In the Showcase's first ever on-house exterior art installation, Simon Breitbard Fine Arts commissioned artist AJ Oishi to paint a series of concentric circles on the façade, giving the home a bubbling, fizzy appearance. All colors are from Farrow & Ball.
Molie Malone (who did a fantastic orange and black and white bathroom for last year's Showcase) graced the entrance with hand-crafted metallic/shimmery wallcoverings from de Gournay (their new San Francisco showroom is now open!) inspired by the glint of sunlight on water. I'm sure the San Francisco Bay--which is a stone's throw away--was an inspiration. Hanging in the stairwell is a marvelous mesh-covered piece by Fuse Lighting.
The first proper room on the tour was a dining room but in the hands of designer David Bjørngaard, it became an art salon. He clearly states that the inspiration for the room came from the magnificent views of the Marin Headlands seen outside the window. "Materials and colors connect to sand, driftwood, sage, and sky. The dining room is a sensory escape where refined detailing and materiality are celebrated, acting as a backdrop for the owner's passion of art and collectible furniture." British artist Julia Condon created the airy, colorful mobile hanging above the table. I particularly liked the Kyle Bunting green hide rug!
This year's kitchen--and adjacent family room--went to talented Ian Stallings who took vintage, black and white screwball comedies as his inspiration seeing as the home was finished in 1930, the era of screwball comedies. But Stallings says he decided to turn on the Technicolor for the kitchen. Even though he did that, it seems like it still nods to black and white. Dark navy Bluestar appliances were coordinated with the cabinetry color and the navy and white backsplash adds to the monochrome feeling. The space is warmed up with pierced brass cabinet fronts with brushed brass and acrylic door and drawer handles. Over the peninsula is a lyrical light fixture of gold branches.
Open to the kitchen is the bright and modern family room also by Stallings.
A lararia was a shrine in ancient Roman households to spirits who protect the home. And Kari McIntosh Dawdy took that idea from a recent trip to Pompeii as inspiration for a fascinating guest bedroom which features a ceiling of red Venetian plaster, a Venetian mirror, and images of snakes which the ancient Romans believed brought abundance and good fortune. Dawdy says she installed her version of a lararia in the closet with frescoes of trees, snakes, and a faux-mosaic floor!
de Gournay wallpaper showed up again in the Lemondrop Lullaby nursery designed by Dina Bandman (who did a fantastic laundry room / dog washing station for last year's Showcase). Purposefully using a gender-neutral color palette of yellow and green (which frankly, is so much more sophisticated that the tired, predictable, and constricting pink and blue), Bandman built the room around de Gournay's hand-painted, hand-sequined, and hand-beaded wallcovering of lemon trees. And her trellis ceiling treatment is absolutely charming.
Fabricator Susan Lind Chastain and decorative painter extraordinaire Willem Racké created an engaging yet cozy space in a tiny little nook of a room. They called it the Tangerine Dream Lounge and the color palette was inspired by orange creamsicles from our childhoods! I loved the orange ombré curtains from Chastain!
Ceilings are the fifth wall in every room but they are so often overlooked. I try to incorporate ceiling treatments in my own designs as the results can be striking and really make a room. Such is the case with a small bathroom designed by Stephan Blachowski. Entitled "Above, The Garden Awaits," stripes of quartz material clad the walls while a riotous floral mural by Willem Racké blooms overhead!
A glorious, dark, moody powder room by Beth Daecher was up next as I made my way through the house. She describes the room as a calm oasis and likens stepping into the room to the feeling of being on a luxury yacht. Porthole mirrors, buoy pendants, and a Phillip Jeffries wallcovering that evokes the sea lends to this sense. The luxurious onyx vanity is back lit. An alcove sports a braided Phillip Jeffries wallcovering and a Lindsey Adelman pendant light while a malachite stone surfboard leans in the corner! A black floor with inlaid brass lines adds yet another layer of intrigue to this room. And I loved the artwork--a picture of water on glass and wonderful white ceramic wall pieces that recall barnacles and urchins.
At this point, the tour crossed the courtyard terrace, shielded from the direct wind off The Bay. After a pitch perfect modern white bathroom in last year's Showcase, Mead Quin returned to furnish this terrace--and adjoining living room--with a beautiful living wall of succulents and curvy, organic-shaped and smooooooooth cast concrete seats that are heated for those cool San Francisco nights.
Her design continues into the living room. A blue and white color palette refers to a washed out, seaside view that brings serenity and a sense of nature indoors (and thus it is a natural continuation of the terrace). The living room is indeed a beautiful space (another Lindsey Adelman fixture... and the ocean-and-rocks photo over the fireplace is back lit with a light that shifts intensity!) but what really blew me away was the custom rug woven with stainless steel bars and actual pyrite sun discs! Simply mind-boggling.
Next week we will take a look at the upstairs and basement levels of the 2018 San Francisco Designer Showcase, which includes a wild, fringe-covered bedroom and a stunning master bathroom in Fireclay tiles!
Happy designing!
