A show house is a show house is a show house……this is not necessarily true.
Why is the Danvers Historical Society show house different?
Well, the first thing that makes this different is the time of year. Most show houses are in the spring or in good weather to generate great crowds and allow more than just the inside to be decorated. The grounds of a home become the “outside” room and can bring just as many design opportunities as the inside utilizing landscape architects to create living sculptures, children’s playgrounds and adult repose areas. The DHS chose a holiday theme so early December seemed fitting. This poses a lot of challenges for any designer. This time of year is usually one of i-Designs busiest – with ongoing projects to be completed, holiday decorating for special clients, event planning for her corporate customers and Linda’s own family hosting Thanksgiving too!
One other difference is that this property is not a private home but a historic property. A historic museum property that the community uses for many social events- most notably weddings. So in formulating a design plan consideration had to be given to not only to the specific design of the room (i-Design chose the Bride’s room here in 1900) but coordination with all the other designers and their room designs to keep the design cohesive. We also had to incorporate existing pieces of furniture from the museum’s collection (we are using the four poster bed) and consider the architecture and time period of the home. This home was built in 1892 and is in the Colonial Revival style. http://www.glenmagnafarms.org/history.html
The final key difference is that with most show houses a designer can decorate with items from her trusted resources (sometimes borrowed) and at the end most items are sold or returned. For this show house the designers had to consider being able to leave the décor in the home or substitute items after the show is over as a donation to the museum – an added expense and challenge!
Here is a more recent picture of the Bride’s room before – I can’t wait to share the reveal with you! Stay tuned for the next installment in our show house series ” The Design Process”
