San Francisco Decorator Showcase: Classic design, modern sensibility

Historic homes like the Jackson Street classical revival house chosen for this year's San Francisco Decorator Showcase evoke visions of the lives that were lived in such a place.

If only the mahogany-paneled walls could talk.

This 30-room yellow brick structure built in 1902 was a wedding gift from the president of Wells Fargo Bank to his daughter Clara upon her marriage to attorney Emanuel S. Heller. Over its 110-year history, it's been home to wealthy philanthropists, attorneys, nature preservationists, psychiatrists, shipping magnates, jewelers and interior designers.

The austere facade hides a romantic interior that has seen many incarnations of fabulous home design, and the rooms reworked for this showcase house are no exception.

On view through May 28, the annual showcase benefits University High and features exquisite interiors by more than 30 of the Bay Area's best interior designers. The "bones" of the home remain as glorious as they were when the 1906 earthquake forced displaced financiers to set up shop inside its magnificent halls. The ornate woodwork, grand double staircase, large stained-glass window and stunning views stand as a testament to the luxuries attained in San Francisco's Gilded Age.

"The architecture really drove the design," says Geoffrey De Sousa, who created an intimate gentleman's study off the great hall. "We wanted to embrace the colors and pattern of the period in order to make the space more

The study

For this room De Sousa took his inspiration from "The Cult of Beauty" exhibit at the Legion of Honor, working in a color palette of coppery oranges and blues to take familiar elements of the late Victorian era into the 21st century. A hand-printed and appliqued rust botanical wallpaper extends onto the vaulted ceilings, while the blue and gray rug recalls exotic peacock feathers. Handblown glass spheres in a custom lamp by John Pomp hang over a craggy mahogany and brass desk by Sylvan Fiss. The modern photograph of a robed woman in nature evokes the ginger-haired muses favored by the Pre-Raphaelites.

The living room

A striking contemporary photograph of another red-haired maiden hangs over a plush French sofa in the elegant living room by the interior design firm of BAMO, a San Francisco-based design firm. Principal designers Steve Henry and Michael Booth upholstered the walls in a deep burgundy ribbed silk to complement the mahogany walls while the grand coved ceiling is papered in a pale gold de Gournay tea paper.

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San Francisco Decorator Showcase: Classic design, modern sensibility