For the past 61 years, the St. Margaret’s Guild has produced the country’s longest running Decorators’ Show House & Gardens Event. It has been an annual tradition for my husband’s stepmom and me to walk through the doors and celebrate design within the Indianapolis community.

So imagine my delight when I was asked to participate this year, collaborating with Erin Moore from California Closets.

This was a unique space in that Erin had actually worked with the homeowner a few years back to design this custom closet for her and her husband. So while the shell of the closet didn’t change, we were able to update the space to reflect our design POV.

Take a peek at the transformation below:

One of the trending finishes in closet design right now is brass, and we love the impact that the brass rods and drawer pulls made for the space. The silver stenciled doors were also replaced with glass cabinet doors to allow for other elements to shine.

From there, we were given free-reign to style the space and while I don’t typically venture into color selection, lighting selection, wallpaper installation, etc. for clients this was an absolute blast. From a painted ceiling, to a touch of peel-and-stick wallpaper (not as easy as it sounds), to lighting that played perfectly with the brass/black finishes, the space was a true reflection of what a closet can (and should) be.

When it came time for finishing touches, rattan and brass baskets were added to serve as a landing spot for donations and returns.

Clothes were carefully pulled from Dress for Success, our charity partner. We wanted a neutral wardrobe in the space, so the pops of color from the wallpaper, ceiling and rug could shine.

We knew we wanted to include a piece from a local artist. Since there wasn’t a ton of available wall space, we asked our friend, Sheena Birt of Color Story Studio, to create a custom sized moss panel (her first piece after giving birth to a beautiful daughter named STORY).

And the final bit of pizzazz (and definitely the most talked about feature) were the brass monkey handles on the upper cabinets.

Having a primary closet be treated as a space worthy of design is truly the icing on the Decorators’ Show House cake!

Source Guide:

Closet Design: Erin Moore of California Closets
Cleaning: Christina’s Complete Clean
Art: Color Story Studio, Lauren Dusing
Accessories: Reveal by Polish, Container Store
Rug: Revival Rugs
Ceiling Paint: Sherwin Williams Aleutian, applied by CertaPro Indy
Flush Mount Lights: Mitzi
Baskets + Hangers: Neat Method
Clothing: Dress for Success
Brass Monkey Hardware: Etsy
Wallpaper: Rifle Paper Co

The Baer Minimalist helps busy families create ORGANIZED + STYLIZED spaces throughout Indianapolis. If you’ve not experienced the annual show house event, mark your calendars for April/May 2023. It’s a must see!!

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