Preparations for the 55th annual St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild Decorators’ Show House and Gardens are underway and will be ready for public tours beginning Saturday, April 23rd through Mother’s Day, May 8th. The tour is open daily from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., but closed on Mondays. As has been the tradition, each spring local interior designers, landscape designers, and their support teams donate hundreds of hours, as do the members of St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild, to refurbish an area home and its surrounding property with all ticket and tour proceeds benefitting Eskenazi Health. This is a unique event where local designers transform blank walls and empty rooms into extraordinary canvases of art and décor and landscapers create lush gardens and outdoor living spaces. The tour program highlights each room with before and after pictures, details about the room, and designer information.
This year, the Decorators’ Show House is at 5260 N. Meridian, a French provincial style home built in 1929-1930 by architect-builder Henry L. Simons as a speculative project. Simons built numerous homes in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood, as well as Williams Creek, Arden, and the area west of Kessler Boulevard, North Drive. Unique exterior features include delicate bas relief sculptures at the front entrance, rear library entry, and other spaces. Inside, the house consists of four interconnected pavilions, each with pyramidal roofs with heavy slates, stunning floors and trim, original ceramic tile in each bathroom, and many other special touches. This lovely, historical home has not changed much architecturally from when it was built. However, a spacious glass-enclosed conservatory was added to the back of the house, plus a swimming pool and pool house were built in the large back yard of the home in the late 1960’s. At the rear of the property is what was originally a garden house with exterior finishes that match the main house.
Special events prior to the Decorators’ Show are another way visitors can get a glimpse of the home. On April 21, there will be a Taste! Indy tour beginning at 4 p.m., which will be followed by wine, beer and tasting from local upscale restaurants at the Basile Opera Center, 4011 N. Pennsylvania. ($75 per person, reservation only.) On April 22, the 11 a.m. Style! Indy event will showcase spring fashion trends, a champagne reception and lunch catered by Cerulean at the Basile Opera Center, and guests will have exclusive access to the Show House and Gardens ($50 per person.). Indy on Tap April 28 beginning at 5 p.m. will offer the best of local pub food and beer, plus the tour (Tickets $45 per person, 21 and over only.). Visit www.showhouseindy.org for more information and tickets
This volunteer initiative has raised over $12 million for the city’s public hospital, and is the longest running decorator show house in the nation.
Sneak Preview
by Paula Nicewanger/Weekly View
This French country home is gorgeous, but has a cozy feel — it’s very livable. 
The entryway designed by Tom Korecki has one of my favorite Rita Spalding paintings over a gorgeous credenza. The still life of lilacs is exquisite and you feel the fallen blossoms in the foreground are so real you could touch them. The curved wrought iron stairway is adorned by four parakeet paintings by Rita too. She said the wrought iron felt like a birdcage. On the curved wall at the top of the stairs, Rita did another painting on a board that curves like the wall. A metallic paint was used on the ceiling which tops off the space beautifully. The living room has curve-topped windows which designer Diana Hallquist showcased with a very unique curtain design. Carved plaster moldings around the crown molding have been accented with the wall color which adds rich detail. She added her own family collection of 500 memorabilia to celebrate the 100th running of the 500 next to the fireplace. The library (designed by Michael Arnold) with it’s dark paneling has been accented with blue and white porcelain vases and accessories (the drapes are of the same pattern). Beyond the library is a conservatory with lovely furnishings in coral prints by Ethan Allen. With the large windows you can see the lush landscaping and the pool. The kitchen was completely redone with a white marble island and magnificent gold toned metal light above (you’ve got to see it). The butler’s pantry has a blend of original leaded glass cabinets that were painstaking restored and a display of lovely china (another one of my favorite spaces). The dining room was originally painted red, but designer Nick Williams used pale blues and white to add warmth to this classic room with John Kirk furnishings. The tiny vestibule off the foyer has a mural on the ceiling by the talented Melinda Spear-Huff (be sure to look up). The breakfast nook has a charming collage (a new trend) of artwork covering the wall. Upstairs the bedrooms are stunning and one by Chatham Home has a unique combination of rustic painted furniture with a classic arabesque pattern picked up on the rug and ceiling. Don’t miss the back hallway.
Irvington’s own Adam Hampton of Hampton Designs has done a remarkable job with the maid’s hallway. On a bold black and white striped wall he has framed famous maid portraits done by a local artist Ben Hunt, complemented by feather dusters. Adam’s grandmother was a maid and her portrait adorns the hallway too. A room off this hallway has a collection of IPS student artwork that will be judged by tourgoers and will be for sale. All six bathrooms are all beautifully done, keeping most of the original tile and colored porcelain sinks. The amazing faucets were donated by Delta. My favorite bathroom was done on a shoestring budget, but you’d never know it. I love the African art and the colors. Don’t miss the basement pool room. I saw this dark space before designer Courtney Schemberg did an outstanding job bringing life back to this fun room.
A couple of months ago, I meet with Sue Roper, this year’s President of The St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild and I could hear in her voice and see in her eyes the commitment to helping people and to Eskenazi Health and all they do for the community. This year, the guild is planning to fund part of the Sandra Eskenazi Center for Brain Care Innovation. They are doing forward thinking research in Alzheimer’s treatment.
The Decorator’s Show House and Gardens is the place to see the latest design trends by local talented interior designers who donate their time and energy to giving this home a makeover and the moneys go for such a good cause. So start a tradition and take your Mother, or your sister or your friends and enjoy. I want to thank Sandy Carlson for all her help and my tour guide Joan Hilger who really knows the house.
