A highlight of the annual Indianapolis Home Show is the fully-constructed, decorated and
landscaped Centerpiece Home built entirely inside the Exposition Hall. This year's house was done by Davis Building Group and it was really a treat.
The 2,650-square-foot, two-story, three-bedroom design comes from Davis' new “Symphony Collection.”
The decor was done by Cheryl Seltenright from The Inside Job, located in Noblesville, and I thought it was striking and beautiful. It was sort of rustic, farmhouse chic, similar to the look that Pottery Barn is now showing but even more gorgeous.
One highlight was the reclaimed wood provided by Indiana's own J.L. Stader Artisans, which salvages wood from old barns and other structures beyond repair. The company's handiwork is seen throughout the house, including the reclaimed elm flooring in the front hall, the 20-foot hand-hewn barn beams on the living room ceiling and the kitchen island made from barn wood siding from central Ohio.
JL Stader also created custom paneling using weathered oak timbers from a barn in Huntingburg, Indiana. It was installed in the centerpiece home's sitting room, shown at right.
Another thing I really liked about the house was that the decor was practical. I can't count the number of times I've walked into some kind of show home to find no dressers in the bedrooms or TVs in the living room. I want to see a beautiful home that's still livable.
That's where Cheryl really excelled. All the rooms were practical but still chic and fun. Check out the living room at right. There a nice sized TV above a stone fireplace. Yea!
I don't mean to imply the decorating wasn't divine. I loved the darker, rich colors on the walls, the painted furnishings and the higher-end floors. The barn-style decor may have been slightly over the top for my tastes, but it is after all a show house.
And I loved the Cheryl's use of numbers and letters as decorations -- you know those interchangeable plastic ones that are used on fast-food signs (at least I think that's what they were). It's such a great idea and you'll see them scattered throughout the photos below.
So here's the tour:
The home's entry (above) includes the reclaimed elm I mentioned earlier and leads into a living room (below) featuring a stone fireplace and wood-beamed ceiling.
The vignette above includes this incredible mirror, which is framed by pipes. It's phenomenal. And I love the little silhouettes on the table.
I've been on a kick lately about dark cabinets. These are stained so dark brown they're nearly black. The kitchen island (another reclaimed piece) is beautiful and the ladder hanging above could be a great pot rack! The kitchen includes a bar (below) that separates the kitchen from a dining area.
The dining area includes this beautifully painted chest (above) and a fabulous dining table made from an old door topped with glass (see below).
At the end of the dining area is a half bath and office area (both below).
Upstairs is a hallway built-in bookcase (shown below with some of those sign letters) and a nice-sized laundry room with ample cabinets and counter space as well as the screen window shown below.
All the hallways are beautifully accessorized with lots of vignettes and great details, including the staircase with polished wooden handrails and stylish iron balusters (see below).
The master bedroom continues the rustic theme with this great barn door on sliders.
There are two kids' rooms. One is this Alice-in-Wonderland themed space, which is completely covered in murals -- all the walls, woodwork and ceilings (below). The window is covered with tall twigs in a planter.
The second kids' room is a Lego room, with a loft bed and desk and storage beneath it.
Even the window valance below is made to look like Legos. Fun! And check out that bathroom decor, with its over-sized toothbrush and stylized white shirt & red tie. (That's my husband reflected in the mirror!)
There's an open upstairs loft-style space that's decorated as a kids' play space, including this over-sized "mitt" chair.
I really love the way the designer hung this door on the wall and put the TV in one of the panels. You can't really tell from the photo below but the TV just disappears. I had to point it out to my husband.
Finally, this house had a "man cave," which was really a finished garage. It was cool but it was especially difficult to take pictures. Not surprisingly, the room was filled with guys checking out all the goodies and so I couldn't back up far enough from anything to get a good shot.
The room has a big TV, a bank of leather recliners and tons of Colts memorabilia. There's a ridiculously large guitar on the ceiling, a keg fridge, a urinal (yep, I said a urinal) and even a neon "man cave" sign. It was pretty over the top but cool.
