Moody Displays for a Good Cause --- Day 13/120

Walk/Lope: Decorator Showcase

Distance: 4 miles

This year's Decorator Showcase house: 4-story, 10-bedroom, 7-bathroom home built in 1899 —with ipanoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay

Decorator Showcase is the major fundraiser for a local high school's financial aid program.* A San Francisco mansion is emptied and Bay Area design and decorator talents move in and are given a room a two to display their look and craft.  

The last time Ciwt went to a Showcase was at least forty years ago, so when she walked past its open door today she decided to donate to a good cause and go in.  On her last visit, much was made of white, white, white - and a bit of peach, light pink, periwinkle.  She distinctly remembers the dining room: It was draped floor to ceiling in embroidered white silk as was the large, round table in a slightly different pattern. The dining chairs were upholstered in yet another thick white silk, and there might even have been a white rug on the floor.  In all, there was at least $400,000 of fabric teed up to be spilled on and stained at the first dinner party in the room.

But Ciwt learned as she looked that 2024 is not the year of white. Not at all. The Showcase was room after room of high-gloss surfaces, deep toned custom paints, complex marble and tile fixtures, various wall creations, moody, layered fabrics. Basically drama, drama, drama. Dark drama.

For those of you about to redecorate your homes, forget minimalism; it's o-u-t apparently.  Opulence and abstract design are i-n.  And, if you are looking for a new home, this one is currently on the market for (remember this is San Francisco) $32 million.  You can probably talk a few of these designers into leaving their creations in place for you.  

Powder Room in Blue

Welcome Salon in Black

Kitchen in Very Dark Brown

Grand Living Room in Purple Velvet

 (detail)

Study in Browns with Abstract Painted Ceiling

Guest Room Bathroom in  Many Deep, Rich Colors (detail below)

*Throughout its history the Decorator Showcase has raised over $18M to provide hundreds of deserving Bay Area students with world-class college preparatory education.