2013 San Francisco Decorator Showcase

A stellar lineup of West Coast design firms have transformed 2800 Pacific Avenue into the 2013 San Francisco Decorator Showcase. Known as “Herbst Manor,” the iconic 8,000+ square foot Georgian mansion is located atop Pacific Heights at the corner of Divisadero and Pacific, one of the City’s most visible locations.

Historically significant and elegant, Herbst Manor is a stunning example of old-world craftsmanship. The impressive home features spacious formal rooms, a master bedroom, a dramatic grand… Show more entry and stairway, meticulous landscaping, and a beautiful penthouse suite and outdoor terrace with sweeping panoramic views of San Francisco Bay and the city. This year, 24 spaces have been transformed by 27 of the West Coast’s top designers and will be open to the public during Showcase (list of designers below).

Herbst Manor was built in 1899 by Ernest Coxhead, the architect for San Francisco’s Holy Innocents Episcopal Church as well as several homes in Pacific Heights. The home has had four owners over the past 114 years and is a rich depository of San Francisco history. It was originally built in for Sarah Spooner, an avid art collector transplanted from Philadelphia who filled the home with her collections. Upon her death in 1914, much of that collection was bequeathed to the deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park. The home was purchased in 1906 – just before the great earthquake – by Herman Shainwald, a co-founder of Buckbee Thorne & Co., one of the primary real estate companies in the Bay Area. In 1914, John MacGregor, president of Union Iron Works, purchased the home. MacGregor was active citizen, serving on the Board of Supervisors and the Parks Commission and supporting the San Francisco Symphony and Boy Scouts. Abraham Gruhn and his wife Lee Herbst Gruhn, who purchased the house in 1967, were also avid art collectors and deYoung supporters who filled the home with their personal treasures, including the iconic carousel horses, which delighted passersby. Today, the home is owned by the Gruhn’s nephew and his wife, Mark and Karen Montoya.

This year’s Showcase will run from April 27 – May 27 on Tuesdays through Sundays and Monday, Memorial Day. In addition, each Friday, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, Showcase will host “Friday Nights at Showcase,” a happy hour event with opportunities to meet designers and hear bout the latest trends. Check www.DecoratorShowcase.org for additional information on designers and special Friday Night events. Tickets are $30 for general admission; $25 for seniors and are available at the door or online at www.decoratorshowcase.org/tickets. Group rates for 10 or more people can be arranged in advance by calling (415) 447-5830.

The 2013 designers include:
Elysium Bathroom: Alfredo Gregory Design
The Atelier: Antonio Martins Interior Design
Teenage Girl’s Room: Applegate Tran Interiors
Master Bedroom: BIGELOW + SILVER
Living Room: Catherine Kwong Design
Powder Room & Hallway: chambers + chambers architects
Soaking Bath: Emilie Munroe Interior Design & Willem Racke Studio Inc.
Grand Entry, 1st & 2nd Floor Hallways: Five Senses Art Consultancy
Dining Room: Heather Hilliard Design
Kitchen: jute
The Atelier Alcove: Jaimie Belew Interior Design
The Maker’s Mark Retreat: Kelly Hohla, Jeffers Design Group
Front Exterior Garden & Third Floor Rooftop: Katharine Webster MLA, Inc.
The Water Closet, A Princely Seat: Kelley Flynn Interior Design
Writer’s Retreat: Kriste Michelini Interiors
The Salon: Leverone Design
Birds of Prey Courtyard Garden: Living Green
Chocolatier’s Lab: marsh & clark design
Danger Zone: Martha Angus Inc.
Dressing Room: Shelley & Co. Interior Design
A Sacred Space to Bathe: siol
Penthouse Retreat & Terrace: Villanueva Design
Master Sitting Room: Z Dimensions Interior Design

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