Preppy and Zellige Are Having a Moment — Just Ask the 47th Annual San Francisco Decorator Showcase

As one of design's most celebrated annual events, the SF Decorator Showcase opens today, and this year it feels especially poignant — less a showcase than a love letter to the city we've missed. The home, a remarkable 1897 Queen Anne-style Victorian at 2315 Broadway in Pacific Heights, designed by architect Moses J. Lyon and offering sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay sets the stage perfectly. There is something deeply intentional about gathering in a house this storied, in a neighborhood this iconic, to celebrate beauty and craft. San Francisco is back — and design is leading the way.

We were there on press day and felt the exuberance of 23 designers as they transformed this landmark Victorian into something electric. Follow along all month as we tour the house and share design details.  

First up: AubreyMaxwell's The Chapel, a sanctuary for gathering and reflection. Whether it's cocktails at dusk or an afternoon nap, this space is a masterclass in form and function. The ceiling angles and use of space are remarkable, and deeply San Franciscan in their refusal to choose between the sacred and the sensuous. As Robbie McMillan of AubreyMaxwell puts it, the Decorator Showcase is a “designer's chance to implement a bold vision that might not get a green light from a client.” With the help of Perez Construction who built the room, McMillian rose to the occasion. The firm turns to materials both ancient and elemental– limewash, clay, stone, wood, wool, and silk. Humble in origin, yet transcendent in effect, they form a tactile liturgy of texture and tone.

Zellige tiles in juniper adorn the fireplace, a standout of the room, framing a backdrop that nods to the Golden Gate beyond the windows. The arches and shapes on the ceiling harken back to a time when this space may have served as maid's quarters — all of it brought brilliantly back to modern life. It's a metaphor the city itself would recognize.

Next, the Ralph Lauren-inspired kids' bedroom Double Standard by Jeffrey Neve of Jeffrey Neve Design, where preppy meets whimsical and we are completely here for it. Inspired by Jeffrey's dog-eared copy of The Official Preppy Handbook and its codes of style and structure — as well as the stylized world of the film Rushmore — this room reflects the designer's ongoing fascination with heritage and how it evolves. It also feels distinctly San Franciscan: a city that has always known how to honor tradition while quietly subverting it.

Details like the Morning Gallop drapery by GP & J Baker for Kravet brings a painterly, equestrian energy, while a convex mirror juxtaposed against the bay light turns the room into something cinematic. It is the perfect growing boy's room — and a quiet argument that the codes of classic American style were always being written somewhere like San Francisco.

The 47th San Francisco Decorator Showcase is located at 2315 Broadway Street in Pacific Heights and is open from April 25-May 25. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Photography: R. Brad Knipstein