Inside the delightful Pasadena Showcase House of Design, where maximalism is in

After four of the 30 designers lost their homes and Showcase furnishings in the Eaton Fire, the committee supporting the Pasadena Showcase House of Design wasn’t sure it could stage this year’s 60th annual event. Yet, in a testament to the power of community, the designers persevered, managing to source new items to replace those lost while coping with their own personal loss for the nonprofit‘s big event. (A portion of the proceeds from tickets for the Pasadena Showcase House of Design will be donated to schools and organizations affected by the Eaton Fire).

Interior designer Alexandra Azat of Plaster and Patina, who lost her home and design studio in the Eaton Fire, said, “This is a very meaningful project for us, not only because it is our first Showhouse but also because we lost most of our antiques and custom upholstered items awaiting installation. The way the community has rallied around us to return from this has been something.”

Lifestyle

She gave her rent-controlled apartment a cottagecore update worthy of ‘Little Women’

For a lover of historical fiction and classic literature, Catie Brown creates a cottagecore aesthetic that brings warmth and character to her 1963 apartment.

March 4, 2025

Landscape designers Courtney Bonifacini and Gary Sewell, who both lost their homes, said their garden project, which involved creating a serene outdoor space, became a welcome distraction and a source of solace for them.

“Most people thought we would quit,” Bonifacini said. “But it became our happy place, and we enjoyed looking at pots and going to nurseries. It happened organically. After the fire, it all came together.”

This year’s Showhouse is set in the 15,000-square-foot Monterey Colonial estate originally built for Harry Bauer, CEO of Southern California Edison, and his wife, Alice Bauer, board chair of the Los Angeles County Arboretum. The home was designed by architect Reginald D. Johnson in 1928 and sits on 5 acres of gardens designed by pioneering landscape architect Katherine Bashford.

Designers have drawn inspiration from the most recent owner, Hollywood writer-producer Stephen J. Cannell, to infuse each room with glamour. From wallpapered ceilings and hand-painted murals to lattice-covered walls and dueling kitchen islands, each room is a visual delight, even if it’s not your personal taste. The inclusion of before photos on placards in each room adds a dramatic touch, showcasing the transformative power of design.

Below, a peek at many of the 18 rooms.

“It just needed a facelift,” Noelle Djokovich of Gex Designs said of the flower room, a visual retreat painted in a vibrant aquamarine color and designed to accommodate flower arranging, with a view of the estate gardens. (Dunn-Edwards provided the paint for the Showcase House.) The small room is a fun surprise — doesn’t everyone need a flower arranging room? — enhanced by botanical wallpaper and lighting, latticework, cutout details on the cabinets and ceiling and a soft fabric skirt underneath the marble countertops.

“I like to bring in layers,” Kirsten Blazek of A1000xBetter said of the cozy two-story Carriage House, which she designed to feel like “a chic hotel room.” The house includes a romantic wallpapered bedroom and bathroom on the second floor and a kitchen on the ground floor featuring checkerboard tile floors and a soft fabric skirt to balance the marble slab countertops and backsplash. “I love a statement slab,” Blazek said.

Inspired by the influential Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha, Gwen Sukeena of Sukeena Design Studio created a flower-filled room for a teenage girl living during the 1930s. But it almost didn’t happen. “Everything for the room burned down along with my house in Altadena,” Sukeena said at the media preview. “I‘d moved in two weeks before the fire and everything was in boxes.” She started over, with an Eastlake antique wooden bed, a pair of delicate lights by Altadena glass artist Evan Chambers and vintage furnishings. The showstopper: The walls of the room and bathroom are decorated with hand-painted Art Nouveau flowers she “fell in love with.”

When designer Meredith Green learned the owner of the estate used the Lady’s Retreat as a purse room, it sparked her imagination. “It was the purse room from then on,” she said with a smile. Influenced by Audrey Hepburn’s character in the 1953 film “Roman Holiday,” Green envisioned a world where “the princess lived her life in color rather than black-and-white.” The room, now a custom pink wonderland, features a marble and walnut desk, a chinoiserie-style desk chair Green found for $125 at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, custom wall coverings, a mix of old and new accessories and vintage furnishings, including a sweet pink linen Midcentury Modern sofa.

“It’s more elevated than what I might do for a client,” landscape architect Timothy John Palcic said of the fountain garden court he designed at the entrance to the estate. But then, he noted, designing spaces for a showcase involves a little bit of fantasy: “It’s like a Disney movie — fun.” Walking up to the house, Palcic installed symmetrical plantings emphasizing the home’s Monterey Colonial architecture. At the same time, Mediterranean plants and ornamental grasses in a palette of soft greens, silvers and blues add warmth and elegance.

For interior designer Julia Chasman, part of the fun of designing the library is seeing people’s reactions when they enter the space. Filled with sumptuous seating, a patterned ceiling and artfully arranged bookshelves backed with floral wallpaper, the library is a mix of new and old, including a new fireplace with custom bespoke tiles by Petra Palumbo that Chasman placed over the existing one. “It was so much fun to work on such a simple small room and put so much of myself into it,” she said. “And yet when people come in, they seem to relate to its coziness and can imagine themselves living there. I’m especially pleased with how all the layers worked together so well; it gives me more confidence to pitch my bold combos to the clients who are entrusting their homes to me.”

With the illustrations of Beatrix Potter as her guide, Pasadena designer Beatriz Rose turned a room “stuck in the ’80s” into a romantic and nurturing place to pot plants and sketch. With a focus on earthy and natural materials, Rose brought in an antique drafting table and a rustic high-backed bench that add to the historical pedigree of the house, as well as colorful new artworks by local artists, including Raina J. Lee. Also worth noting: Rose added a toilet and a small cloakroom basin by Thomas Crapper & Co. to add a bit of whimsy to the washroom.

The bright, sun-filled bedroom designed by Alexandra Azat, who specializes in historic homes, features newly purchased antiques and books, as she lost most of her furnishings for the Showhouse in the Eaton fire. “It’s important to create a space with personality,” she said at the media preview. Expect hand-designed wallpaper plus a mix of modern accessories and European antiques. In the adjoining bathroom, you’ll find brass switchplates and a hand-drawn and -painted black-and-white encaustic tile inspired by European antique bobbin furniture legs. When asked about the bed placement, the feng shui fan said she pulled the bed forward facing an entry “because it felt safe. It felt right.”

Using one-time owner Stephen J. Cannell’s desk as an anchor, designer Carmine Sabatella personalized the Gentleman’s Retreat with Ralph Lauren equestrian wallpaper on the ceiling and walls, a forest-themed vinyl wall covering on the wall behind the desk where Cannell worked and Sabatella’s personal leather chaise lounge. Sabatella said he wanted the study and elegant closet-turned-bar to exude warmth. A vintage typewriter is an ode to Cannell, who wrote more than 50 television series, including “The Rockford Files” and “21 Jump Street,” on a typewriter. A hand-carved cuckoo clock adds a bit of humor. “I may have to keep that,” Sabatella said.

“It’s something we’ve been dying to try,” Amy Peltier said of the custom lattice-lined walls of the estate’s formal living room. “It’s so much fun.” Working with Marina Kelly and Jessica Levy, Peltier outfitted the room with sumptuous furnishings in blue and white tones, touched up the existing ceiling moldings with a new coat of paint and decked out an adjacent room overlooking the gardens and pool as if “you’re having tea at an English estate,” she said.

Courtney Bonifacini and Gary Sewell of GardZen weren’t planning to install a yin and yang feature in the Zen Garden, but after the devastating loss of both their homes in the Eaton fire, they felt it was appropriate. “It’s a symbol of balance and resilience,” said Bonifacini, who grew up in Altadena. The couple also added a large Sago palm tree and a Buddha sculpture that survived the fire. “When I saw the Buddha after the fire, I started crying and knew that she would be the centerpiece at the showcase house,” she said. Everything in the Zen Garden came together as a result of the fires. “It became a nice distraction,” she said, adding, “I hope people take resilience and peace from the garden when they visit.” The couple plans to get married under the Moon Gate in the garden in October.

Because many of the rooms in the Showcase House are formal, designer Rachel Duarte wanted the open kitchen and family room to feel warm and accessible. The kitchen features two islands — one for prep, the other for seating — and lovely windows overlooking the garden. “The previous windows looked like the Sizzler salad bar,” she said, laughing. In the family room, she painted the custom millwork bookcases blue, added a limewash to the red brick fireplace for fun and included a record player, vinyl collection and Samsung’s new the Frame TV, which displays art and personal photos.

To open up the small guest suite, which overlooks gardens on both sides, designer Karen Billman removed the bookshelves and added a floral embroidered wallpaper by Pierre Frey. Vibrant pink bedside tables add a punch of color on either side of the blue and white checked handcrafted Hästens mattress, which sells for $30,000 and includes the bed, box spring and mattress topper. “They’ll come out and flip the bed for you,” Billman said with a grin.