We Love Your Style: Annie Henry

FEATURE | We Love Your Style We Love Your Style

ANNIE HENRY

By Amber Bouthot

Each month, we highlight someone whose style we admire. If you know someone we should consider featuring, email ambouthot@the-papers.com.

This month, it’s Annie Henry. At heart, she’s a writer with a love for design. She went to school to be a writer, then ended up in the PR industry in Chicago. That led to a career in real estate, where she got to see all kinds of amazing Chicago condos and homes. She would mentally take notes of everything she saw that she loved. Her now husband, Pete, then decided to move to New Orleans for school, and she moved there too for a year or so. That’s when her love of old and imperfect really took off. There is nowhere quite like New Orleans when it comes to personality, art, and design.

Today, she’s an owner of Idlehour Boutique in downtown Fort Wayne. It has been open since 2015, so they’ll celebrate their 7th anniversary this year. She can hardly believe it. They’re always evolving and changing, and you can expect more of that in the future. She and her husband just celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary. They have two kids: son Finn, age 12; and daughter Arden, age 10. They also have a 3-year-old black lab mix, Jones, that they rescued during the pandemic and their newest addition, a 6-month-old French Bulldog named Bodhi.

How would you describe your style?

I’d describe my style as “I know it when I see it.” It’s really a bunch of inspirations from places I’ve loved or traveled to, and things that I find to be interesting or meaningful. I like color, I like bold, but sometimes I like calm too. I find beauty in entropy, or decay, or things that are old. I always have some element of that in my house, which at times we jokingly refer to as Grey Gardens. I’m not interested in buying a matching set of anything from a big box store. I’ve lived in my house for 10 years, and I still consider it a work in progress. Australia during a year abroad and then in Chicago in a wetsuit in the winter when storms would come through. I also love all the casement windows that are on 3 sides of the room — it’s so bright and airy.

Our dining room — I love this space because it has some of my plant collection in a sunny south-facing window. I’m always rotating and updating it. When we bought the house, we got into a spat with the former owners about the dining room chandelier; we wanted it, they took it. So, we bought a huge turquoise sphere that’s reminiscent of a disco ball that was more “us.” I painted the ceiling an inky blue black for drama when we moved in. It makes the room feel dark in the evening, so we added what my kids call the “circus lights” overhead. Who says string lights must be outside?

My patio —I love, love, love the outdoor spaces at our house! We have an old wooden pergola (see — decay) that’s covered in moss and vines, and I just love it and will keep it until it literally rots away. We added some curtains to it and a small seating area with a solar light fixture underneath. The patio lounges are where I love to read and relax when it’s warm out. We also have a flagstone patio with a short, ancient brick wall surrounding it — again, the wall is crumbling in spots, but I love it for its character.

Powder room — Here’s where I let my love of color play out! Pink wallpaper and a thrifted mirror that I painted emerald green.

Tell us a little about each of the areas you chose to highlight. Why did you choose them? What makes them your faves?

I chose our living room because it has quite a few of our eclectic items: on the mantle are two glass windows that were salvaged from an old warehouse that was being torn down in Chicago. Next to that is my husband’s surfboard; not your typical living room decor but I love that it’s unique. He surfed in

When you think of your home, what’s the feeling you hope your family and visitors have?

Fun! I hope we can always have great parties, lively conversation, eclectic playlists, and lots of wine.

What’s your favorite color?

I can’t choose one! I’d have to go with emerald green, lilac, and a pinky blush. a