Home Tour: Blogger Victoria Smith's Inspiring Bay Area Retreat

San Francisco-based design blogger Victoria Smith calls herself a Bohemian Modernist. We call her a decorating genius. With features in Better Homes & Gardens DIY, Sunset Magazine and HGTV, Victoria was voted as one of the "Top 10 Most Influential Design Bloggers" by Home Rejuvenation in 2008.

Luckily, Victoria took some time out of her busy and oh-so-stylish schedule to walk us through her cozy San Francisco home. With her fantastic taste in art (Victoria is a former art buyer) and love for functional space, her home ebbs personality from room to room.



Reading Nook
"This is my sunny bay window, reading nook," Victoria introduces. "The light is really amazing here and I am so lucky to have this spot to sit and read and enjoy the sun streaming in around me. I also have way too many books and I stack all my art books here on the Ikea Lack shelf I put on it's side and added wheels to. Much easier to move around now. I have a thing for wheels on furniture!"

Victoria admits to rearranging her furniture constantly and displays many different interpretations of the same areas on her Flickr page.

An avid collector, Victoria is always on the lookout for pieces to re-transform her space. She's currently hunting for "a mid-century modern bench to place in front of this antique mantel I found at a salvage yard in Berkeley. I sanded it, painted it and affixed it to the wall to add a little 'faux' warmth to the room."

Next on her list of wanted items? "I am desperately seeking a low, white tufted leather mid-century modern bench with small tapered legs to place here in front of my mantel. As you can tell, I can see it in my head and know it's out there, I just need the right one to find it's way home to me and live here in my bedroom."

Bedroom
We head to the bedroom for another warm addition -- Victoria's "church bed," as she likes to call it. She notes that although she really didn't care for the gothic stained glass windows that greeted her upon moving in, she's grown to embrace them by transforming them into her headboard. "They let in a lovely light in the late afternoons and early mornings. This is my little sanctuary, where I often blog from bed on my laptop! So decadent!"

Living Room
As far as artwork goes, she's always on the lookout to add to her "family of cheesy portraits" in her living room. Victoria writes, "It started with Rico Suave on the upper left and the family just grew with the addition of his true love Emma Lou on the upper right, and her no-good brother, Narcoleptic Leo there in the center. I add to this collection all the time."

Victoria even creates stories of past relatives for her virtual family tree: "Meet Mirabella, Rico's half sister from Havana. Mirabella and Rico's mother has taken ill, so Mirabella has come to join the family for a time. She's a little sorrowful and homesick right now, but Rico and Emma Lou hope to cheer her up with a little of Rico's bongo playing, and it's certainly always entertaining when Leo nods off."

So with all of these stunning collections, which space does Victoria hold closest to her heart? You'll have to see the next room.

Dining Area
"This is my favorite piece," she says. My mum sent this to me because she need a larger table...it's an 18th century French farm table and has long bread doors, especially built to hold those long French baguettes. I added these Knoll Saarinen knock-off Tulip chairs and the long white bench to give a modern edge."

She also plans on sewing a long white linen cushion for the bench to make it more comfortable. "It's on a long list of to-dos," she says. Above the table hangs a vintage chalkboard where she writes dinner menus -- and that ever growing to do list. "The copper faced fireplace was added before I arrived," she says. "but I like the modern touch it gives the room."

Agreed. Victoria's San Francisco apartment seems to perfectly blend equal parts modern and bohemian, just as she likes. I can't help but wonder if Rico and Emma Lou will follow in Victoria's stylish footsteps with eclectic spaces of their own. That is, if Mirabella doesn't bring them down first!

Do you have a beautiful home that you'd be willing to share? Let us know in the comments section, and we'll be in touch!