sf decorator's showcase house 2009

this year is the first since moving to san francisco that i won't be going to the decorator's showcase house. boo! not only is this showcase a fabulous way to see what some local designers can do when put to the test, but it's also one of the only ways to see some incredible old-school san francisco residential architecture. so i have always enjoyed seeing these homes from the inside as much as seeing what the designers do within each of their choosen rooms. this year the house is 2830 pacific avenue ~ built in 1910 by architect nathaniel baisdell, it is a four-story 10,000 square foot mansion in pacific heights with gorgeous views and beautiful georgian-style brick exterior architecture.
alas, instead of forming my own opinions through my own eyes, i've had to dive into the blogs of others to get a sneak peak through some one else's lense. even still, there are some interesting and inspiring interiors worth sharing with you:

first up is the entry foyer by nicole hollis


obviously "collections" is a theme nicole chose, shown on the stairwell above and in the unfortunate taxidermy case below:


orlando diaz-azcuy designed the formal dining room {yes, he's my former employer}. i really like the color palette but wouldn't feel comfortable dining underneath a bladed fixture like that and it could be awkward to speak to the person sitting directly across from you with all those vases blocking your view:


the breakfast nook and family room were designed by matthew leverone. i love his choices for both spaces ~ fresh, chic, surprising and yet simple enough to be very liveable and enjoyable for every day use.




the teenager's bedroom by palmer weiss ~ the perfect blend of hip and traditional with a young-at-heart theme:

the master suite by cecil starin ~ masculine and soothing with a neutral palette:

"her study" was designed by benjamin dhong ~ gorgeous & very creative:

if you'd like to attend, the decorator's showcase house is open until may 25th. please let me know if you visit it and what you think!

if you're unable to attend here's a link to the video tour on the california home + design website. enjoy!

{thanks to anh minh , the sunset blog and california home + design for the photos!}

about that vampire house in twilight

unlike just about everybody these days, i didn't read the twilight books. but i did have a lovely afternoon with my best diva friend watching the movie {dvd}, in pj's and chillaxin'. although i thought it was a mediocre film {gasp! how could i say such a thing & risk the sneers of teen vampire admirers everywhere??}, the main thing that stood-out as fantastic to me was the cullen house ~ the house where the vampire family lived, supposedly in the woods near forks, washington. this house is a beautiful architectural and design marvel of modern styling made to fit elegantly well in the woods; and i'm ready to move in! it's been a nice little quest to figure out where this house is truly located and who designed it. how can i live in it if i don't even know where it is??
low and behold, this beauty is actually located near portland, oregon and was designed by a star-studded pacific northwest team: skylab architecture. originally set as a spec home it was quickly purchased up by one of the owners of nike. darn! i'll keep my eyes out for it to go on the market again. ;o)
in real life it's called the hoke house and the genius behind it is named jeff kovel. this guy pretty much rocks every project he's ever done. . . . maybe he's looking for a design assistant? i am so impressed with his vision and style, and this hoke house is one great example of just what jeff can do. to learn more about jeff and his portfolio, and more about the hoke/cullen house, check out this fabulous interview on design tavern.

and to continue with the house tour, do ya wanna peek inside?? ah, yeah, of course you do:gorgeous, gorgeous, and more gorgeous!
it occurred to me after doing the research for this post that maybe it's already been blogged to death? i have been so out of the blog-loop the last several months. . . .so my apologies if this is so yesterday. i am truly inspired by skylab's incredible work in this house and the photos all make me smile, so i'm blogging it no matter how many others have done so before me. ;o)
{photos found on skylab's website & on design-tavern}

going up or down?

my dear friend miss.ivy is an excellent photographer. so i'm showing a couple of her lovely shots from a place she recently stayed in paris because they're just so apropos {& she'll know exactly why}.

whether you're spiraling up or spiraling down it's actually quite a similar view. and that's a very good thing to keep in mind. ;o)

have yourselves an adventure-filled weekend!

stal tre hus ~ steel tree house

a couple of years ago in lake tahoe, california, joel sherman of jls design set out to prove it is possible to create modern design that fits into the landscape in that high-end residential market. veering completely from the usual "bear-moose-fish-motif" found in the tahoe mountain setting, joel sherman's decidedly contemporary design lifts the house up into the canopy of surrounding trees. the narrow lot drops away substantially at one end so sherman used this to a great design advantage by creating a plan where vertical plaster towers step down in to the lot supporting the bulk of the residence and elevating it to a treehouse effect.

the largest portion of the 2,500-square-foot residence, the garage, is subtly designed into the program of the house and hidden behind opaque shoji-like doors. at the same level as the garage, a wooden plank leads to the residence's main entrance. once inside, access is available to the lofted master bedroom, master bath, the private porch, as well as the garage. a glass-and-steel enclosed stairwell leads to the level below which houses two bedrooms, a living room, and kitchen and dining area.

the design shows an excellent fusion of indoor and outdoor spaces. from the tasmanian red oak floors to the cherry wood cabinetry to the panels of redwood juxtaposed against the plaster towers on the house’s exterior, the natural woodland theme is reflected continuously. another means of merging interior and exterior spaces is the use of transparency. not only did joel sherman use large panels of glazing and glass-wrapped corners, but he also designed the interior spaces so that the residents would have access to outdoor views from a variety of locations, not just from rooms on the house's perimeter.

another fascinating aspect of stal tre hus is the fact that it's the result of the combined efforts of architect and client. the architect successfully brought a modern design sensibility to the area, while the client, an owner of a wood construction company, actively participated in the building of his dream house. wanting to be as much a part of the construction as possible, the client became certified in welding and personally welded every piece of steel throughout his new home. i really appreciate a symbiotic process like this, and would love to see this house in person some day.

{photos and info from jls design & architectural record}

"feng shui" to the hilt

last year the design firm i work for completed a project for an apartment atop a prominent san francisco hotel. any associates who wanted a tour before the clients moved in were given permission. so we decided to make it a group thing and all went over together, just as some of the finishing touches were being completed by the contractors. the principle designer on the project and the project lead came along to give us the tour. it is the type of place you wouldn't want to see without a tour guide. and it's the kind of place only few people ever get to experience. now there is no doubt of the over-the-topness here, but i still think it's interesting to see what detailed design acumen & excellent craftmanship can come up with when the client is demanding a plush, psychadelic, disneyland, feng-shui dream house. for the sake of brevity i'm only posting a few photos here, so please feel free to jump to my flickr album for the full tour.

{the kitchen in lime green painted wood paneling with many reflective surfaces. custom island with clear glass top and custom range with built in wok, grill & steamer}

{the love-vibe purple entertainment room with a custom heart-shaped chaise for two, custom carpet to match, and a 5-screen built-in entertainment center with a small stage just in front for those wild karaoke party nights}

{the master bathroom is all emerald and sparkle ~ the mosaic silver floor tiles were installed in a custom pattern designed to match the facade of the building in the view; a chakra shower bar, tons of body jets, and a body blow dryer in the massive shower room; and the biggest custom tub i've ever seen with my own eyes includes an infinity edge that overlooks the city}

{four celestial ceilings ~ in the double high living room, in the sunny laundry room, in the ultra-futuristic breakfast nook, and in the powder room made to look like a back porch }

zara's shades of grey

as some of you may know, i have a thing for greys and taupes. my handbags, my favorite shoes, my sheets, and my favorite wall colors are all in these shades. when i put together interior designs, i really enjoy layering different neutral shades to create warmth, softness and elegance. so i had a major swooning session as i experienced zara home's fall/winter '07 collection. i absolutely love the way they layered textures (some roughness, some sparkle, some smoothness) while using neutral colors. especially those greys! i'd just love to put almost everything from this collection in my own home. . . . . keeping the dream alive:

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side-note: i know this is from their spring '07 collection, but seeing as how i have a life-long infatuation with the golden ratio, and therefore with anything in a spiral pattern, this just had to get blogged too. someday i will have a home with a spiral staircase, there's just no getting around that. ;o)

light at the end

i'm approaching that last flight...... my huge athletic club project will have 100% design drawings finished and submitted to the contractor for pricing and construction by monday. it will be a long weekend finishing up all the last details. but i can finally see the light at the end of this long tunnel {which has been anything but a straight path ~ rather full of twists, shoots & ladders!}
i hope y'all have a peaceful & prosperous weekend!

oh yeah ~ also, welcome jenni & seth to the goldengate heights 'hood ~ it's my greatest pleasure to now call you neighbor! hopefully you don't have many more moving steps to climb today. i'll bring the champagne for happy hour!

{photo from john pawson's house}

beauty & the biscuit

built in 1925, the historic biscuit company lofts building was originally home to the west coast headquarters of the national biscuit company (nabisco). to help transform downtown los angeles from a place for just business activity to a vibrant 24-hour residential area, the building was gutted and converted into 104 residential lofts. i really, really like kenneth brown's ecclectic and daring design choices in this apartment. the rich colors and textures are so inviting and invigorating. the mix of modern and vintage is so perfectly balanced. what i wouldn't give for those tufted red leather ottomans and the vintage motorcylce in the kitchen/dining nook ~ i love surprises in design like this!
photographs by the talented grey crawford