Hmm. What I think about most of these rooms cannot be posted on a public message board.

The books all being covered bugged me. I'm not sure what the underlying message was supposed to be, but it came across to me as the books were just decorative and had to be uniform in appearance. How the heck do you find a book with them all covered like that?

I liked looking at most of the rest of the rooms. I especially like the kid room with bunk beds. I tend to be pattern phobic so I really like seeing rooms with pattern that still manage to appeal to me.

I think Game of Thrones would like their bed back.

That stone floor must have taken absolutely forever to put in.

the anti-white kitchen.

these design houses are meant to provoke a conversation on design.

I like the roman shades hung from the ceiling in the kid's room.

That "stone floor" is actually carpeting. And the entry is "heroin(e) chic" with those Kate Moss pictures.

Sorry, forgot the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: SF Showcase House

Restoration Hardware was doing that dumb paper-covered-book thing a year or two ago, so I'm surprised to see it in an "innovative" showcase house.

nosoccermom, I was going to post this, so I'm glad you did! I'd swing by the home if, if I could keep reminding myself the ticket price is going to charity. I didn't see the accompanying article to the photos linked, so I've added it below. It gives a little background on the designs.

I agree that these Showcase homes are intended to provoke discussion and critique, rather than showcase livable design. I find the potting shed very livable, and the envy of any serious gardener. I like the boy's bedroom with the orange animal paper -- the canopy that makes a tent is fun. I also admire the ingenuity of the Portuguese tiles reproduced in paint, and laid in a random pattern. I was taken a bit aback at first, but it really does work as art, paired with the white and the antique family heirloom bed and spread. The gilded ceiling in the sitting room gives a luminous glow without looking overdone.

I'm not a fan of the pretense of the Lorde/Kate Moss theme in the entry -- and the last I checked "Royals" is pretty anti "luxury in excess", the polar opposite of the design. I think the bath has way too much going on in a small space. The grey muslin draped in the sunroom does not come off well in the pictures, I think. Maybe these things look better IRL.

And given some of the 2014 trend discussions: lots of brass, navy blue (and other blues), macrame (sort of), and black appliances.

Here is a link that might be useful: [Here's the article behind the photos[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/imagination-rules-at-the-2014-san-francisco-decorator-showcase-stsetivw-vs~26568781)

Oh dear….!

That bed is very scary.

It's hard to find even individual bits to like. Maybe the bunk beds and the copper pots. The absolutely most icky thing is the lit up dressmaker's dummies in the front hall.

schicksal: that was my FIRST thought about the bed! Ha. I guess it IS San Francisco, maybe things are supposed to be a little think different in the bedroom. I can like or be interested in just about everything else. Love the room with the tented bed and table+stools.

There is a house in the Hydrostone (1920 neighborhood) with lit-up dressmaker's dummies as garden art. I quite love it. It's unusual and playful in our conservative little city.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Sun, Apr 27, 14 at 19:34

Definitely provokes discussion: "Horrible, awful, nasty, ugly." And that's the nicer way of putting it.

There are some things to like, individually, conceptually, I guess.

The bed has actually belonged to the designer's family since the 1700s and is pretty typical Portugese--I guess it's a bit threatening looking but that just shows how cultures change. My own great-grandparents' bed is like sleeping under a giant Renaissance Revival mantle and over mantel--it's not comforting at all--its like your head is inside a fireplace.

My thought, instead of "different" is that it's mostly desperately overwrought. But I think this has started to happen to showhouses everywhere. They've always been a bit overdone compared to how the designer might execute a real person's house but it really seems to have gotten out of control.

ok, for discussion:

1. the bedroom shows how to sparingly use ornate objects with large scale pattern and still achieve a calm and restful space.

2. Living room successfully uses large scale modern collage art and informal curtains in a formal space.

3. foyer. again a successful juxtaposition of the formal and ornate with the infomal/modern art on the staircase.

4. library. again the mixing of traditional with contemporary pieces in traditional vernacular - the modern take on wing back chair in white.

5. bunkbed room. unexpected pattern on the wall. A nice twist on a young boy's room, would not have to be re-papered as he grows.

6. contemporary bedroom with turquoise accents. this one really calls me, I love this space. Girly and sophisticated without being pink in the least.

7. Animal print room. Lots of people like this one.

8. black kitchen. this is a sexy and sultry place, and the point here is "anti-white." it is a designer stating that you do not have to have a white space. Note the white floor, the light fixture, the black glass front cabinets with white dishes. This is a very successful space. Definitely food for thought. But I don't want to be the babe dusting it.

it is easy to say "yuck" but try and go beyond the "yuck" and ask what the designer is trying to say. It is about the blending of old and new successfully, and the unexpected use of color. Those are the overwhelming themes I have noted. Not to mention that it seems Blue is the new black.

the wire cage dressmaker forms in the front hall are 'skeletons' of women.

OK, a few more pictures.

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The dressing room

[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

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[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

A nook outside the powder room (which reminds me of a boutique hotel lounge)

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[Contemporary Powder Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-powder-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_713~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

Walk-in closet (?)

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[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

No idea, a lounge room?

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[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

I think this may be the "shed"

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[Contemporary Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

Bathrooms

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[Contemporary Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

Now that is scary -- -with that hanging rope!

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[Contemporary Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

A basement lab???

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[Contemporary Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

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[Contemporary Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

Music room

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[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

Breakfast area of the kitchen -- actually cool. I don't eat breakfast, so just coffee and a newspaper.

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[Contemporary Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

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[Contemporary Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

No idea? Boudoir?

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[Contemporary Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-design-ideas-phbr1-bp~s_2103) by Menlo Park Media & Bloggers Janet Paik

How many drugs and how much mind contorting would I need to find the beauty in this? I can find beauty without the need to ponder and if I must ponder it to find the beauty, then perhaps the beauty is just a figment of my imagination. But yes, it is something up for discussion and I hope that I will not be hanged, drawn and quartered for stating mine.

And these rooms are designed by professionals?

Hey, I found the before pictures! See the link below on Curbed SF.

Now discuss....

Here is a link that might be useful: See what's changed

I like the look of the dark kitchen, except for the Christmas tinsel in the skylight. Poor ergonomics though.

I see that they re-used (or kept, really) three of the significant wallcoverings: the kids bedrooms (orange, and blue Ikat) and the dining room Chinoiserie. Well, a good designer tries to work with some of the existing stuff.

To me it explains a couple of things:

The dining rooms comes off a bit "expected" compared to some of the rooms, but that's because of the paper. I think I like the "old" room a bit better. Expected isn't always bad, either.

The orange bedroom was one of the rooms that looked the most "thrown together", and I had wondered why they made a point of using that wallpaper and then essentially ignoring it. The answer is that it was already there. I don't think I like either room, but I sort of like the paper. This shows how hard it is to work with some wallpapers. It looks interesting on its own, but then try and do something with it.

What's with the light fixture in the black kitchen? Looks eerily like a burning pentagram to me.

The kitchen ceiling looks less like a pentagram in other photos -- see below. Believe it or not, this is the 2014 House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year. Basically a marketing stunt for their advertisers and a well known designer. in 2012 it was Mick De Giulio -- last year, Christopher Peacock. I personally prefer the last two. Granted, they are all limited by what's available from these manufacturers (in this case, Kraftmaid, CS, Ann Sacks, Whirlpool)

Some of the elements in the bigger selection of photos are in closeup -- the chain mail magnetic art to me still looks like starched gauze.

ineffable: I do like the old dining room better; but I didn't like the matching animal print linens in the old kid's BR. I do agree many of the rooms either look thrown together or need some serious editing.

Here is a link that might be useful: 93 Photos More

Meh. The kitchen still retains that 'portal to hell' look if you ask me. (Though nobody did. ;-))

I think there are many interesting ideas in the house. Not many I'd want to recreate but it's fun to see them. It's not really done for everyday living but for impact. How much is changed after the show?

I wonder if all the black of the kitchen would feel oppressive while making meals? It's so heavy and depressing to me. I think it would bother me to be surrounded by it, day in and day out, three meals (plus snacks!) a day.

And that white floor would be a nightmare to keep clean looking, even if the kitchen was mostly a showpiece and not used much. But I'm a shoes on person. And I do cook and make messes. And my husband isn't the tidiest guy in the world.

I didn't care for the subject but I thought the art piece following the stairs was great. What a clever way to deal with art on the stairs. I also liked the other hallway art installations.

I, also, thought the chain mail thing was starched gauzy fabric. Truthfully, my first thought was a line from an old Monty Python movie "bring out your dead." It looks like a funeral shroud to me. It would be fun to own and rearrange if it were colorful chain mail.

Will be back with more, but while I don't like the bed in the first pic, I do love the mix of pattern, and even the blue and white. I don't normally like blue and white!

You would think with so much time and money invested....well...we all have opinions and I have mine and no one cares because I am not getting the big bucks to create...