Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of ShelbyKY Tourism Commission & Visitors Bureau. All opinions are 100% mine.
After Steve and I moved into our Louisville home almost 2 years ago (where did that time go!?) he joked that I’d want to decorate every inch of it ASAP. Seriously, once I get something in my mind, you can’t stop me. Perhaps it was exhaustion from 2 moves (Lexington to Shelbyville to Louisville) or wisdom that comes with age, but I resisted the urge to buy #AllTheThings to decorate from top to bottom. If you’ve ever had to move before, you know the painful process of decluttering and scrapping all the random “stuff” you’ve collected over the years. I didn’t want to buy “stuff,” for our new home – I wanted to pick special pieces. Maybe that’s why after 2 years, I’ve only recently put furniture in the formal living room and haven’t even touched the finished basement or guest rooms beyond beds.
The search for special pieces can be laborious and time-consuming, but I love the idea of having some items in the home with a story, versus “I bought it from Amazon!” Downtown Shelbyville, which is 20 minutes from our house in East Louisville, has an array of antique shops ripe for browsing. Steve and I headed to Shelby County on a Saturday afternoon to check out Wakefield-Scearce, the largest of the antique shops.
Antique Shopping in Shelbyville, KY
It seems small from this front view, but it is expansive on the inside with 3 floors plus a basement full of antiques. Even if you’re like me and generally gravitate towards modern home furnishings, every room is full of eye candy.
In all honesty, I thought we’d pop in quickly, take a gander, and move along. This was not the case! Every room was styled and set up beautifully in a way where you could actually linger and enjoy the pieces. We could have easily spent 2+ hours there.
They have a large collection of fine English Antiques and a lot of silver, but for Kentuckians like myself who aren’t well versed in English silver, we can appreciate over the sterling and pewter julep cups that are crafted to replicate the originals from Kentucky in the 1800s.
You know how everything old is new again? Right now, blue and white china and all things chinoiserie are super popular. Botanical prints are also everywhere in the home decor catalogs. Being half Chinese, my house growing up always had decor from China and Hong Kong which I never really understood. Now, it’s all the rage and I’m not mad at it!
This little corner was my favorite of everything we saw, and I could see it fitting in with our transitional decor very well. The botanical prints are really versatile, and the pair looks great styled vertically like this. This storage jar lamp almost went home with me. It’s from China, circa 1900. I don’t have a place for it where it’d get the spotlight it deserves, but if I think of a place, I’m going to see if it’s still there.
Even if antiques aren’t your thing, Wakefield-Scearce has shops and an art gallery. There was featured work from a lot of local artists, including Louisville native Ben Nay. His horse-themed watercolors are gorgeous. Make sure to check out Dogwood Art Gallery & Gifts, which is sponsored by Shelby Regional Arts Council.
If you’re looking for Kentucky-made or themed gifts, add this to your shopping stops. When guests come to visit, I like having an array of local products on hand as a welcome. This is a great place to stock up on those items.
Wakefield-Scearce is also the home of historic Science Hill Inn restaurant. If we had planned better, we would have made lunch reservations, then shopped! I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about their classic Southern food, so we’re going to add it to the list to do next time.Since we were already in Shelby County, we stopped by one of our favorite spots on the way back to Louisville: Jeptha Creed Distillery. Steve wanted to pick up some of their Paw Paw Brandy, and I wanted a summer cocktail.
Right: Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade cocktail
We had a great afternoon in Shelby County. Left empty-handed on the house treasures for this trip, but we’ll be back as I make more progress on some of the areas of our house.
If you go:
Wakefield-Scearce Galleries
525 Washington Street, Shelbyville, KY 40065
(502) 633-4382
Jeptha Creed Distillery
500 Gordon Lane, Shelbyville, KY 40065
(502) 487-5007
You could also easily hop over to the Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass for some designer duds.
