When friend, photographer and fellow blogger, Emily O’Brien, suggested we head down to West Newton to co-blog about the 2016 Junior League of Boston Show House, I jumped at the chance. Whether I’m looking for inspiration for Merrimack Valley Home or catching up on the latest design trends, I love exploring a beautiful home.

The Nathanial Allen House took this year’s honor as the 45^th Anniversary Show House. Three months prior, it was in disarray, but thanks to organizers, 30 plus interior designers and landscape artists, the space was transformed into a wonderland of design, décor and elegant artistry.

Once a stop on the Underground Railroad; this mid-1800 Greek revival house was later converted to the country’s first co-educational school. It was intriguing the moment I set eyes on it. Four exterior columns add grandeur to the yellow building accented with green shutters and floor to ceiling windows immediately caught my eye.

This event is going on through June 5th. Tickets are $35 at BostonShowhouse.org or $40 at the door. Proceeds go to The Junior League of Boston.  You do not have to be a design guru to appreciate the glory of this experience. If you like design inspiration, a stroll through this house will give you a look at a wide variety of styles, colors, textures and unexpected approaches to room design.

I’ll share my favorite spaces within the 7,000 square foot property, but if you’d like to see more head over to Emily O’Brien’s blog for her photography spin, and visit the blog of interior designer Kim Macumber for her expert take.

And by all means, go check out this display of talent yourself – it’s a design adventure worth taking!

I could’ve spent the entire day admiring the style that each designer brought to the 24 rooms. It was remarkable that the rooms flowed so nicely together considering the designers worked independently. I did pick up on several trends throughout, including the use of natural wood elements, gold tones and a recurrent Greek key accent. But most surprising was the frequent presence of the color purple. One of my favorite rooms demonstrates this perfect pop of purple – notice the glossy purple woodwork around windows and doors.

The Art Salon, designed by Steven Favreau, was an elegant space featuring over 20 pieces of art and sculpture. The art hung upon a fabric backdrop with purple base trim which tied the room together with the purple woodworking.

Nearby the Art Salon was The Morning Room designed by Kate McCusker Rosenberger. This room was cheery and fun – I could easily see myself sitting in it all morning, afternoon and night. Yellow happens to be my favorite color, so I was naturally drawn to this space and the funky chairs and accents gave me an inviting throwback feeling.

I could honestly go on and on about this Decorators’ Show House. The Junior League of Boston certainly outdid themselves. If you have the chance to visit, don’t forget to look up!  Some of the most interesting displays of design happened on the ceilings.

Bonus pic – I loved this small space. Shouldn’t every house have a bar like this?