact, most items are priced with wiggle room in mind. And if you buy a few things from the same vendor, they’re likely to give you a bigger reduction. I do this all the TIME! Sometimes I get a deal and sometimes I don’t.

 

Some of my antiquing finds…

  • Don’t let an item be the one that got away. Know what you want to pay for something, but if you walk away from it, understand that the object might be gone forever. I used to worry that I was being scammed on prices. Now I know what I am willing to pay for something. There are items I sold to others that I wished I had kept for myself, and I may never find another like them. I know now that if it’s something that brings me great pleasure to use and own, I will willingly pay a pretty penny for it.  I don’t know how many times this has happened to me and I have gone back to look for that piece and it is GONE! Antiques usually don’t stay. Especially if they are priced well and if they are in good shape. My recent Rose Canton jars were a recent “walk away” item. I walked away from them but then got home and realized that I may NEVER see TWO of them together again! So I went back and got them! NO REGRETS! 
  • Educate yourself. The internet is full of articles on how to identify silver-plated versus sterling, porcelain versus stoneware, earthenware versus faience, transferware versus hand-painted. I don’t think one is better than the other, but just knowing the difference will help you feel more confident in the market. Bonus: I also think it’s fun to educate yourself about the different styles and their iconography and ornamentation. It makes spotting something more exciting. Also, collecting art books or visiting museums and chateaux will help you learn what you like and train your eye to seek certain things. I have heard the express “train your eye” for beautiful things more than once. Learn what you like. Then seeing quality will come to you. 

 

Some of my lovely finds…

 

You should definitely order this book. Not only are the photos good but you can just read the honesty in Ajiri words. She really does love living in Paris.  I am enjoying this book so much. She had more tips but you will need to order the book to read the rest. Have a great week! 

 

  • this post is not sponsored.

 

Tips from Joie by Ajiri Aki, page 188