Every time I attend the San Francisco Decorator Showcase I come away inspired by big design concepts and small design details.  My travels have delayed my attendance so far this year, but these photographs by San Francisco photographer David Duncan Livingston make me eager to catch this stunning showcase before it closes on May 30.

I want to take in the spare white elegance of Antonio Martin’s living room design and the curvy details in Martin Kobus’s dining room.

I suspect the muted persimmon and slate blue of the traditional rug laid the foundation for this striking office design by Stephen Jones.

As did the dramatic kelly green and cobalt blue zigzags in Kyle Bunting’s rug for this glam retreat by Nancy Evars and Dimitra Anderson.

But when it comes to color inspiration, who could resist the delicious rainbow sherbet palette of this girls room by Ann Lowengart.  Isn’t that Sol LeWitt-inspired ceiling scrumptious?

On the second floor hallway Livingston is showcasing some of his own fine art photography–including this effervescent image of the Eiffel Tower. “It’s like a birthday sparkler celebrating France and summer,” says Livingston who uses motion blur to give the fine art print a painterly feeling. Because Livingston’s wife is French they often travel with their young son to Paris. “Before I got married I’d visited the City of Light many times as a solo tourist but now when I visit with my family we’ll have lunch with Grandma, see old friends and just hangout between other travels in France. Paris is THE hub for all things French.”

To see more of Livingston’s exceptional work be sure to follow him on instagram @daviddlivingston.  And for details about the SF Decorator Showcase—running through May 30—go to http://decoratorshowcase.org  Hope to see you there!

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.

On a not-so-blue-skies day last week I popped into Design San Francisco to catch Suzanne Tucker’s gracious presentation about her design practice illustrated with projects from her new book “The Romance of Design”. (Read more of what Tucker had to say in my BANG profile this weekend.) After she’d  finished, I took a closer look at the furnishings on the San Francisco Design Center stage and thought that though Pantone has declared Radiant Orchid the color of the year, I continue to see a sea of blue textiles and accessories.

Like these lovely cornflower blue fabrics from Tucker’s home line made into bed linens.

Some nautical navy sewn into cushions and pillows.

Watery turquoise resin molded into tabletops.

Bold graphic periwinkle rugs.

Slate-blue wall coverings.

And ethereal aqua art.

Maybe purple will eventually reign, but for now blue rules.

All right.  Time to stop getting distracted by stocking stuffers and get down to serious gift-buying.  If you’re giving to someone who leans towards contemporary design on a less than stratospheric budget, consider the collection of well-edited designs presented in Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home (Artisan). The book culls ideas from the popular design blog Remodelista founded six years ago by the book’s author Julie Carlson. You can read more about Carlson and Remodelista in my BANG feature but let’s peek between the pages while you’re here.

The book features twelve contemporary homes of the “white wall interiors” variety with thoughtful, spare furnishings and interesting backstories.  They’ll make you wish you too lived in a revamped potato barn in Amagansett or a restored Georgian townhouse in London.

It also shares basic remodeling advice, a curated list of favorite everyday objects (good gift ideas year round) and The Remodelista Manifesto—10 Rules to Live By, including:

Classic and livable trumps trendy and transient.

Ikea mingles well with antiques: a mix of high and low animates a space and allows room for all budgets.

 A room full of neutrals needs a disciplined dose of color. Think throw pillows, textiles, ceramics, and artwork in vibrant shades.

I know it’s old school, but there’s something very relaxing about flipping through a book of design images rather than swiping images on a screen. Slowing down to savor things is a gift we could all use about now, don’t you think?

If you’re in the Bay Area, check out the Remodelista Holiday Market this weekend at Heath Ceramics, 2900 18th St, San Francisco.  Click here for a one time 10% discount offer valid in the SF showroom on Saturday, December 14th only.

*Images excerpted from Remodelista by Julie Carlson (Artisan Books). Copyright (c) 2013. Photographs by Matthew Williams.

I don’t know about you, but I’m finally tuning in to the holiday calendar and starting to think about gifts for friends and family. Right now I’m considering several recently released design books as possible gifts. Over the next few weeks I’ll share some favorites in hopes of helping you whittle down your own gift list.

One of the loveliest design books of the fall comes from the San Francisco designer Suzanne Tucker. “Suzanne Tucker Interiors: The Romance of Design” (The Monacelli Press) is Tucker’s second book and it showcases some spectacular high-end interiors.

Tucker’s clients have lavish homes and the budgets to furnish them but her designs are not garish or conventional.  Instead they evoke a quiet, considered—albeit rarified—approach to gracious living.   “The Romance of Design” is divided into five sections that range from displaying collections to editing for the empty nest. Each section starts with a well-chosen quote from an author or artist about what home means and some words from Tucker about her own design philosophy.  For example, here’s what she has to say about designing for someone else: “A client’s house is not a portrait of me.  It is, however, my personal vision of their dreams—larger, utterly unique, and more special than they could possibly envision for themselves.”

On the mix: “Things don’t need to match, but they do need to marry.”

On what’s behind all those design choices: “What is home? Where is home? It’s what generates within each of us that feeling of being most at peace.  It’s where we are most ourselves, among the objects, treasures, and pieces that bear witness to our experiences and the deeply held memories that we share with those we love.”

Most of us will never live in these luxurious surroundings but we can visit them through images like the ones found in Tucker’s tome and recognize the universal components of a welcoming home no matter the design budget or location.  “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”  (Maya Angelou as quoted in “The Romance of Design.” )

This would be a lovely gift for a design friend who leans toward traditional design with a twist. Perfect for post-holiday perusals of exquisite objects thoughtfully placed in extraordinary homes.

Photos by Pieter Estersohn, Matthew Millman and Lisa Romerein

I’m entranced by this clever design recently chosen as the winner of the Bodleian Library Chair competition.  This is only the third chair developed for the Bodleian–Oxford’s main research library–since it opened in 1756.   The first was a Windsor Chair and the second, two variations on a leather-clad bucket chair designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1936.

The competition required the chair be made by British designers in collaboration with British manufacturers and the winning design was created by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby of Barberosgerby (who also designed the Olympic Torch for the 2012 Olympic Games) in collaboration with Isokon Plus.

Though the light oak version looks more bookish, I fancy this (painted?) black model for a shot of smart contemporary design.  Sort of Mondrian-esque, don’t you think?

Winning chair photo by Jamie Smith, courtesy of the Bodleian Library

San Francisco furniture designer Ted Boerner makes beautiful furniture that wows in both contemporary and classic interiors.  Check out my BANG profile of Boerner from this past weekend to learn more about his background and design process and to see some of his terrific designs. One of my favorite Ted Boerner pieces is the Gardener Chair.  Created for Alta Tingle, owner of Berkeley’s upscale homegoods store The Gardener, this chair is comfortable, handsome and very witty.  Now available in fresh new colors like chalk gray and tangerine orange, the chair still features the original wheelbarrow inspired base.

This would be a great piece to serve as the seed of a new design or to slip into a well-tended interior, don’t you think?

Look for an extensive overview of the San Francisco Decorator Showcase in the Bay Area News Group papers this Saturday, but in the meantime here’s a peak at design elements that felt fresh and noteworthy this year.

Contemporary Art as Inspiration

Check out the Cy Twombly inspired floors in Catherine Kwong’s living room, above.  See those splashes and swirls?   They set the tone for this entire showcase house and they’re likely to be the thing people are still talking about in years to come.   Similarly, Heather Hilliard looked to the public art of Sol LeWitt to create the painted detailing on the upper walls of her dining room.

And Martha Angus and Esche Martinez anchored their exuberant playroom with a op-art inspired custom carpet.

Oceanic Blue

Though black and white was the predominant color theme of the showcase, the #1 accent color was a rich turquoise blue.  Kelly Hohla hung it over the mantel by way of this mirrored “jewel” in her Makers Mark Retreat.

Matthew Leverone used it several ways in his ground floor Salon.

Kriste Michelini welcomed visitors to her cozy writer’s retreat with this cheery velvet sofa in the showcase’s signature color.

Decorative painter Willem Racke’ used it for his cut-out mirrored wall mural in Emilie Monroe’s 3rd floor bath.

And Alfred Gregory specified it for this custom tile by Waterworks in the “Elysium” guest bath (note the cool custom threshold while you’re here.)

Living Walls

Vertical gardening can happen just about anywhere, including this sculptural bathroom by Soil Studios.  The plants in this bath wall include French lavender and mint which can be snipped right there to scent the bath.

The same technology was used to create this gorgeous courtyard garden off the kitchen.  The befores are truly incredible–nothing was here besides bare brick wall before Living Green designed and installed these living walls.  Glorious stuff.

Statement Lighting

But living walls weren’t the only artful designs reaching skyward–unusual lighting did as well.  Here are some of my favorite examples.

Kelly Hohla used this mobile-like fixture to draw your eye to the unusual pitched ceiling in the Maker’s Mark retreat.

Alfred Gregory chose this glass chain link fixture both for dramatic effect and because it would stand up to the open shower in the room.

Gioi Tran commissioned a creepy crawly light fixture to fan out across this resin map of London in the teenage girl’s room.

Zoe Hsu paired this undulating fixture with python wall paper in the master sitting room.  Sssssspectacular.

And Stephanie Marsh Fillbrandt  used a hook-like light fixture from Coup d’Etat to add industrial heft to her sweet Chocolatier’s Lab.

Treat yourself and maybe a friend–mom!–to a trip to the showcase before it closes on May 27. You’ll come away inspired to try a new thing or two in your own personal showplace.

Inspiration paintings alongside Lulu DK fabric "Dancers"

On a grey February day, stopping by Design San Francisco was as invigorating as a scoop of lemon sorbet. Which, by the way, is also the name of Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year.

Benjamin Moore’s Mary Hoffman shared the news about “emerging pastels” and the “softening of the palette”  at the beginning of this three day design conference formerly known as Winter Market and held at the San Francisco Design Center. Here are a few other highlights from Day 1.

Celebrity designer and potter Jonathan Adler says that “every home should have a classic foundation and eccentric punctuation.”  When talking about his “Muse” vase–one of his favorite punctuation pieces–he said that once he’d created it, he just knew it was right. “When a design is good, it looks like it was always supposed to be that way.”

Designer Lulu deKwiatkowski of Lulu DK showed some of her exquisite fabrics at Donghia and said that her best collaborations have come when she hasn’t initiated the partnership.  “I’m like one of those girls who never asks a guy out first—I find that works best.”

Attendees were in good spirits—perhaps because their clients are starting to commission projects again? At least the treats offered in all the show rooms seemed to indicate a move towards prosperity.  After recession-inspired years of bottled water and a tastefully displayed bowl of nuts, showrooms rolled out the hospitality.  For example, these French macarons at Kneedler Fauchere were as pretty as the beautiful new Rizzoli book on designer Rose Cumming, who at the beginning of her illustrious career charmingly said, ” I might become a decorator, but first tell me what that is.”

Here Chuck Comeau of  Dessin Fournir shows off some beautiful Rose Cumming fabrics and wallpapers.

Speaking of beautiful fabrics, “Rusty” came to Market all dressed up in this adorable Fortuny frock–which would also be showcased later on at the fundraiser doggy fashion show “Haute Dog.”

I ended the day at Hewn–an elegant new showroom opened just this past year after owners Kathleen Navarra and Jeff Holt closed their fabulous retail shop JAK Home–for a presentation on luxury mattresses from the Swedish company Hastens. Promising a better night’s sleep for the price of a luxury car, these handcrafted mattresses with their signature blue and white checks seem absolutely divine for a long winter’s nap—which is something the Swedes probably know a little something about.

On my way out the door,  I stopped at the cheery Eric Brand pop-up shop and took in the clever display of exquisite finishes. After starting with some “lemon sorbet” and ending with a little “orange sherbet,” I left Design San Francisco thoroughly refreshed.