Art Deco Meets Victorian Charm in This 1400-Square-Foot Home

When you step into a new space, it's all about the energy of the room. It's instinctual: You have to feel the interior first before you do anything else, and you'll know immediately whether you want to plant your roots there and stay or move onto the next. From there, you add in those precious parts of yourself, the sentimental pieces, the new decorative items and furniture that speak to your story, your personality, your history. It's here where interior designers step in and fuse all three of these together to create a beautiful haven where you can retreat to and escape the world. 

This is the part Nicole Newkirk loves most and you can see all of this come together in her latest project in San Francisco, a home built in 1920. Newkirk mixed the home's Art Deco aesthetic with a splash of Victorian charm, and the end result is truly striking. Read about her creative process and how she turned this space into a home.

Newkirk kept the living room simple, but the trick was making sure each item felt unique yet cohesive. "I love using ball pillows instead of your traditional square pillow," she says. "It's more fun and makes the space feel cooler." 

The minimal yet eclectic style of Newkirk can be seen in the added pops of color among the mostly neutral color palette. The rug in the living room was the only existing thing they kept in the space. Everything else was bought specifically for the project.

The first two things they brought in were the sofa and the dining table. "It's always best to start with the large main pieces of furniture when doing a project," says Newkirk. The wall sconces in the living room are among her favorite pieces. "As soon as we saw these sconces, we knew these would be perfect for the space," she adds.

The biggest challenge was installing the drapes in the living and dining room. "The ceiling has these weird curves," she says, "so it was hard to mount them, but we got it to work."

With so many dining chairs (eight to be exact), Newkirk added a few sheepskins for texture. "I love the contrast of black with a reclaimed, rustic wood vibe," she says.

The oversize artwork adds a creative backdrop to the modern dining room. 

The natural light from the room adds a soft focus and livens up the simple color palette.

Who doesn't love a good bar cart moment? We'll be pinning this one to our favorites board.

Since her client wanted to keep the bedroom airy and fresh, they added a ton of texture to break up the neutral palette using accessories to add in pops of color.

The custom artwork on the credenza was the pop of color the bedroom needed to break up all the ivory and cream.

Her greatest find was the unique task lamps in the bedroom. "When we found these from Restoration Hardware, we immediately had to get them," she recalls. "Overall I am very happy with how the space turned out, and my client loves it, which is most important."