ShowHouse Santa Fe 2018: Join Us in Supporting Children’s Education

Join Us in Supporting Children’s Education

In these turbulent times, it seems so clear that a stable future lies within the hands of the littles we are raising, in the education they receive, and with the teachers they are learning from. This is something that Matt and I passionately believe, and that’s why over the past six years we’ve joined hands with more than 20 designers to raise money for one of our favorite local nonprofits, Dollars 4 Schools, through ShowHouse Santa Fe.

As parents of a young child, we can’t imagine what it must be like to not be able to provide school supplies or whatever else your child may need to set them up for success. It is so important to us – and such a wonderful experience – that we may be able to alleviate some of the stress local parents and schools face and help them provide a wonderful experience for our local kids.

We feel so blessed to be taking part in the event once again this year, and we would truly love it if you could join us in showing your support for our local schools. You can now purchase tickets for the Gala Preview and Home Tours online. Keep reading to find out more about this fantastic event.
 

 

ShowHouse Santa Fe

If you haven’t come across ShowHouse before, this annual fundraiser brings together local designers to share creativity and camaraderie and overhaul a chosen home — all in the name of children’s education. Proceeds from the event go to Dollars 4 Schools, a local organization that supports local schools, teachers and students. Over the last six years, the event has raised an incredible $140,000.

Through ShowHouse, it is our mission to help fulfill any requests a teacher may have during the school year to give kids what they need. That support comes in many forms: backpacks filled with school supplies so these beautiful kids can walk through the front door feeling confident and prepared; the necessary books for reading programs; the art supplies that allow kids to learn who they are; right down to lice combs so school nurses don’t have to buy them with their own money.

 

The 2018 Event: A World of Taste

This year’s ShowHouse is one to remember. The theme for ShowHouse Santa Fe 2018 is ‘A World of Taste’, a creative mashup of design and food, meant to stimulate all your senses. With a brand new twist, designers (including us!) have been teamed up with top local chefs to create a sensory feast for your eyes and your taste buds.

You can find out more about the event and all the exciting, delicious things in store on the ShowHouse website by clicking here.

 

Our contribution

One of the most fun parts of ShowHouse is that designers don’t get to play any part in the choosing of the home, nor do we get to choose our room. This year, we’re excited to have been given a rec room to play with.

Our first step in figuring out how to design our assigned space is always to come up with a story and imagine the people who would use it. We imagined a family living in this space, using it as a room to hang out, chill, throw their feet up and play games. One of the focal points of our room is a custom-made, really special ping-pong table where we imagine the family playing match after match.

Our next step was to come up with a colour palette. I’ve been really inspired by browns and pinks right now, and I found a beautiful fabric that incorporated those colours. We also decided to use some really unique, all-natural, mineral chalk-based paint, which was graciously donated by Bioshield Paint, in a really dark espresso brown contrasted with white trim and cabinetry.

We’re also so excited to be teaming up with Strangers Collective, a local art collective that has a network stretching across the country. Much like we want to feature local sellers in our shop, we always like to debut an artist that we’ve fallen in love with at ShowHouse. Strangers Collective is helping us do that this year.

 

Taking inspiration from our chef pairing

Under the ‘A World of Taste’ theme, we were teamed up with local restaurant Maize and the fabulous Chef Christian Rodriguez. The pairing was really perfect for us, as we’ve been really inspired by yellow lately and were able to take further inspiration from Maize’s love of yellow corn and Southwestern traditions.

You’ll see a lot of yellow hues in our design, and Maize’s aesthetic really heavily influenced our space. We’ve also been asked to decorate a table for the space for Gala Night, and our restaurant pairing inspired us to use an antique Guatemalan tamale pot as our centerpiece.

 

Debuting four brand new lighting pieces

Every year at ShowHouse, French & French Lighting debuts new lighting – and this year is certainly no exception. In fact, our ‘big reveal’ this year is the lighting we used in the space.

We’ll be debuting four brand new lighting pieces at ShowHouse 2018: a floor lamp, a table lamp and two new chandeliers. They’ll soon also be available for sale in our online shop.

 

Come show your support

I know many people out there are searching for ways to help – looking for answers and ways to bring some light and good into the world. Well, my friends, this is a truly good cause. We live in a city where 73% of our public school students live in poverty, and every little bit makes a world of difference.

 

So please – dig deep, donate, buy tickets, come see pretty stuff, and let’s make sure our Santa Fe kids get the education they so deserve.

 

We would love it if you would join us at this year’s Gala Preview, an evening of beautiful decor and delicious food all in support of a fantastic cause. The event takes place on Friday, October 5th starting at 6pm, and you can buy your tickets by clicking here.

If you can’t make it to the gala, self-guided tours are also available from October 6-7 and 13-14. Tickets can be bought by clicking here.

We hope you see you there.

xo,

The Frenches