While the world has begun to get used to remote learning, video conference calls and Zoom cocktail hours, there are some things that seem must be experienced in person, so I was pleasantly surprised at how masterfully the 2020 San Francisco Decorator Showcase team pulled off a completely virtual showhouse. It was seamless and I felt as if I had toured the house in person. With a walk-through video tour which lasts 40 minutes, and a 3D self-guided interactive tour, you can experience every nook and cranny up close and without the crowds and parking hassles. Also available are video interviews with the designers to hear first-hand about their inspiration and ideas.
The amount of work that goes into a showcase house, between the planning, committee work, design and installation is hard to put into words. So when work shut down last March when the stay-at-home order was put into place and the April opening was put off, there must have been a sense of defeat. They certainly rose to the occasion and the 43rd Annual Showcase will be one for the history books!
The 6,500 square foot Mediterranean style home in the West Clay Park neighborhood of San Francisco offers 27 distinct spaces which were transformed by 20 top interior and landscape designers. As always, the Showcase benefits the San Francisco University High School Financial Aid Program which helps bring a rich diversity of backgrounds and perspectives to the school.
Salon D’Etude | Kelly Hohla Interiors
My first impression was the desire amongst designers to achieve functionality in the rooms without sacrificing design aesthetic. Enter Kelly Hohla’s multi-use ‘French Modernism’ dining room, Salon d’Etude, that serves as she says, in addition to a dining room, as a “study, entryway, library and cocktail lounge.” She achieves this with simple and unique methods, such as dividing the dining table into two to make them more accessible and inviting and stacking them with books in the middle to serve as both artful centerpieces and practical reading material. The seating is a mix of sculptured steel dining chairs for adults and cushion benches for kids to climb on and get comfortable. The bay window is filled with a custom shaped sofa that allows one to sit and read, gaze out the window or enjoy a cocktail from a comfortable spot in the room. “I would like people to leave with a story that is craft and artisan,” she says. “It all adds to the soul of a room.”
Liquid Lounge: Artistic Designs for Living
Tineke Triggs achieves similar functionality with her colorful Liquid Lounge media room which is meant to be more interactive than a typical TV room. “I wanted to create a room that is provoking of music and media and interaction,” she says. “I wanted it to be an experiential room, something that you are involved with.” Triggs was inspired by the 1980s; the fashion, post-modern designers, and architects. The room feels both sophisticated and funky; it is comfortable, something you could sink into. The artful television, hung over the Bryant sideboard by Jean de Merry (from Coup D’Etat), is a showpiece with its Liquid Canvas piece offering a mesmerizing, slowly changing image of ‘The Green Dress’ by Bay Area artist Lauren McIntosh.
Lumber Slumber | Benni Amadi Interiors
Benedetta Amadi’s Lumber Slumber is a fantasy bedroom for children that maximizes the space for two custom-made beds tucked one halfway beneath the other, evoking the feeling of a treehouse, with bookshelves and closet space beneath and surrounding every nook. The modern toile wallpaper with a wall of trees evokes the feeling of Max in the popular children’s book ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and the swing hanging in the middle of the room over an alligator rug brings that image home.
Principal Bedroom with a View | K Interiors
The Principal Bedroom with a View by Kristen Pena offers a departure from the rest of the house with its grays and shades of white. It has a light, airy feel with a large picture window looking out over the Golden Gate Bridge, which was the inspiration for the interior, “we wanted to create that feeling inside the room,” says Pena. The room has a very sensual feel with its photographs by John Casado and Boomoon and dripping chain pendant lights. “I feel like the room evokes a very welcoming and soul replenishing feeling,” she says.
No Drama Llama | Dina Bandman Interiors
I immediately fell in love with the Jack & Jill bathroom, No Drama Llama, designed by Dina Bandman. The showstopper of the room is the stunning Otomi Tile “Kiddo” mosaic tilework by New Ravenna which covers most of the walls. The red from the mosaic is carried throughout for a fun and gender-neutral room that just makes you smile. “We wanted the bathroom to be very whimsical and colorful and fun.” Says Bandman. That it is.
Sundown Lounge | Chroma
The Sundown Lounge by Leann Conquer and Alexis Tompkins of Chroma offers a retreat for the adults–something I can get behind–with its sophisticated, elegant colors, it elevates one in its design. “Our primary objective was to create a hopeful space,” says Tompkins “and that became more and more important as we were having to develop this space through shelter-in-place, creating a hopeful space became a priority.”
Botanicae Stairwell & Landing | DZINE
The circular main staircase and upper landing is transformed by DZINE Gallery curator, Philip Bewley, into an art exhibition. With walls painted a custom black pigment, they are hung with a series of botanical photographs by the artist Elina Frumerman, all taken in San Francisco against a physical black backdrop. The inspiration for the images came at the end of a 7-year drought in San Francisco. “the city exploded into color from a sea of brown,” says Frumerman, “it really blew my mind and it made me stop in my tracks and pay attention to the world around me.” The resulting effect is dramatic as one winds up the staircase to the top where a large photograph of an apple tree greets them.
Holy Ceilings Batman!
Ceilings got a big shout out from the designers this year. These often overlooked surfaces were a standout feature in several of the rooms. From Kelly Hohla’s graphic triangle theme wallpapered ceiling by Porter Teleo to Tineke Trigg’s decorative patterned ceiling painted by decorative painter Elan Evans. Sundown lounge ceiling’s custom pattern design was inspired by historic Spanish style villas and was created by the craftsmen at Color Atelier and The Listening Room’s handpainted wallcovering from Porter Teleo on the ceiling urges you to look up.
Congratulations to all the 2020 designers for creating incredible and artistic spaces during this surreal time we are living in.
It is truly worth a tour.
Tickets for the virtual tour are $25 and will be available online starting Saturday, September 5 at www.decoratorshowcase.org.
The 2020 San Francisco Decorator Showcase Interior and Landscape Designers:
Front Garden, Rear Garden & Patio: Terremoto Landscape
Entry Foyer: Nature Always Wins: Leap Interior Design
Dining Room: Salle D’Étude: Kelly Hohla Interiors
Modern Mediterranean Breakfast Nook & Modern Mediterranean Kitchen: Regan Baker Design
Azure Guest Bathroom: Barbara Bright Design
The Sundown Lounge: Chroma
Family / Living Room: Random Nature Meets Balanced Geometry: Applegate Tran Interiors
Powder Room: Raw Simplicity: Studio Ku
Stairwell and Landing: Botanicae: DZINE
Laundry Room: Soak & Spin: Nest Design Co.
The Listening Room &
The Listening Room Bathroom: Chad Dorsey Design
Principal Bedroom with a View &
Her Dressing Closet: K Interiors
Luxe Master Bath & Il Armadio FDG Design Group
Bedroom: Lumber Slumber: Benni Amadi Interiors
Bathroom: Learning to Fly: Emily Boulton Interiors
Bedroom: Wabi Sabi Wunderkind: Sean Leffers Interiors
Bathroom: No Drama Llama: Dina Bandman Interiors
Bedroom: Silhouettes: Martin Young Design
Lounge & Gallery & Green with Envy: Jeffrey Neve Interior Design
The Liquid Lounge & Cala Mezcal: Artistic Designs for Living
Wine Cellar and Bar Area: Studio Nahemow
Katherine
So exciting .. beautiful rooms .. Can’t wait to tour ..
thanks for all the information❤️
Philip Bewley
Hi!
Loved reading your post. Thank you so much for including us in your feature!
Warm regards,
Philip