To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.
To revisit this article, select My Account, then View saved stories.
By Katherine Burns Olson
For the first time in its 43-year history, the San Francisco Decorator Showcase, which benefits San Francisco University High School, is going virtual—at least in part. Designers are still taking over rooms—27 of them, to be exact, at the Mediterranean-style house at 22 22nd Avenue in the city’s West Clay Park neighborhood. But given the currently-in-flux COVID-19 crisis and the myriad regulations that govern group get-togethers these days, the showhouse’s organizers have added digital components that are anything but sides to the entrée of the home itself.
In fact, while there are tentative plans to move forward with in-person tours from August 29–September 27, it’s likely that most of this year’s visitors will instead partake in walk-through video tours of the house and gardens, an interactive 3D self-guided tour, and online designer interviews than will actually visit the physical location.
AD PRO discussed the challenges and highlights of designing for the digital age with a selection of organizers and designers: Thelma Garza, director of events, and Jenny Bittner Borden, director of showcase operations; designers Chad Dorsey, who designed a listening room and the bath; Gioi Tran of Applegate Tran Interiors, who created the family/living room; Philip Bewley and Austin Forbord of DZINE Gallery, who remade the stairwell and landing; Jennifer Wundrow and Heather Brock of Nest Design Co., who transformed the laundry room; and Alain Peauroi of Terremoto, who took on the outdoor spaces.
You’ve been organizing a showhouse during a pandemic! What has changed this year?
Thelma Garza, director of events: “From my end, what has changed the most is dealing with the unknown—not having enough information at any one time about what will be happening in the future. We were well on our way to being ready for the 2020 showcase to open on time, but with postponement due to the virus, everything came to a standstill, including work in the house itself, work with our volunteer committee members. We needed to come up with an alternative to a live showcase in the event that we wouldn’t be able to open the house for in-person tours. This was critical because we still needed to raise money for student financial aid, and we had to find a way for our designers to be successful.”
Jenny Bittner Borden, director of showcase operations: “It was a lot of ‘We’ll have to wait and see, as we are following the CDC and WHO guidelines.’ As more businesses started to shut down and sheltering in place was in order, my team and I had to really put our thinking caps on and find a way to still make the showcase possible and hopefully a success for all.”
Designers, please walk us through the design of a digital showhouse. What’s different from working expressly on the in-person experience? What are some of the major considerations?
Chad Dorsey: “Designing for a virtual tour is that much harder. The camera is a tighter angle and the views are more controlled. The viewer is seeing the room though someone else’s eye, but the content will be well edited and put together. It will almost be as if you are watching a movie where you are obsessed with the house and keep returning to the same scene over and over to see exactly how the space was designed…. We all know those movies! This is a big advantage; the viewer can pause and really look at the details and view again without crowds.”
Gioi Tran, Applegate Tran Interiors: “At first, this seemed like it would be a normal time of digging deep and flexing our creative muscles to develop the showcase concept; however, as we all know, this year has been anything but normal. It feels like everything has changed, but we know that the need for beauty, art, and creativity are more important now than ever. Throughout history the arts have always soothed anxiety by creating an escape from the reality and difficulties humans have lived through. These times are no different. We took all of this into consideration when our design evolved and came to fruition. From the beginning, our concept was to design a room that was organic and soothing with pops of excitement and color. It feels like the concept was spot on for the mood of this new world we live in—pushing us even more toward a juxtaposition of bold art and color with a calming beautiful environment to witness it in. Among the many changes that naturally occur in design—especially showcase houses—we’ve learned to adapt and change the way we create.”
For attendees, how will the online experience and the in-person experience differ?
Thelma Garza: “The in-person visitor will find that for the first time their tickets will only be good for a certain date and specific time period. The number of people in the house at any one time will be limited, so we will not have any of those very crowded days as we often do under better circumstances. Guests, as well as volunteers and staff, will be asked to wear a mask and to not touch anything in the house. We will also be frequently sanitizing publicly used items, such as handrails, door knobs, and the restroom. And there will be sanitizing stations in the house for guests to clean their hands. We will be following CDC and local health department guidelines the entire time.
Our [virtual tour visitors] will be able to experience the showcase house in two ways: First, they will be able to play a video walk-through of the entire home including the front and back gardens. Second, they will be able to take a self-guided interactive 3D tour that will allow them to explore the details of each room and enjoy additional content such as designer interviews and a directory to everything in each of the design spaces.”
What are the challenges of designing for a digital experience?
Chad Dorsey: “The biggest challenge is making sure my vision is captured in the walk-through, as if I am telling the story with the camera. Knowing that I may not have the opportunity to discuss my room with viewers, I need to make sure it is represented well on camera. The positives of this are reaching an infinite number of viewers from all around the world and not just for a month—this will be virtual for an entire year. This will be a huge game changer and could be great for the designers but also for all the generous sponsors and for ultimately raising money for the charity.”
Gioi Tran, Applegate Tran Interiors: “We’ve definitely thought deeper about the details and how they would look through the lens of a camera. This has made us lean toward more textural and interesting finishes. We’ve focused on the overall look as well as the small details so that each viewer can experience the room the way they would have in person. Whether the camera is up close to a piece of art or furniture or pulled back so they can take in the whole look, we’ve tried to make it as interesting as possible from the many new and different angles that our design will be viewed from this year.”
Jennifer Wundrow and Heather Brock, Nest Design Co.: “Our vision remains unchanged. We worked with the homeowner to make sure this space functioned appropriately for their family’s needs since they plan to move in following the showing of the house. The only difference in planning for the virtual tour is that we are not planning to stock and organize all of the interior cabinets. When we have live showcases and we are able to talk through our designs with the public, it is important to show how our space might be re-created in one’s own home. Therefore, if we were showing our space as someone walked through, we would want to open the cabinets and show them the details of organization in a space like this. Since we don’t plan for the public walking through and opening the cabinet doors and drawers, this is not a necessity.”
So, a great deal has changed—aside from the creativity and the hustle that is needed during any showhouse run. Tell us a bit about your inspiration this year.
Philip Bewley and Austin Forbord, DZINE Gallery: “[Our space] is conceived and arranged as an art exhibition and gallery to immerse the viewer within a modern rendition of a historical botanical folio. Titled Botanicae, the walls are painted a custom color representing the blackest ink, setting off botanical photographs taken in natural light by artist Elina Frumerman that create portraits of the local flora and fauna. The Latin name of each plant, its country of origin, and its San Francisco location are written in classic calligraphy. Working with the library at San Francisco Botanical Garden, Frumerman also produced a large-scale catalogue featuring 30 flowers and plants, each presented with mini histories. Artist Yoko Kubrick joins Frumerman as a featured artist with naturalistic relief-carved sculptures created especially for the showhouse.”
Alain Peauroi of Terremoto: “In the rear garden, we’ve challenged the classical structure that existed by deconstructing and reconfiguring both site and material. Large stone slabs and hedges define the more social terraces. Kids can meander through the native meadow and swing from the large cedar tree. We’ve always had this idea of using large slabs as pavers and when we found out that DaVinci Stone was a sponsor, we knew we had to make it happen and took the offcuts and made pavers for the dining terrace. We decided to leave the existing concrete walls as is but stucco all the new walls to play with this idea of making an old relic new again. Working with our friends The Long Confidence and Ben Hardy & Co, we set the stage to showcase their custom furniture—dining table, sofa and rocking chair—into our design. Pretty killer stuff!
For the front, we took inspiration from a riad, which is a typology originally hailing from Morocco. The riad is traditionally a home built around an interior garden. So we proposed Riad-i-Cal, the California Riad. Geometric but soft, the front garden is a lush oasis of palms, drifting grasses, and flowering plants—fully native to the San Francisco Bay peninsula—all to enjoy with Moroccan mint tea or California wine.”
Our website, archdigest.com, offers constant original coverage of the interior design and architecture worlds, new shops and products, travel destinations, art and cultural events, celebrity style, and high-end real estate as well as access to print features and images from the AD archives.
Subscriptions
Connect with AD
© 2020 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Your California Privacy Rights. Architectural Digest may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices