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 your mom to the Garden Conservancy tour happening in the East Bay. One of the four featured gardens is landscape designer Keeyla Meadows‘s garden in Albany.  Full disclosure–Keeyla is a friend and also designed my garden.  She’s a multi-faceted artist and her garden is always a delight to visit.  Look at these beautiful blooms planted in colorful pots or in front of fabulous sculpture all made by Keeyla.  Think Monet meets Gaudi.

Find out more about Keeyla’s garden and the tour in this recent SF Gate article. I’ll be working as a docent in Keeyla’s garden Saturday. Hope to see you there!

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 for how to create your own “healthy home.”

Marin County-based Williamson oversaw this elegantly spare design.  It demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to practices and products that are both good for the environment and create a healthy environment for the homeowners and their young family.  Williamson and the rest of the design team including Andrew Mann Architecture, McCutcheon Construction and Scott Lewis Landscape Associates made sure that every detail was as environmentally friendly and health-conscious as possible.

“Bringing the team up to speed on the level of green (which exceeded LEED in many areas) was probably the biggest challenge with this project. It really was a great opportunity to investigate the materials in all of the building materials and in the furnishings,” says Williamson.  “When confronted with a challenge, we didn’t say ‘no’ that’s not possible. We asked how can we get what we are looking for in perhaps a new way? We were open to new materials and ideas.”

If you, too, are open to new ideas in green design take a look at these terrific suggestions from Williamson for creating our own healthy homes.

Finishes

- Find low or no-VOC finishes for wood or wall paints.  Many companies offer these now and avoid the toxic mildewcides and biocides in paint. Try Auro USA or ECOS Paint or Benjamin Moore’s Aura.

- Select stone carefully. Some granite and other stone countertops are radioactive!  You can ask most stone suppliers and they’ll guide you away from those likely to be radioactive (or you can have someone measure a stone with special equipment) but different batches can vary from a quarry.

- Avoid sealants on stone or grout. This family of products seems to contain a lot of harmful chemicals and no good options were found. The stone countertops in this house are all unsealed.

- Consider Aerogel insulation. This is a ‘space-age’ batt insulation material used by NASA as it protects very efficiently even in a very thin layer. Not always easy to obtain—but it was used for this project where we needed to have high insulation values and there was limited space.

Appliances + Fixtures

- Ask about BPA and other plastics used in common appliances like refrigerators. Some appliances utilize more costly stainless steel components that are durable and non-toxic. Miele seems to be a leader in cleaner products while SubZero told us they still used BPA in their refrigerator drawers when we inquired during this project. See more on BPA below under Household.

- Replace old toilets that use lots of water with efficient new ones that use less water. We used the Kohler Santa Rosa at 1.28 gallons per flush.

- Install a water filtration system for the drinking water. Many are available and remove the chlorine and other chemicals in standard city drinking water.

Furnishings 

- Ask questions when you buy upholstered furniture. Some companies will be happy to provide information (Cisco for instance), while others are unable or don’t want to provide any details.

- Avoid ‘stain resistant’ applications for fabrics that most manufacturers and installers offer – like ScotchGuard, GoreTex or Teflon. Most stain resistant products are made up of PFC’s (like PFOA or PFOS) chemical compounds that are not proven healthy – many companies won’t divulge the ingredients – See articles here and here.

- Select all-wool carpeting with natural latex backing or antique wool area rugs. These clean easily with warm water. And avoid chemical backings on wall to wall carpets that can off-gas for months or years, creating unhealthy indoor air quality.

- Use carpet pad without off-gassing chemicals and no PVC like Ultimate Slide-Stop (or called GripTex) by American Fiber Cushion for large area rugs

- Buy a non-toxic mattress and pillows – many mattresses use foams with unknown ingredients, like memory foam and you sleep on this every night.  Find a company that lists ALL ingredients in their mattresses and pillows like European Sleepworks in Berkeley! They are one of the first to produce organic mattresses and they have their fabrics certified through OEcotex.

Household:

- Use simple cleaning products – not ones with complex and toxic ingredients – and avoid harsh cleaning products that can also damage the finishes on sinks, faucets, tubs, toilets, countertops, etc.

- Avoid plastic food containers like sports bottles and plastic toys – store food in glass, use stainless steel dishes for reusable picnic ware – even BPA-free (bisphenol A) plastics are not the solution as BPA has been replaced with similar chemicals that are still untested and are believed to be harmful to humans (BPS is used now, and next in line could be Bisphenols AF, BPK, C, DK, F, G, M, PH, TMC and Z).  See articles here and here.

- Use stainless steel or cast iron or enameled cookware – avoid stick-resistant finishes and aluminum pans.

All photographs by David Wakely

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 that?  I’m not that sporty but I do tend to tune in for big sporting events like the World Series or the Olympics.  And this year the Super Bowl is here in my back yard! I don’t have any loyalties to either team in the game but I’ll be watching for the commercials and the Coldplay concert. I’ll also be cooking up some Big Game food from this month’s featured cookbook “The Gourmet Today Cookbook”. Last month I had fun working through some recipes from David Leibovitz’s “My Paris Kitchen”–more about that later–but Sunday I’m planning to make some citrus-sauced ribs and an old family Super Bowl favorite—Whoopee Pies.  Score!

Here are a few other things that touched down with me this week.

Super Bowl “Ad-mojis.”

Some tips for buying Valentine flowers.

Trying to separate Bill Cosby from Cliff Huxtable.

Swimming as an adult. 

Bay Area artist Lisa Congdon’s coloring books!

James Cordon and Rosie O’Donnell rapping Hamilton lyrics.

My friend Dana’s son making the Top 24 on American Idol.  Go James VIII!

Happy Super Bowl Weekend All!

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 office I noted a familiar mix of serious and silly design elements.

For example,  stacks of The Paris Review and MIT Technology Review magazines were prominently displayed in the reception area.  Upstairs, in an open gathering space oversized stuffed animals in tasteful earth-tones served as throw pillows.  And throughout the loft-like space, colorful commuter bikes complimented the fun, smart, ironic design that is SOMA style. It was a treat to see this latest incarnation of innovation.

But you don’t need to step inside the doors of a start up to get a taste of this tech-driven eclectic design.  A tour of San Francisco’s vibrant South Park neighborhood will give you a sense of how innovation and design interact here in the Bay Area.

South Park gets its name from a small, oval-shaped park bordered by South Park Street which runs around the park.  The area is bounded by Second, Third, Bryant and Brannan streets.

The neighborhood was originally developed as an exclusive residential community in 1855 by English entrepreneur George Gordon. It was the first neighborhood in San Francisco to incorporate paved streets and sidewalks and a windmill in the center of the park pumped water for the original mansions and townhouses.

The 1906 earthquake caused significant damage to the area and subsequent reconstruction emphasized warehouses, light manufacturing companies and nightclubs.  Today you’ll find a bit of all these things still happening around this historic park.

The mix of architecture—everything from Victorian homes to contemporary gems like the private residence/public art gallery Gallery House by Ogridziak Prillinger architects—is particularly fascinating.

Many design professionals work in the area.  For example, architect Toby Levy of Levy Design Studios lives and works in this striking contemporary structure.

Other design professionals produce their wares here.  For example, you can catch a glimpse of the fabrication space at Sand Studios.

Where this dramatic light fixture was created.

Or pick up some cutting edge art of your own at Gallery 16.

Ready for a break?  Stop for a bite to eat at some of the fine restaurants in the area like The Butler and the Chef Bistro or assemble an impromptu picnic at the upscale grocery store Small.

While you’re lunching, imagine what some of the multi-million dollar residences around the park look like from the inside.  Here’s a glimpse into an extraordinary South Park property developed by MT Development Company and designed by the architects Geddes Ulinskas and Cass Calder Smith.

The living  and dining areas look out over South Park.

Geometric niches throughout provide plenty of display space.

And the expansive floor plan allows for multiple seating areas.

An interior atrium sheds light throughout the multi-story space.

Multiple balconies open the home up to the urban SOMA views.

No matter how you look at it, a century and a half later the Victorian start up known as South Park continues to surprise and delight.

Thanks to Lisa Boquiren, marketing maven and associate editor of the soon-to-launch Marin At Home magazine, for her expert tour of South Park.

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 along with inventive art pieces (see above) made from street artists’ spray paint cans embrace the unconventional.

Which is only fitting since this is a home that celebrates a famed woman architect’s progressive vision. Julia Morgan designed the house in 1917 for “Dried Fruit King” Abraham Rosenberg and his wife Alice specifying an unusual choice of material–concrete–for the Tudor style home. You can see some of Morgan’s own quotes lining the entrance stairway designed by Candace Barnes.

Upstairs on the press preview day, designer Will Wick hung one last piece of art on the moss green walls of his elegant master bedroom. The soothing but sophisticated wall color combined with cream accents sets off the art beautifully.

Next door, designer Tineke Triggs paired an emerald green chaise with graphic tile and Keith Haring-like art.  When pressed Triggs revealed that the large photo of the cat-eyed woman–inspired by a Vogue magazine cover from the 70s–was Triggs herself!

Adjacent dressing rooms feature neutral backdrops with subtle swaths of color. Hers is a soft cocoon of pastels while His features edgier grays and blacks.

Teen boy’s gear references the colors in the custom bed coverings made from fabric designed by Jean Paul Gautier and discovered in France by fabricator Susan Chastain.  Decorative painter Willem Racke’s lacquered ombre’ finish on the walls was inspired by rock striations along the California coast.

Two upper rooms showcase whimsical wallpaper.  The laundry room features bright butterflies on the walls and custom drying racks above the washer/dryer.

A smoochy wallpaper covers the walls in the upstairs bath and seals the whole showcase with a kiss.

The lip colors recall the palette of the glam living room by Philip Silver Design.

As well as the merlot colored walls of the game room. “We decided to embrace Pantone’s controversial color of the year,” says designer Jeff Schlarb. “It’s actually quite lovely to watch it change throughout the day.”

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, plan to tour this beautiful showcase house before it closes on May 25, Memorial Day.  Details can be found at DecoratorShowcase.org.

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 bit of what I saw.

Along with nine other Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings, the MCCC has just been nominated by U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewel for inclusion on the World Heritage List of significant cultural and natural sites. It was the last building designed by  Wright and though he died before he could see it completed, his vision continues to inspire and delight visitors nearly a half century later.

Finished in 1969, the two long horizontal buildings connect three grassy hills in southern Marin County—a landscape that Wright said was one of the most beautiful he’d ever seen. A central dome topped with a 172-foot gold spire “punctuates” the entire complex that has been featured in several sci-fi films and served as the inspiration for the buildings on the planet Naboo in Star Wars films.

You can see a strong Japanese influence in the intricate detailing on the spire and elsewhere in the MCCC.

As well as circular motifs that Wright thought would enhance the building’s flow.

The floor plan features a central atrium topped by curved skylights that cast interesting shadows throughout the day.

Wright-designed furniture shows up in the Board of Supervisor’s room (some of the furniture was built by inmates at nearby San Quentin)

And in the space-age domed Library.

It’s said that Wright’s favorite colors were gold and red—particularly the brick red known as Taliesen red (named after Wright’s school of architecture) that you see on the terrazzo and composite tile floors at the MCCC.  The color seems more Southwest than NorCal, but I guess you could say it’s a kissing cousin to Golden Gate Bridge orange.

The interior walls are sandstone color but lots of gold details light up corners and exterior walkways.

Initially the entire roof was supposed to be painted gold.  However, when a weather-resistant gold paint couldn’t be found, the roof was painted blue to blend in with the sky.

Docent-led tours of the MCCC are offered every Wednesday morning and begin in the 3^rd floor cafeteria where you’ll also find an alcove devoted to newspaper clippings, drawings and artifacts from the time.

You can also download a self-guided tour. But be sure to step into the cafeteria to peruse some of the artifacts. Fascinating stuff.  Easy to access.  What took me so long?

Is there a nearby historic landmark you’ve always wanted to see but haven’t?  If so, what’s holding you back?

He stumbled around in an unfamiliar space (we’re sleeping downstairs while the tile work is happening upstairs), shut the door to the adjacent office and fell back into bed murmuring “ just the wind,” before promptly dozing off.  Hmm, I thought, that was some mighty wind.

I checked my phone for reports of an earthquake. I saw there’d been a 6.0 quake about 30 miles away but couldn’t believe that was the quake that had rattled me awake.  I mean, it had gone on longer than average, but 6.0 is a BIG earthquake and this didn’t seem that big.  I’d lived through the Loma Prieta earthquake, after all, and thought I knew what BIG felt like. This felt moderate, thankfully. (Not to those closer to the epicenter, I know–prayers winging their way.) But still, it was big enough to keep me restless in the dark wondering where our earthquake supply stuff landed after the move.

I’d seen the empty water canisters on top of some piles in the garage.  I knew the unplugged emergency battery/radio/flashlight thingy was in the tansu chest next to M.J.’S side of the bed. But the crow bar to get out of a collapsed house? The basic camping supplies to provide shelter?  No idea.

I’ve lived in California for 34 years now.  Long enough to know what supplies are recommended to survive in the case of a major earthquake.  Water, mostly.  Some medical supplies, a bit of food,  basic shelter items and pieces of clothing like a jacket and shoes in case the quake happens in the middle of the night and you need to walk somewhere in more than your nightgown and bare feet. Oh, and a 72-hour survival kit that you can take with you if necessary.

None of those things were in place yesterday.

So today I plugged in the battery/radio/flashlight thingy.  Filled the empty water canisters.  Located the camping supplies and ordered a new two person 72-hour survival kit.  (Inevitably, the food starts to turn or critters get into them or they get misplaced–it was time for a new one.)

A friend at the gym today said she keeps a crowbar outside her house so she could get in if she was outside and it collapsed in an earthquake. Guess we need one of those as well.  Time to reassemble a bin of old, warm clothes and shoes just in case.  Here’s hoping I’ll never need to use a single one of these things. May they all go to waste.

What emergencies do you prepare for in your part of the country/world? Do you keep emergency supplies around your house?  Inside or out? Any suggestions as I work on this latest round of emergency preparedness?

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 major disasters did me in, just a steady stream of miscommunication, escalated costs, dead ends and false starts. “Sounds like you had a ‘gumption trap’ kind of day,” said my friend Nedra as I rehearsed the day’s woes the next morning. Defined as an event or mindset that can cause a person to lose enthusiasm and become discouraged, the term ‘gumption trap’  comes from Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Coincidently, that’s a book M.J. asked me to read while we were courting (the same year this house was built!) In turn I assigned him The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles–but I digress. A few days later, things are looking up. Here’s a peek at this week’s progress:

After asking design professionals and friends about their favorite white paint color, I had the painters put some big samples up near the whitewashed ceiling to see what played well with its pink/gray tones. From left to right – Bone White, Linen White and Swiss Coffee. Later on joined by White Heron, Dove White and Timid White.

My friend Jana, a color consultant and the poet behind Green Olive Archives, weighed in by encouraging me not to pick anything with a pink base because it would skew the whole house heavily pink–”which could be limiting.” Otherwise, she assured me that any of the whites I was considering would be just fine. When I worried about the white walls being too bland, she reminded me that in this modernist house it will be my stuff that will bring color and interest. “But will the house feel too cold?” I said, confessing that I was leaning towards Swiss Coffee, one of Jenning’s picks. Jana noted that it was considered a warm white and one of the easiest ones to work with. “If the rooms feel too cold on a rainy winter day—or a foggy summer one–add something as simple as a bowl of oranges and it immediately warms up a room,” said Jana.

She also confirmed what I was seeing on the walls–Swiss Coffee has a brown base which tones down the pinkish cast of the ceilings and now the color of the refinished cabinet fronts. Hoping to stave off a full blown kitchen remodel, we wanted to keep the original cabinets but over time  the varnish was peeling on the fronts near the windows and over the stovetop and had turned a plasticy yellow. You can see the difference, above, with the yellowed cabinet front on the left, the stripped natural front on the right and the cerused cabinet front in the middle.

I asked William Anderson, an Oakland-based designer with a classic, commonsense approach to design, to walk through the house and weigh in on a few decisions. He felt strongly that we should try to refinish the cabinets and not paint over them. Fortunately, our painter Steve was up to the challenge and stripped the old finish off  then found a lime wax that he put over the natural oak to give it a cerused finish. The end result looks modern but retains the original vision of the house. We’re not sure if the stone countertop was original (were they doing stone in 1979?) but it’s a nice piece of green granite and it seems such a waste to have it end up in a dump heap. My only hesitation is that the vaguely pink and green color scheme recalls my original everyday wedding china–Mikasa’s Silk Flowers (so 80s!) Perhaps down the road we’ll change out the tile, but it’s also in good shape and not unattractive. William agreed we should keep both the countertop and tile for now. New hardware and appliances will help update the room.

Besides the track lighting in the kitchen there is only one overhead light in the whole house and that’s in the entry. It’s a chance to make a statement so I want to take the time to find just the right thing for the space. In the meantime, I had the painters hang a simple ceiling fixture that I already owned from Berkeley lighting designer Sue Johnson. It echoes the entry pole (painted a dark grey per William’s suggestion) and really classes up the joint, don’t you think?

Here are some of the painters on a plank stretched between two ladders installing the fixture. This rigamarole does not seem like something we want to replicate every time we need to change a lightbulb. (Broken hip, anyone?) So that will need to be taken into account when selecting the ultimate fixture for this space.

The painters are pausing for a week to work on a previously scheduled project. A carpenter will step in to modify some of the kitchen cabinets for the appliances and tackle some smaller projects at the entrance and in the master bedroom. Then the painters will return to clean things up. Out of order, I know—but with the quick close of the house we’re scrambling to schedule workers when they’re available.

When it all gets to be too much, I’ll try to remember the morning I was out on the back deck and saw two foxes chasing across the ridge, their buff-colored tails lighting up the shade of the native oaks. Maybe the  memory of those lovely creatures–and the desire to be up on the ridge with them–will help me retain the gumption that got trapped earlier in the remodeling chaos.

“Any color from Benjamin Moore’s* Color Story Collection is good—they have so much pigment that they all work.” – George Brazil

“I like ‘Elephant Tusk.’  It’s not a true white and has a little gray in it.  Of course, it all depends on what you pair with it.” – Cecilia Sagrera-Hill

“‘White Cloud’ is super clean and white—it’s pure but not cold.” – Steven Miller

“‘Decorators White’ is very clean. So many whites turn yellow, but this stays true white and works well with bright colors.”—Tineke Triggs

“‘White Dove’ is the perfect neutral.” – Shelly Cahan

“I’d use ‘Decorators White’ or ‘White Dove’ if you want a white white with a little warmth.” – Antonio Martins.

“‘Linen White’ is like warm butter,” says Geoffrey DeSousa.  “I tend to stay away from grey whites like ‘China White’ but if you need a cooler white I’d recommend ‘Atrium White.’”

“Monroe Bisque’ is really pretty—it’s creamy and goes well with green tones.” – Jamie Belew

“‘Navajo White’ is very warm with a little depth to it; other whites can be too hospital looking.  Farrow & Ball’s ‘White Tie’ is a good creamy white but it needs a lot of light or it gets too grey.” – Fleur Keyes

“‘Marscapone’ has nice warmth without as much color as ‘Linen White’ but if you’re looking for a great crisp bright white, try ‘Super White.’” – Steve Henry

The choice couldn’t be clearer now, could it?

*All paints Benjamin Moore unless otherwise specified.

Modern art–like these butterflies suspended in an infinity mirror in SagreraBrazil’s dining room–dazzled.

Or tumbled down a stairwell wall like these hand cast bronze letters and symbols in the hall outside the library.