Bay Area Friends, It’s tour season and two of my favorite tours–the San Francisco Designer Showcase and the Garden Conservancy Tours happen this month. The Showcase House runs through May 28 and the Garden Conservancy Tours run in May and June in the East Bay, Marin, Santa Cruz and Mendocino. This Saturday, May 12, take [...]
I’ve written about a number of eco-friendly homes over the years but this beautiful remodel by architect Sherry Williamson has to be one of the most stylish. You can read more about the overall project in the current (October 2016) issue of Diablo Magazine, but I’m sharing a few photos here along with some ideas [...]
True confession? I didn’t know the Super Bowl was happening here in the Bay Area until last Saturday when my gay Mormon activist friend Mitch mentioned how early festivities had impacted the traffic coming from the city to a conference in Berkeley that we were both attending. Now how in the world did I miss [...]
Recently I was invited to dinner at the offices of my niece’s hi-tech start up in the booming South of Market area of San Francisco. The on-site food was some of the best I’ve had and the interiors more upscale than many tech companies I’ve visited. But during the after dinner tour of my niece’s [...]
If this year’s San Francisco Decorator Showcase is any indicator, color is making a comeback. The hushed neutrals of the past have been replaced by sumptuous hues and bold graphics that feel fresh and invigorating. For example, in Cecilie Starin’s black and white dining room the abstract murals by San Francisco street muralist Ian Ross [...]
Is there a landmark building near you that you’ve never explored. The Marin County Civic Center was that for me. Though I’ve driven by it many times over the years, I’d never taken the time to go inside. A recent story assignment propelled me to take a tour and I thought I’d show you a [...]
Yesterday I woke up in the early a.m. dark because my bed was shaking. Actually, not just my bed, I realized, but the whole room. Eyes wide open now, I recognized that it wasn’t just my room but my entire house that was shuddering in the night. “Earthquake!” I elbowed M.J. awake. “Earthquake!” He stumbled [...]
Week 3 and there’s clear progress in the house. Most of the rooms are painted, the kitchen cabinets and front door are refinished, and the kitchen and powder room renovation projects are coming into focus.That said, there were enough hiccups this week that I ended up one evening pretty much in a fetal position. No [...]
In my quest to find the best white to paint the interiors of our new house, I asked ten designers participating in this year’s San Francisco Decorator Showcase to tell me about their favorite white paint colors. Here’s what they had to say: “Any color from Benjamin Moore’s* Color Story Collection is good—they have so [...]
All that’s gold glitters and shimmers (matte is in!) at this year’s San Francisco Decorator Showcase. Held in a grand 1907 brick mansion in Presidio Heights, this showcase house offers the chance to see some of the best Bay Area designers showcasing their best work. The show runs through May 26–go to www.decoratorshowcase.org for tickets. [...]
