Slideshow: Tour this updated Victorian and get quick design tips

The least-expected design combinations are sometimes the most rewarding. For Mariam and Michael Mader of San Francisco, learning to juxtapose styles all started with a traditional Victorian, which they hoped to turn into a comfortable home fully reflecting their taste and life story.

A previous renovation in the 1980s had resulted in faux-marble Grecian columns in the living room and several sets of mis-matched moldings. "We wanted to strip away the intensely ornate stuff," Michael says. "But we didn't want to turn a Victorian into a modern showcase."

There was one other important consideration: the couple's cherished collection of global souvenirs, amassed on trips to far-flung flea markets and bazaars. "We love to travel — it's one of our passions," Mariam says. "Plus, I'm half-Iranian, and I wanted a home that reminded me of places where I grew up: Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon."

Middle Eastern meets Victorian? According to interior designer Charles de Lisle, it's less of a stretch than you think. "Victorians have a Moorish character about them," he says, noting the intricate detailing common to both styles.

The key to making it work

Highlight the pattern and texture of both styles against a clean-lined, contemporary backdrop.

Mariam and de Lisle started with one bold hit in an otherwise minimal space — the eye-catching fabric on the living room armchairs, which complements the neo-Victorian details of the fireplace mantel. An octagonal Moroccan coffee table gives the room a strong visual anchor.

For a more serene effect, de Lisle mixed a variety of subtle surfaces in the kitchen: anigré wood cabinetry with ridged glass fronts, porcelain floor tiles, and variegated marble counters and backsplash. An antiqued mirror behind the sink "keeps everything from looking too new," de Lisle says.

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Thomas J. Story
Bookshelves are an easy way to add pattern and drama to your living space; here, they also define the transition between dining and family rooms. Teflon-coated fabric turns the sofa into a kid-friendly piece.

Upstairs, the master bedroom's subdued palette of blues and grays is drawn from a shimmery swatch of the fabric that Mariam installed on her headboard. The handmade blue crackle tile in the master bath evokes, she says, "the moody feel of a hammam (Middle Eastern bathhouse)."

Creative uses for the couple's cache of treasures are displayed throughout. In the dining room, a pair of Moroccan lanterns unearthed at the Paris flea market is now a dramatic light fixture suspended from a teak bar. For art, de Lisle took an image from the couple's photo album — a memorable lunch in Morocco — and had a vibrant detail of a pink chair enlarged 26,000 times, then mounted on PVC plastic. The result is abstract, compelling, and one of a kind. Plus, at around $300, it was relatively affordable.

Warmly contemporary and full of surprising contrasts, the traditional Victorian is now a home with a new soul. As Mariam says, "Living with personal pieces and memories has given me some of my biggest joys."

	More makeover ideas • Victorian cottage reborn • A Victorian transformation • Fireplace facelift • Style secrets from the pros

Resources: Brandon Beige paint on living-room walls from Benjamin Moore (half-formula; 800/344-0400). Armchair upholstered in Amijao Sulphur from Raoul Textiles (805/965-1694). Antique sofa upholstered in mohair velvet in Eden from Rogers & Goffigon (203/532-8068). Custom-dyed wool rug from Himalayan Weavers (415/385-5406). Capiz shell floor lamp from Out of Asia (310/204-5885). Don leather armchair and ottoman from Limn (415/543-5466). Antique wood hourglass stool from JRM International (415/864-8118). Harry sofa from B&B Italia. (Pillow covered in Gatsby fabric in Middleton black from Donghia (415/861-7717). Cab armchairs (around dining table) in matte ivory from Limn (see above).

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