Regular readers know that I attend the
San Francisco Decorator Showcase every May and I always look forward to seeing what marvelous, inventive interiors my fellow designers have come up with and to finding new and exciting products and materials I can use in projects of my own.
This year's iteration was fascinating, displaying a real return to tradition, vintage, antiques, warm color palettes, and a respect for crafted objects. The site is an exquisite Queen Anne-style Victorian residence at 2315 Broadway Street in Pacific Heights. Built in 1897 and designed by architect Moses J. Lyon, the historic home spans nearly 10,000 square feet over three floors -- and does not have an elevator. Despite the hefty square footage, the space felt intimate and approachable.
The front entry was recontextualized by
Studio Green to include a water feature consisting of blue translucent resin panels. If you go, try out the heated concrete chairs! And of course, the view out to the Bay is stunning ... the top of the Palace of Fine Arts is visible under the Golden Gate Bridge.
The little cloak room off the entrance by
Rachel Scheff beautifully set the tone for the rest of the house. Victorian elements featured in this space along with a gorgeous Nero Marquina and Calacatta Viola geometric floor, and an adjacent powder room with a sculpted wash basin also out of Calacatta Viola.
The true entry to the house was unexpected.
Kendall Wilkinson used a light and airy color palette of cream and a sweet blue-grey with a hint of green, something the Victorians were definitely not known for, in this space she called L'Arrivée. After passing through a tented vestibule, one emerges into a roomy, welcoming parlor that includes a sitting area off to the right, a large central table in the middle (crowned with a marvelous branch-like lighting fixture) in front of the fireplace. Classic elements (Louis XVI and Queen Anne chairs) mixed with contemporary objects (a wonderful amorphic torchiere in the sitting area) to create a pleasing juxtaposition.
Designer
Sindhu Peruri drew from her Indian heritage to create a sitting room steeped in the language of her home country. Titled "Ishara" which means a knowing nod or wink in Hindi, she Used blue as a base color and embellished the space with details like stenciled designs in the coving at the ceiling line and a pair of sconces that recalled the earring connected to a nose ring that women wear. An unexpected feature was a swing in the bay window with a convertible seat back so the sitter can face inward to the room or outward to the bay view!
Beyond Kendall Wilkinson's arrival salon is a dining room called A Gated Space, created by
Marsh & Clark Design. Apparently there was some structural work done to this room to clip the corners of the former rectangular floor plan and install storage spaces from Bakehouse Kitchens for dinnerware and serving pieces. I loved the irregularly shaped dining table, the roses on the ceiling spiraling out from the center light fixture, the free-standing bar in the bay window alcove, but especially the sculptural iron gate-doors that separate the room from the rear sitting and kitchen area.
Talented
Tineke Triggs designed a whole world at the rear of the house with a sitting area she calls The Pheasantry (shown in a gorgeous wallcovering from Fromental), a beautiful warm-toned kitchen, and a fantastic pantry/beverage station off the kitchen with hand painted walls and coved ceiling by Caroline Lizarraga.
Moving on to the second floor, we come upon
Lizette Marie Bruckstein's fantastic, spacious bath/changing room/closet space serving the adjoining Primary Bedroom. The central axis of the space with its paneled doors terminating in a free-standing bath tub is marvelous. The shower off to the right is a wonder, clad in a heavily patterned marble and mirrored tiles...the window to a secret garden allows the shower space to feel as though it is outdoors.
Transitioning from the warm tones of the bathroom to the warm tones of the Primary Bedroom felt natural. Designer
Fernando Castellanos says "the room is defined by restraint than excess, where warmth is introduced with intention. The paneled wood wainscot is not wood but a sleight-of-hand painting technique by Nicole Hayden and the adjoining dressing room with another jaw-dropping view of the Bay and Bridge is a collaboration with Levi's Blue Tab collection, shown on clothing racks.
I absolutely loved
Jeffrey Neve's double bedroom for a pair of brothers. The space was rooted in a lyrical East coast sensibility of heritage and antiques. From the plaid ceiling treatment to the hunting pattern on the drapery, to the classical cameo on the fireplace and the yummy textured walls, the space felt inviting, relaxed, and safe.
Neve also created a charming Jack and Jill bathroom with more elements that speak to heirlooms and time like a pair of bobbin mirrors, an exquisite autumn-colored wallcovering, and a floor of mosaic pieces that looks like woven cane or rattan...
...and the adjoining bedroom on the other side might have, at first glance, seemed to be cut from an entirely different piece of cloth so to speak, but it certainly carried on the theme of antiques and an Old World sense. Designed by
Chantal Lamberto, this room titled Delft Dreams features a blue and white color palette (I loved the mattress ticking on the walls, finished with cord!) with a collection of furniture and lighting (an antique French tole chandelier) with a very European flair. And of course, the fireplace was faced and lined with delicate Delft tiles!
The wildly colorful Game Room and Hideaway by
Alyson Gay was a bright moment of fun. This sunroom gained a dropped coffered ceiling from Gay as well as jewel-toned agate sconces, Murano glass chandeliers, kaleidoscopic art, and an acrylic Monopoly game! The secret hideaway room at the back sported a sweet tented ceiling.
The Birds of a Feather bedroom and bathroom by Andrea Halkovich of
Sonoma Interiors boasted a stunning Chinoiserie wallcovering with cranes and a lovely custom-shaped area rug.
Even the humble laundry room is elevated at Showcase houses and this one by Kimberly Harrison called The Slow Spin is envisioned as a cross between a place to do chores (built-in steam closet!) while having cocktails!
The team at
Aubrey Maxwell was responsible for creating a space they called The Chapel. Their site expresses the concept beautifully:
"This is a chapel for communion—over cocktails at dusk and sunset aperitifs before the dinner bell. A chapel for stillness and devotion, where one might lose themselves for hours in the pages of a beloved book, or reconnect with a faraway voice as the light softly fades. It is a chapel for fellowship and for solitude. For sinking in and letting go. For laughter that echoes like hymns beneath the rafters. There are no doctrines here, no rites to perform, no boxes to check—only presence. A chapel for one, a chapel for many, a chapel for all. Guided by a mission to enwrap the soul, entice the body, and awaken the mind, we turned to materials both ancient and elemental—limewash, clay, stone, wood, wool, and silk. Humble in origin, yet transcendent in effect, they form a tactile liturgy of texture and tone. So we raise a glass to the chapel—to its makers, its moments, and to all who cross its threshold." Indeed, the space has a tranquil Zen-like feeling, with what is absent being just as important as what is present in the room.
Even before I saw the title of the next bedroom, I felt the Studio 54-night-life-New-York vibes of
Alexander Nikban's glossy black New York Minute bedroom! It feels like a set for a Helmut Newton fashion photo session from the 70's with its moody charcoal casework and dark-glamour mirrored wall. The adjacent bathroom is just as citified and fabulous...
If one of the motifs for this year's Showcase house was heritage and antique, the Chambre Bleue bedroom took top honors, featuring dense pattern on pattern with a lovely blue and white forest wallcovering against patchwork curtains for a four poster bed. Designer
Jeanne Renee says it was meant to evoke a visit to a Parisian boutique hotel, but there were also nods to Edwardian England with a great fireplace fender upholstered in green velvet.
The European theme was carried over for the final bedroom space called Study Abroad. The designers Briana Tunison and Matt Bissinger of
Maker & Moss say that the space was meant to evoke the private quarters of a 19th century traveler whose life kept them in motion across continents, with the sloped attic ceiling suggesting tent architecture evolving into a permanent form.
The San Francisco Decorator Showcase house is open until May 25, 2026. If you are or will be in the area, I highly recommend a visit to this year's very special edition. Click the link below for more info.
https://www.decoratorshowcase.org/
