Joy Sauce: Personal Space

A woman with dark hair tied back, smiling, wearing earrings and a lilac-colored sleeveless dress, standing in front of a wall with large green leaf-patterned wallpaper and colorful framed artwork.
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Inside the Home of Interior Designer Alicia Cheung

See how the veteran designer renovated a Victorian for her family of four in the most colorful and stylish fashion

Author: Teena Apeles

When Alicia Cheung set out to update her more-than-a-century-old San Francisco Victorian for 21st Century living, she had a clear mission: "a fun and colorful house," a departure from how her parents decorated their home. “They had furniture, what they needed to have," the interior designer says. "I always just think of [their taste] as very normal.”

Born in the Bay Area, Cheung grew up in an immigrant household: her mom is from Malaysia, her dad, from Vietnam and raised in Hong Kong, and her Malaysian grandmother lived with them until she was 15. They moved often (about six times), which some kids would find distressing, but for the future designer who enjoyed arts and crafts, each move meant another opportunity to be creative, at least in her room: “I loved dreaming up a new environment and feeling/mood of my next room,” Cheung says.

Decades later, as cofounder of the award-winning firm Studio Heimat, she’s built a business on helping people realize their dream homes. To date, Cheung has overseen nearly 130 residential projects around the United States and beyond, including the Bahamas and Switzerland. But this Victorian project had the toughest client: herself. The design had to represent Cheung’s personality "and how I want my family to live, but I also wanted it to feel refined," she says of renovating the triplex, built circa 1900. "And sometimes the balance of the two can be tricky."

Located in Nob Hill, she shares the top-floor unit with her kids, ages 2 and 4, and her husband, Niles Xi’an Lichtenstein, a poet and CEO of Nestment, a venture supporting co-purchasing real estate with friends. (The couple bought the Victorian with her Studio Heimat partner, Eva Bradley.) To create a home to meet the demands of their growing family meant a lot of thoughtful planning and custom furniture and finishes that could grow with them. They gutted the inside and reconfigured the layout of the four-bedroom, such as moving the kitchen and adding a bathroom, to create a layout that was friendly for all ages.

Follow the Rainbow

Colorful striped carpet runner on a staircase in a house with gray walls and white wainscoting. A window at the top of the stairs lets in natural light.
Close-up of colorful fabric patterns in shades of yellow, pink, green, blue, and white, arranged in overlapping layers.
A corner of a living room with artwork on the wall, including a painting of a woman's face, and decorative lips wall art. There is a white staircase with a balustrade on the right side.

The family’s entryway is just that: a turquoise-framed front door opens to a steep, carpeted stairway with alternating bright hues on each step. "If I’m going to climb 40 stairs, I think I better at least get something that makes me smile as I’m climbing," Cheung says, laughing. This was achieved with a woven runner by Annie Selke and upbeat decor at top of the staircase, including exquisite tapestries from a South African gallery and a set of illustrated lips by artist Angela Chrusciaki Blehmout.

A hallway with a beige and white color scheme, featuring a colorful abstract painting on the wall, a wooden console table with a flower arrangement, a patterned bench, and a plush rug on the hardwood floor. Bright natural light is coming from the windows in the adjacent room.

After the long ascent up 40 steps, visitors can rest on a chevron-patterned bench.

After the long ascent, visitors can rest on a chevron-patterned bench, against the home’s original beadboard. The leafy wallpaper above them runs the length of the hallway to bring greenery in, as a playful substitute for live plants. "The way that the house is laid out, I realized there is really no place for me to put plants or trees," explains Cheung. "I know it’s kind of a bold decision, but it does make it feel like there’s more life."

A family photo inside a house, with a woman holding a young girl, and a man standing behind them. Two other children are visible, one at the bottom left and another partially visible at the bottom of the image. The background features a decorated wall with green leaves pattern and colorful artwork.

Alicia Cheung with her family.

A custom bookshelf with a bottom drawer, for extra storage, was strategically placed in front of a window that, during the day, allows natural light through to give extra attention to her library of parenting, design, and business books.

Bookshelves filled with various books on topics such as parenting, cooking, art, design, economics, and self-improvement.
A living room with a large white bookshelf filled with books, a rug on the hardwood floor, and framed artwork on the walls. There are also a small table with flowers and a couch partially visible.

Something Old, Something New

Stepping into the communal room, in the front of the house, there’s a showstopper sectional she had custom-made in Los Angeles. Huge by San Francisco standards, it is 11 feet by 19 feet. "We drew up the whole design, with the fringe, and I was like, I want drawers underneath here," she recalls telling the furniture maker. "Can you make it a platform?" The drawer additions store their blankets and kids' items, and the couch is "comfortable enough to seat four adults and sleep on if we were having a crazy summer party."

Living room with a large blue sectional sofa, beige and brown pillows, two nested coffee tables, wall art of houses, and a modern chandelier on a white ceiling
A long vertical scroll with Chinese calligraphy hanging on a beige wall in a doorway. The room visible through the doorway has a blue velvet sofa, artwork of a colorful neighborhood, a wooden coffee table, and a white rug with a textured design.
Wooden side table next to a wooden cabinet with a black and white cylindrical alarm clock showing the number 28 in a modern font. The background includes a blue sofa and a gray patterned blanket or pillow.
Open white drawer filled with small toys and accessories, with a bed with blue sheets and knit rug underneath.

It’s a far cry from the Ethan Allen pieces her parents had in their home. The rest of the spacious living space includes a mix of modern furnishings from their previous residence and vintage store finds. They include vinyl dining chairs from local furniture gallery STUFF, referred to her by tastemaker Ken Fulk, whom she and Bradley worked for before launching Studio Heimat in 2015. And the sofa isn’t the only piece that’s party friendly, notes Cheung. Their "ridiculous banquet-style" dining table extends to nearly 20 feet, to seat up to 14.

A close-up of two vintage rocking chairs with leather cushions and curved wooden frames, placed next to a beige area rug on a light-colored floor. Part of a dining table is visible in the background.
Living room with a beige rug, a round wooden dining table with four chairs, a dark green sofa with brown pillows, wall art depicting colorful buildings, a mounted flat-screen TV, a television soundbar, open shelves with decorative items, and a cabinet with a fruit bowl and a potted plant.
A woman in a bright pink dress crafting a floral arrangement at a dining table, with a large bouquet of pink and cream flowers in a white vase in front of her, and a pair of pruning shears nearby.

In contrast, the adjoining, modest-sized kitchen was designed with just necessities in mind: "We knew what we wanted to fit in there, the things that were important to us," she says. "And from there, we came out with this layout," with everything they needed within reach.

A bright kitchen with white cabinets, a geometric patterned tile backsplash, a kitchen island with a fruit bowl, and a dining table with orange chairs set with a fruit centerpiece.
Close-up of a modern kitchen shelf with various decorative items, books, and kitchenware, including a small blue vase, pottery, books, a gold pig figurine, teacups, glasses, and a stack of plates below.
White kitchen cabinets above a white stove with a geometric tile backsplash, a white pot, and a utensil holder on the countertop.

Something Fun (for the Kids)

Colors abound in her daughter’s room, where the challenge was "to do something fun," notes Cheung, "but I also didn’t want her to destroy it." That meant putting Emma J Shipley Lost World wallpaper on the cove ceiling and painting the walls a cheery blue. The designer hoped the wallpaper above and its inhabitants would spark imagination: "None of these animals are real…[there’s] a zebra, but then it’s got a leopard spotty back…and there are UFOs flying around."

A collage of colorful artwork on a mint green wall includes framed prints, a butterfly model, hanging decorations, and a poster with the phrase "Cool to be kind".
A fluffy white dog with black, orange, and purple spots lying on a soft blanket in front of a window. Behind the dog are two white wall-mounted shelves filled with children's books, against a light teal wall.
Bookshelves filled with children's books, including titles like 'Big Idea,' 'Everywhere Babies,' and 'Very First Words,' displayed in a classroom or library setting.
A decorative object resembling a bunny, covered with colorful buttons and beads, placed on a white windowsill with a window and trees outside.

One of the most extraordinary and meaningful pieces in Cheung’s home is found in an unexpected place: the half bath.

To the right of the mirror, is a frame with the last letter her husband’s father wrote to him before he passed away when he was 13. "He had throat cancer, so he really couldn’t talk for the last 9 months," Cheung explains. "It’s the original typed letter and it’s very sweet…with life advice."

Decorative floral wall with a modern, sculptural hanging light fixture and a mirror with a display behind it.

The flower-patterned Christian LaCroix wallpaper in the bathroom is something her kids continue to appreciate. "What I love about it is that I can teach my kids about the diverse flowers," she says. "They come in and they point at things, and then I tell them, ‘’That’s a rose, that’s a passion flower, that’s a lily.’"

A framed letter on a floral tablecloth with pink, red, green, and purple flowers and leaves.
A bathroom with floral wallpaper, a white bathroom scale, a marble pedestal with a decorative bowl on top, and a white toilet with a black honeycomb floor.
A bathroom with floral wallpaper, a white sink with a wooden cabinet below, a large mirror, and bottles of liquid soap on the sink. The bathroom door is open, revealing a window and part of a toilet.

Havens for Grown-Ups

At the back of the residence is the cozy den, with patterns and textures galore, inviting your touch, and the most sophisticated dry bar. The former closet features Gatsby-esque, martini-patterned wallpaper by Divine Savages and is a nod to a dear friend and neighbor who passed away last year. "He had this tiny little living closet that was his martini closet. So this closet is inspired by his kind of daily martini, like the African martini that he would make." Incorporating the bar was part of Cheung’s original plan to do "civilized, adult things in here," she adds. "We’ll have cocktails here, and then we’ll move to the next room and have dinner—that not once ever happened, but you can drink!"

A living room with a blush pink sofa, a black marble top coffee table with a gold frame, and a bouquet of white flowers in a dark vase. There are pillows on the sofa with various patterns. On the right side, there's a large green ficus tree next to a window with white blinds. A large black and white cityscape photo hangs on the wall behind the sofa, and part of a patterned armchair and a small table are visible in the foreground. The ceiling has a modern ceiling light and the floor is wooden with a rug.
Built-in shelving unit with dark blue cabinets, decorated with glassware, vases, books, and decorative objects, located between white panel doors in a room with wooden flooring.
Shelf with various glassware including crystal glasses, copper mugs, steel cups, and a bottle, set against a patterned blue and pink wallpaper background.

The dusty pink velvet sofa is a place of respite for the designer: “When I need space from my family, I go to sleep on the sofa bed, and I just close all the doors and I can’t hear them, and it’s great." If you’re wondering how she maintains such luxurious velvet sofas with toddlers, the Lulu Velvet fabric is stain-resistant.

Modern ceiling light fixture with a circular, layered design made of metallic and glass materials, mounted on a white ceiling, with window blinds and green houseplants in the background.
Close-up of a decorative pillow with a geometric pattern in gold, black, gray, and white, resting on a pink velvet sofa.
A black and white patterned armchair with a geometric maze-like design, placed in a room with hardwood floors and a light-colored rug.

Primarily neutral tones create a serene mood in the master bedroom, where the couple could "just chill." But metallic touches offer some brilliance, from the geometric Roman shade by Jim Thompson, one of her "all-time favorite fabrics," to the palladium-finished lights by Entler Studio on their nightstands.

A bedroom with a modern four-poster bed with a cream upholstered headboard and golden frame. The bed is made with grey and white bedding, and two grey pillows. There's a bedside table with a lamp and a small flower arrangement. A window with a patterned blue Roman shade is on the right, and a contemporary chandelier hangs from the ceiling.
A wooden dresser with four drawers and silver handles. On top, there are two knobby, textured, dark-colored decorative objects, a stack of books, a framed painting of a reclining nude woman, and a small dish with jewelry. The dresser texturally resembles woven fabric.
A contemporary bedroom corner featuring a nightstand with a silver lamp, a dark gray vase with white and purple flowers, and a framed abstract art piece on the light gray wall. Part of a bed with a light gray headboard and gray bedding is visible on the right, and a gold-colored bed frame supports a cream textured blanket. The floor is covered with a gray and cream rug.
A bedroom showing part of a bed with gray quilted bedding, a large window with a blue patterned Roman shade, a modern flat-screen TV on a dresser, and a gold-colored canopy frame near the bed.

You’ll find more drama in their "super tiny" but dreamy en suite bathroom, care of the Fornasetti clouds wallpaper. Angling the shower and adding niche shelving helped maximize the small space, examples of Cheung advice: "just design it to make it work for you." The Japanese toilet, equipped with many features, was one of the few must-have requests her husband had for the home. (The other two were a TV and a comfortable couch.)

A modern bathroom vanity with a marble countertop and cabinet, a rectangular mirror, a wall-mounted light fixture, a flower vase, a soap dispenser, a faucet, and a towel hanging on a hook, with textured gray wallpaper on the walls.
A modern bathroom with a glass shower enclosure featuring white hexagonal tiles, a purple towel hanging on a chrome bar, a dark gray towel hanging on the wall, a vanity with a marble top, a round white toilet, a framed picture of a woman, and a decorative wall with gray and white cloud-like patterns.
Bathroom shower niche with toiletries including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and two bath brushes, set against white hexagon tile wall.

What’s noticeably absent in the residence is a home office. Cheung only lasted two months when she tried to work from home. With two young kids at home, it’s “generally messy,” she says, and there’s “a million other things to do around the house.”

A woman in a bright pink dress standing inside a well-decorated living room, smiling while holding a vase of pink and white flowers.

Cheung closes with these tips when designing your next dream space:

  • Embrace what makes you happy, and don't worry about what other people think.

  • Think about your lifestyle and where you spend the most time at home. Invest more in those spaces.

  • Make your rug last longer and feel more comfortable: Get a thick area rug pad (unless it’s a flat weave, then just get a non-slip!)

  • Warm lighting makes you (and everything) look better. Get a 2700 Kelvin temperature light bulb, and make sure all the light sources have matching color temperature. 

  • Good art can elevate your space like nothing else. And “good” doesn’t have to be expensive.

A woman in a bright pink dress sitting on the stairs in a doorway, smiling and resting her chin on her hand.

Published on November 20, 2023

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