ShowHouse Santa Fe 2018

Happy to report we got a great response to the kitchen and some new ones to design, as a result of the hundreds of design lovers who toured the house in October. We raised big bucks (exact number to come, but hundreds of tickets were sold) for Dollars 4 Schools, had some grand parties at the house, and we were flattered to be on the cover of the Home section of the local paper. (image at bottom)

Showhouse Santa Fe, for the sixth consecutive year, presented 13 uniquely talented interior designers and artisans as they collectively transformed a mid-century marvel of a Santa Fe residence into an interior design experience.

This years Show House Gala featured A Beautiful Story of Designers and Chefs in “A WORLD OF TASTE.”

Food and Fun.  This year’s show house gala featured the unique concept of designers pairing up with local artisan chefs of the region, inventing a fresh global experience for “a world of taste”. This beautiful story was told at the home with an amazing creative fusion for the gala preview where under one enormous tented tennis court, 13 chefs and designers worked together to create an amazing evening of dining, music and design!

The Gala has been called “the party of the year.”

This year every chef had their own table of delicious gourmet offerings for you to experience, with a tabletop design, especially for their restaurant, by their designer. This was a chance for a little fantasy. A beautiful fall night setting, decor over the top, and beautiful clothing in a glamorous setting…it was a real party. 

The Food

The designer challenge for 2018 paired designers and chefs by the luck of the draw in an artistic and unique experience. Designer and Chef can draw inspiration from each other for a entertaining presentation of food and decor.

CORE VALUE INTERIORS 
CHEF PARTNER IS
CHEF RORY O’BRIEN of The LEGAL TENDER

Locals are very excited to learn of the reopening in Spring 2019 of The Legal Tender. The old Harvey House restaurant is across the street from the 1800’s Lamy train station, the Santa Fe stop of the Amtrak, and railroads past. And they are pleased to know the new operator will be Murphy O’Brien of the popular “just out of town” eatery, Cafe Fina. Murphy is working on the project In collaboration with the Winslow Arts Trust. The trust works to keep the historic Route 66, Santa Fe Railway, and Fred Harvey transportation corridors vibrant and alive.

Murphy brings to town young rising star chef Rory O’Brien, from Miami. Youthful travels with family across France, Spain, Italy, and Croatia contributed to Rory’s fascination with food. When the family settled in Ireland, the influence of his Irish mother and the abundance of local produce, cheese, other dairy, grass fed beef, and fresh seafood, impressed him with the importance of quality ingredients.

Together they presented a menu borrowing and updating  Fred Harvey favorites for the modern palette.

For the Gala Menu, we served a braised lamb with porcini gnocchi and gremolata on a tabletop vignette of the old saloon. Fred Harvey memorabilia and passenger dining car accoutrement.

The House

In the historic South Capitol neighborhood, blocks from the heart of Santa Fe, and built sixty four years ago, this home has been in one family’s care for over forty years. About the time he designed the Governor’s Mansion on Mansion Ridge Road, Willard Carl (W.C.) Kruger, an American architect, designed and built this home for his own family. Kruger designed many of our historically registered state buildings, including the State Capitol in Santa Fe. His design was the only round capitol building in the country and combined elements of New Mexico Territorial style, Pueblo adobe architecture and Greek Revival adaptations. He served on the first New Mexico Board of Architects along with John Gaw Meem and other notables.

The Kitchen

This kitchen, where a passel of kids were raised, and literally thousands of cookies were baked, needed a lot of tender loving care. We had the luck to have W.C. Kruger’s artfully hand drawn plans to work with. 

The kitchen table remained, but barely! The chairs squeaked, and we could imagine all those kids rocking back and forth on the chairs hind legs, to break them in like that! One of the children, our project manager, remembers each of the kids sitting there doing homework, with chocolate chip cookies in the oven. 

The scallops topping off the casework and the copper hood, and even the mom’s carefully chosen Delft door and drawer handles also remain, reminiscent of today’s highly collectible Chinoiserie. 

“I love remodeling kitchens, and bathrooms, and in the past two years my work has evolved that way. Even though I still do furnishings — every remodel needs something new — I love construction and project management for remodels, something that comes from my family background, and my architect husband.”

Working with the Michael Hunter Painting, faux paint crew, Jason and David, on a custom finish and a color scheme.

Kitchens are complex, the heart of a home, and we view the challenges they can present as opportunities, most of the time! I also loved doing last year’s show house master bath, a bath large enough to require furniture. Bathrooms — second most important special room in a home to most of us.

Tile chosen and laid out at the cooktop is reminiscent of the checkerboard floors I remember in our childhood home. Finishes, appliances and fixtures will make meal planning, prep and clean up pleasant and a breeze.

Patina for the copper hood by
Bekye Fargason

WHY WE DO THIS EVERY YEAR AND WHO WE DO IT FOR!

“Dollars4Schools’ grassroots model provides Santa Fe public-school teachers with a local web-based “helping-hand” in funding classroom programs. Dollars4Schools transitioned to the Santa Fe Community Foundation in 2013, and to date has funded nearly 700 programs – including 92 in the current 2017-18 school year, thanks to the incredible support of our community of friends and donors who make it all possible.
 
Dollars4Schools thanks ShowHouse Santa Fe. Since its premiere six years ago, the extraordinary design event has raised over $140,000 in support of Dollars4Schools and enriched the lives of thousands of Santa Fe students by providing funding to over 250 Santa Fe teachers.”