Dayton couple embrace storied charm of home

In Dayton, Shana Lloyd and her husband live in the Huffman Historic Neighborhood. Contributed photo by Shana Lloyd.

Credit: Submitted Photo

Credit: Submitted Photo

In Dayton, Shana Lloyd and her husband live in the Huffman Historic Neighborhood. Contributed photo by Shana Lloyd.

At 5 years old, Shana Lloyd was doodling the brick house with black shutters she envisioned for her future. Little did she know that home was waiting for her in the present-day Huffman Historic Neighborhood in Dayton’s Historic Inner East.

“The house was literally a representation of those very early illustrations and vision casting for my life,” Shana said.

Shana is a creative entrepreneur who’s worn many hats in the Dayton community; and currently she is owner of The Four Winds Candle Co. — formerly 1880 Candle Co. — and a lead teacher at the Learning Tree Farm’s Nature Preschool. A multitude of hobbies and professional endeavors have taken Shana down a winding path of possibilities, and now, it seems Shana has found a sweet spot amongst life’s changing seasons — in part thanks to the home she and her husband bought in 2018.

Originally from New Jersey, Shana Lloyd moved to the Dayton area in 2010 as an advancing marketing professional.

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A CREATIVE KNACK

Originally from New Jersey, Shana moved to the Dayton area in 2010 as an advancing marketing professional, relocated to Columbus for a position with L Brands, then ultimately moved back to settle in Dayton after meeting her now husband John Lloyd, owner of Dayton’s Evergreen Tattoo Co.

Since embracing Dayton as home nearly 13 years ago, Shana has “retired” from a two-decade career in marketing, owned a successful photography business, returned to college to earn a degree in Education just as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginnings; and she also grew a global e-commerce business and eventual brick-and-mortar out of a knack for candle-making discovered during the pandemic.

“But as life goes and inflation goes, we closed our (1880 Candle Co.) doors in spring of 2023,” Shana said. “While we still maintain a small presence in local Dayton shops, the business has been rescaled entirely” (and rebranded as The Four Winds Candle Co.).

With time on her hands and a degree never used, Shana decided to use this summer to take a break and “let the universe play out,” leading to her new role at Learning Tree Farm.

“I literally cannot even describe what it’s done for my heart to work with such gifted children and staff of the most incredible educators I’ve ever met,” Shana said. “It’s a special place and I wake up every day so excited to go to work. In this new season of life, after much success I find myself able to just be creative for creativity’s sake and our home is a big piece of this.”

Shana’s taste and eye for thoughtful decor have made this Dayton house stylish.

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LOVE FOR HUFFMAN

Moving to the Huffman Historic Neighborhood in 2016 as renters “to first get their feet wet,” the pair said they immediately fell in love with the community they found there. Two years later, Shana chaired The Spirit of Huffman, the neighborhood’s guided walking tour of historic homes, and it was then the Lloyds knew their forever home would be in Huffman.

“We put in an offer, and it was the longest month of my life waiting, but we’ve loved our home every day since,” Shana said.

A friend in the neighborhood, Kelley Peters, “a Realtor and pioneer who has purchased and restored many homes in the area,” according to Shana, had just put his first Huffman home on the market and that’s where Lloyds’ house-hunting journey started and ended.

The couple's kitchen reflects creativity and joy.

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“While it wasn’t (like the other) eye candy seen on Linden Avenue with its intricate and breathtaking Victorian homes — its humble history and architecture felt so in tune with what I had always envisioned.”

The Lloyds believe the home to have been built in 1880, though documents Shana recently discovered point to a possibility that the home was built as early as 1878.

With three bedrooms, one bath and measuring 1,530 square feet, the “brick vernacular cottage” had been completely renovated by Peters in the years prior to the Lloyds’ purchase. Aside from aesthetic modifications and some painting, the first-time homeowners were saved from any major updates early on. This allowed them the freedom to focus their creative energies on the ambiance of the home and things they would intentionally curate to create a home that reflects Shana’s appreciation for “cozy, dark, dusty spaces surrounded by books and antiques — both telling a story of a time way before.”

“Kelley did an incredible job with preserving and saving what he could, and we’ve appreciated that,” Shana said. “There are little nods to the original house throughout.”

Travel has inspired the couple's home design.

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INSPIRED DETAILS

Much of the inspiration for Shana’s interior design choices come from her and her husband’s frequent travels and the Airbnbs they stay in. She’s drawn to the details: unique compositions and places where she can see the caretaker has fully considered style and comfort.

“I am a very eclectic person and if you can find it in a catalog, you’re not likely to find it in our home,” Shana said. “I appreciate the old fixtures, exposed brick and original hardwood floors. Though some of our wood had been painted over and some of the locals might frown upon that — the overall aesthetic is everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Now settled in, having made each room their own, Shana and John have started planning for some of the first major renovations they’ll make to the home. Some of the bigger projects looking ahead include adding a master bathroom to the second floor, the restoration of hardwood floors that have been covered with carpet, potentially fulfilling Shana’s dream of crown molding and a tiled ceiling in the kitchen, and eventually working on an update to the downstairs bathroom.

Shana and John have started planning for some renovations.

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DIY & THE PROS

Joking that marriage counseling is expensive, Shana said though she loves the idea of doing most projects together, it will likely be a mix of DIY and hired professional help when it comes time to tackle their renovation wish list.

“My husband and I aren’t in any rush and are genuinely content,” Shana said. “We feel incredibly honored to be caretakers of our home. There’s work to do and we will do it, but keeping up with the Jones’ is not how we operate.”

It’s the home’s at least 143-year history and storied charm, combined with Shana’s confidence in her taste and eye for thoughtful decor, that’s made this Dayton house their forever home.

“I didn’t know I could love a home the way I do, or have an emotional attachment like I do,” Shana said. “We feel settled here and that is such a special feeling. While we definitely have a vision for retirement that would entail a move, I think we are here for a while; and for a person who never understood the concept of settling down — that has been my biggest surprise.”

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