SHOWSTOPPER Applegate

Ballroom Wonderland

A FORMERLY FADED NEOCLASSICAL

1,800-square-foot basement ballroom, reimagined by San Francisco’s Applegate Tran Interiors as a dark and moody nightclub-like lounge, was one of the most original and daring spaces at the 2019 San Francisco Decorator Showcase. Against its backdrop of black ebony stained hardwood floors and high-gloss dark green painted walls and ceilings, dizzying yet exhilarating patterns, achieved with fabrics, ceramic tiles, veined marbles, lacquers and gilding, were complemented by commissioned art. One standout: several clear acrylic panels bearing fragments of Renaissance-style paintings by Linda Horning were suspended from the ceiling so that when the fragments overlapped — like old-fashioned animation cels — complete pictures came into focus. Also on view: Korean artist Seon-Ghi Bahk’s suspended columnar charcoal sculpture from his An Aggregation series and a backlit “starburst” acrylic-and-resin wine rack designed by Vernon Applegate and Gioi Tran. Several groupings of lounge furniture included one with a white Sydney sofa from Poliform, designed by Jean-Marie Massaud, that grounded the busy but surprisingly chic space.

RIght: Look for decorative tiles on the raised stage from Artistic Designs for Living, stone slabs and marble details from Da Vinci Marble, colorful ceramic vases by Roger Herman from Carpenters Workshop Gallery, a globular Uovo chandelier from Lasvit and an orange custom rug from Safar. Orange Wonderland wallpaper by Elitis, inset into several wall panels, is from De Sousa Hughes.