skb architects

located above the restaurant wild ginger in downtown seattle, skb architects has grown from three dreamers in a coffee shop to 12 employees masterfully handling both residential and corporate clients. their projects have ranged from a cabin resort on the columbia river to an office building in new delhi to a spa in manhattan. skb sets itself apart from other firms by designing both exteriors and interiors. using varied materials for both structure and beauty, their designs result in harmonious inspiring spaces with elements of invigorating design surprises.
kyle gaffney's the "k" in skb architects, and he's married to the "s," shannon rankin. the "b" is brian collins-friedrichs. everything at skb is a cooperative venture, so the three partners who began in home offices have a tried and true reltionship of great design collaboration and business successes. when a building is completed, the whole firm plans a field trip to see their collaborative work. but i'll show you some highlights from their portfolio so you don't even have to leave your desk.

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references: seattle bizjournal and seattle times

in honor of the bright one

(happy birthday my peapod-sharing brain-sister!)

sunshine extension

hope you had a happy memorial day weekend. i want to extend the sunny feel from yesterday so i'm posting some sunshine-inspired images today. cheers!

(by far my favorite yellow setting ~ sunflower petal painted bricks with a fireplace and a painting on the mantel that melts my blonde-n-blue heart)

(a david hicks living room. light, fresh, deelish!)

(i like this combo of maize and cobalt and chestnut. nice balance)

(this designer did an excellent job of making yellow soft and mellow ~ and found the perfect shades of gray to go with it)

(no sunshine-inspired post would be complete without my lemon drop car & some golden daisies in my front yard)

(yellow black and white ~ it's bold and bright and cheerful)

(i love the wake-up-and-smell-the-sunshine feeling in this kitchen)

buon weekend craftivities

my 3 shopping goals for this 3-day weekend:

1.

(the candy store: party favors for a certain birthday coming up next week)

2.

(flax: the ultimate art supply store. also for party favors & crafty decor items. their virtual tour will make any crafter's heart flutter)

3.

(the ribbonerie: more crafty decor delights! thanks to oh happy day for the top photo)

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have yourselves a marvelous memorial day weekend!

xoxo, a

historical sf decorator maven: frances elkins (1888-1953)

“independent, revolutionary, avant garde” is one description given to frances elkins in her prime. her office in san francisco drew some of the most illustrious society names in the city to her door. her portfolio included commissions from choicest clients ~ from the albert laskers, to the james d. and richard zellerbachs, the marshall fields, the albert schlesingers and in hollywood the david o. selznicks and the edward g. robinsons.

“frances elkins was a chic arbiter of taste,” concludes stephen salny in his 2005 comprehensive monograph of the decorator’s work frances elkins interior design (norton). she was an ingenious orchestrator of color, using mustard yellow damask for curtains, for example, piped and lined in wedgewood blue, with crenelated valances. she would fearlessly match a hand-painted chinese wallpaper with a contemporary carpet made in portugal for a dining room furnished with chippendale and sheraton antiques, and accessorized with picasso and mexican ceramic vases. conventional rules about what goes with what were tossed out, just what the next generation of san francisco decorators was looking for. and this peak of chic, mid-century style remains the creme de la creme today.

{an elkins game room for the zellerbachs was later restored for norah and norman stone. sfgate}

{two images of an elkins interior shows the designer’s penchant for an american country aesthetic that was inspired by english country homes emboldened with her favorite blue and white accents. sfgate}

{an elkins dining room. sfgate}

below are several highly sought after furniture pieces frances elkins designed. found on christies, ebay, vol1 antiques, and downtown inc.

capsule design festival

this sunday, may 27th, hayes valley will be taken over by the capsule design festival.

featuring tons of booths filled with unique products from all and only west coast designers ~ jewelry, furniture, art, accessories, clothing, accents, and treasures ~ i can't wait to see the creations and meet the artists, designers and craftspeople. i'm hoping for inspiration overload!

shootfactory's london allure

i could spend all day gawking at the online eye candy on shootfactory's website. this will be the first of many posts with photos from the properties they represent. shootfactory's purpose is to represent other people's homes and apartments for renting in photo shoots, events, filming and the like. so they've filled their website with enticing images ~ and i am so grateful! unfortunately, there is very little information about the properties and designers, just a ton of wonderful photographs of the amazing spaces. i would love to know more about the designers, stagers, photographers, artists, etc who are involved in making these places the show pieces they are (so if you know, do tell). below is a property on their front page right now, located in lordship park in london. too sparse to be liveable for my taste, it's like a beautiful tableau waiting to be filled with gorgeous people, flowering plants, or vibrant art. enjoy some alluring furnishings, lighting, and architectural details.