Located at the corner of Broadway and Baker Streets, this Dutch Colonial Revival home was designed and built by (Walter Danforth) Bliss & (William Baker) Faville for Bliss's parents in 1898. The architectural firm would go on to design other notable San Francisco buildings including the St. Francis Hotel facing Union Square, the Geary Theatre, and the Southern Pacific Building at One Market Street.
The home's entrance received new landscaping by Martinelli Design which featured a whimsical paper crane sculpture.
Entering the home, one walked into The Grand Foyer. This space by Evars Collective was drenched in a deep aubergine gloss and punctuated with a Free Bird wallcovering...a marvelous way to start things off.
Off the foyer was the powder room designer Lauren Evans dubbed The Perfect Escape--her inspiration was the Gilded Age building itself and the types of society gatherings from that time period. It featured a wonderful paint-drip floral wallcovering by Fromental and a ceiling light that looked like a string of pearls!
Opposite the Perfect Escape powder room was the delightfully dark receiving room flawlessly executed by the talented Tineke Triggs. Custom navy lacquer walls and gold accents were topped by a free-form plaster light fixture and a ceiling of mirrored tiles.
The circulation of the house took me down the narrow Grand Verdant Hall by Lauren Berry who was responsible for last year's amazing kitchen. She cleverly made this space which runs parallel to the staircase into a room of its own by using drapery to close off the stairwell and create the illusion of a wall. The moody color seemed a natural gradient from the foyer's aubergine.
Suzanne Tucker's dining room held me spellbound. The combination of color and texture mixed with style created one of those rare perfect compositions. A Chinoiserie garden, with a very large Kuan Yin statue, and Asian fretwork on the walls settled beautifully on top of the home's European Neoclassicism from 1898. I loved the foliage chandelier, and the wooden beaded passementerie of the custom drapery.
Off the dining room was a small kitchen and Kristin Peña made the most of it with a deep oxblood color on walls above an elegantly scrolled backsplash of Calacatta Viola marble. Murano sconces, exquisite tiles on the floor, and a painted ceiling by Caroline Lizarraga added even more interest.
The rear of the house is nothing short of breathtaking...it faces north to the San Francisco Bay and when looking left to right, one can see the Golden Gate Bridge, the dome of the Palace of Fine Arts below, and Alcatraz Island. Jaw-dropping.
And to get to this view, one passed through the Chroma-designed Fortuna Salon and Solarium, a sort of fever dream mash-up of Bell Epoque and sci-fi shapes, colors, and textures. A swirling silver fantasia wallcovering--part Art Deco, part Barbarella--by de Gournay graced the walls lit by custom tubular sconces, and a peculiarly enigmatic light sculpture of folded canvas stood by the fireplace.
The upper floors are, of course, dedicated to private spaces like bedrooms. The first one I encountered was the Elysian Gaze bedroom designed by Sindhu Peruri, a supremely calming, neutral-colored primary suite inspired by Greek and Roman design (spurred along by a view of the stunning Palace of Fine Arts seen from the bedroom windows). Silk wallcoverings by de Gournay were painted with vertical lines recalling fluted Greek columns, and hanging vines and laurel leaves recalling laurel crowns worn by Greeks and Romans.
Paruri designed the adjoining primary bath and closet as well which is accessed by a rotunda with a gold leaf ceiling and painted walls by Caroline Lizarraga. Coming from the bedroom, one faces the water closet, to the right is the bath and to the left is a spacious closet room.
The Serene Soak bathroom was neutral to complement the bedroom but with some wonderful terra cotta tones. In fact, the centerpiece, flanked by glass and metal wing walls, was a terra cotta colored concrete bath tub. But what I truly loved was the gorgeous tadelakt finish (a waterproof plaster surface used in Moroccan architecture in places like hammams) on the shower walls.
Ashi Waliany of Cusp Interiors did a superb job on a bedroom meant to be shared by siblings. When we spoke, I observed that the configuration of the room did not allow for a natural bed wall and she said that had been her dilemma. But she solved it in a totally ingenious way. She faced a pair of beds in a nook by the windows, separating them with just a thick footboard. Et voilà, problem solved. This freed up the rest of the room for a sitting area and play space. She used a wallcovering (on walls and ceiling!) from one of my favorite manufacturers, Porter Teleo (previously here). Their "Form" pattern looks like a child's line drawings which fit perfectly with her inspiration, the children's classic book "Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson.
Just off this sibling bedroom was Kendra Nash's bathroom which she dubbed "A Bird's Eye View." She had sustainability in mind when she decided to use the existing vanity and simply reface it in a vinyl coating used in vehicle wraps. Texture reigned supreme in this small space: a small scale pattern on the wallcovering works with an even smaller scale pattern wallcovering on the ceiling, extra thick grout lines in the shower show a terra cotta colored grout, and vanity sconces were bound with cream plaster chains.
The Study was credited to both interior designer Jay Jeffers and also the master painter who created a statement ceiling for the space, the immensely skilled Willem Racké. This home office is not a typical home office. It was full of interesting shapes and textures that started above, on the ceiling with the faux bois sections created by Racké. At first it looked like organic blob shapes were cut out of sheets of various wood veneers but in actuality, each different wood species was painted from scratch. Chairs thought outside the box too: the desk chair by Brent Warr mixed plaster, paper, and pulp, and the guest chair was in a very unexpected mix of verdigris and wicker (!) by Chris Wolston.
Marcus Keller and Robbie McMillan make up the design firm Aubrey Maxwell. They created a stunning antechamber-powder room at last year's Showcase which featured a floor made from a single slab of stone (seen here), and this year they worked their dark magic on a bedroom they called "To The Dark And Endless Skies." An organic, moody color palette supported motifs of dense foliage and vegetation. And I loved their idea of placing an old school stereo cabinet with a turntable and a collection of vinyl records for your guests to enjoy.
Up the stairs, to the top floor, I couldn't help but be drawn in to Jon de la Cruz's space, The Observatory. Located at the rear of the house, the space faces that spectacular north view I saw earlier. de la Cruz's vision coincidentally matched the previous bedroom, with varying shades of green and teal at play with the water and sky outside the folding doors that led to the balcony. Kites by exiled Chinese artist Ai Weiwei hung from the ceiling. Notice the olive stripe that travels across all the walls and matches up with the color change of the custom drapery.
At nearly every Showcase house I have attended, some imaginative designer transforms a plain laundry room into a destination and this year, Keith Quigley of Rococo and Taupe had the honor. Along with a utility sink carved from a single chunk of stone, he included a zoomorphic aspect in his design: an Arte wallcovering illustrating a collection of extinct animals, and a built-in den for the family dog with a custom grate cover of a dog bone design!
Mother and daughter design duo Amy and Samantha Weaver of Amy Weaver Design conjured up a bedroom that at first glance was a quiet, blue space. But closer inspection revealed a selection of furniture (headboard, tray, side table, mirror frame) that was hand-beaded by the Yoruba tribe in Africa! A pinstripe wallcovering, usually associated with men's business suiting, was an inspired choice. And the adjoining study featured the same beaded pieces, this time in an entire settee and folding screen!
Stephanie Marsh Fillbrandt worked miracles in a small bathroom by creating a groin vaulted ceiling from scratch. Hard to build and even harder still to tile, the space shimmered with light, pearly colors and sheens. Her custom vanity front was curved and pointed to mimic the shape of the ceiling. It may have been small but it was stunning. She even managed to squeeze in a zero-clearance shower.
The little jewel box kitchen on the main floor was not the only space for culinary activities: a second kitchen located on the top floor by Chantal Lamberto was bright (thanks to an existing, uncovered skylight) with a touch of vintage. A calming color palette and ample seating at a large island were agreeable features.
But wait, there was more! A lower level (below street level since the house is built on a hill) held spaces that were truly dazzling. To get there, I had to pass through The Rotunda created by architects Zoe Prillinger and Luke Ogrydziak of Oparch. It may have been just a space at the end of a hallway that turns to the rooms of this level, but it seemed to contain a little universe. Resembling wind swept canyons or mysterious caves, the soft walls gently swirled around while a diffused light emanated from an oculus above. It was pretty amazing. I wish I could have experienced it longer but it is the only small entrance to the other spaces and I couldn't block it for other guests...
The Purple Haze bathroom was over-the-top with pattern and glamour. Holly Kopman went all out in choosing the Viola marble, pink onyx, and marbled wallcovering. Even the door casing received a marbled effect. Brutalist light fixtures and hidden mushrooms on the mirror frame and door casing were delightful touches.
Peggy Guggenheim, the bohemian socialite and art collector was born into the wealthy Guggenheim family...her uncle Solomon R. Guggenheim founded the internationally renowned Guggenheim Museum in New York City. While collecting Surrealist and Abstract art in the 1920s and 1930s, she befriended many artists like Man Ray, Constantin Brâncuși, and Marcel Duchamp...she even married artist Max Ernst! Part of the inspiration for Abstract art in that period was the shapes and sense of African tribal art which Guggenheim also collected. So for Peggy's Art Atelier, designer Sabra Ballon used Guggenheim's passions as a springboard to create an engaging library/art salon. Ballon curated a collection of objects the way Guggenheim did (some abstract, some African) and the result was fascinating. I really loved the sconces she put on the walls which concentrate light upward into the illusion of a groin vaulted ceiling.
On the other side of Peggy's study was the magical Meditation Room With Embedded Intentions by Lisa Staprans. Each element in this room was exquisite but taken all together, the statement was both quiet--apropos for a meditation space--but also overwhelming in its beauty. Anchoring the space was a custom rug of short and very long pile fibers which resembled a Zen rock garden. Custom meditation cushions were scattered about. The meditation platform made of live edge wood with acrylic legs supported Tibetan singing bowls. The bamboo wall blessed by a Thai monk was a backdrop to a breathtaking glass sculpture that captured rippling water. Walls were graced with a hand painted wallcovering called Haiku by Fromental. The ceiling got a covering of pounded and woven plant fibers backed with a luminous bronze paper. And in a display of technology and biophilia, Staprans used PlantWave, a sensor that attaches to the leaves of plants which uses electrical waves from plants as a trigger for sounds. And the sounds used were harmonics exactly tuned to the tones of the four singing bowls on the meditation platform. The resulting ambient music was played softly in the room but guests could sit in a lounge chair and put on wireless headphones to connect even closer to the living greenery in the space!
Guest suites occupied the opposite end of this lower level. The Quiet Quarters by Evgenia Merson was a tranquil spot complete with a kitchenette. What guest would ever want to leave?
Off this bedroom was The Angler's Hideaway by Alexis Ring. A color palette of greens and purple grounded leather elements, a burl bookshelf, a chair upholstered in a bark-like pattern, and a dedicated spot at the window (that looks over to the Marin Headlands) to make fly fishing lures. The walls in a veneer of reclaimed barn wood in green hues was unexpected.
Finally, the team of Ansley Majit and Stephanie Waskins of Lark and Palm created a wild yet soothing bedroom and bathroom they titled The Auden Suite. Majit and Waskins are skilled at pattern mixing and it shows in the bathroom with a mosaic tile from Artistic Tile and wallcovering from Omexco. With so much to look at, it never felt chaotic. A unified color palette (of some really delicious hues, I must add) made the entire design hang together. A Viola marble (the stone of choice at this year's Showcase) sink, an inlaid bone mirror, and nickel finishes along with some terrific art make this bathroom special.
Playing with the same gorgeous color palette and the idea of small scale patterns, Majit and Ansley turned the guest bedroom into quite a getaway. A dizzying wallcovering of postage stamps by John Derian refers to travel. In fact, the Auden Suite was named for a W. H. Auden poem "For Friends Only" in which the author describes his guest room waiting for dear friends to stay a while.
Ours yet not ours, being set apart
As a shrine to friendship,
Empty and silent most of the year,
This room awaits from you
What you alone, as visitor, can bring,
A weekend of personal life...
Books we do have for almost any
Literate mood, and notepaper, envelopes,
For a writing one (to "borrow" stamps
Is the mark of ill-breeding):
Between lunch and tea, perhaps a drive;
After dinner, music or gossip.
The stamp motif is apt as you read above. The presence of books and art and personal touches of luxury like layers of scrumptious bedding in marvelous colors and patterns, and a jaunty herringbone carpet would make any guest feel like a treasured friend. That is the beautiful, transcendent aspect of hospitality: "Here, I made something nice for you, from and with love, please come and enjoy it."
As usual, I am already looking forward to next year's Showcase.
Happy designing!
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