The ones that got away

Dear John Salibello,

I love everything in your shop. Everything.  Even the door knobs.  And the weird parrot lamps.  And the lucite anything.

But I really fell for these 2 gorgeous midcentury benches with the most amazing Picasso shaped backs.



I fell really hard. Really and truly hard. And they are just so expensive.  Like breathtaking expensive. Like I could buy a Warhol expensive (ok a Warhol print but still).  So expensive that they made the really weird and astronomically priced Marc Jacobs runway clothes that only Tilda Swinton can wear conjure the "I bought it at Ross" jingle.

I deeply considered them along with the full five year sentence of serving "pancakes at night" to my children to afford them.  Somehow it still seemed do-able.

Then, during a Real Housewives re-run (cheaper than wine - hey! I was saving for benches?), I saw a Suzy Orman informercial and remembered that I am smarter than this.  Sad, disappointed, in a perpetual state of longing but not broke ass stupid.

So goodbye you adorable benches. I hope you find a big, happy hedge fund house to live in someday.  In the meantime, my kids and I are having steak tonight. . . .

Destiny's Child

Was it meant to be?  Serendipity?  Fate? Destiny?

Did they sit next to each other by chance at a diner one snowy morning in Park City and WHAMMO!  find love at first sight?

Nope but . . .

God is a fair man (and a Man I am pretty sure based on my wretched 14 hour labor with Baby Uno) and He worked his magic last week when, unsuspecting, I logged on to 1stDibs and found two IDENTICAL  Adrian Pearsall chaises - destined to say "Hello Foxy!" to each other every morning from either side of my living room fireplace.

This little piggy was discovered hiding in The City of Angels!

And this little piggy was going about her business quietly in Geneva Illinois . . .

Aren't they cute together?  "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."  

Amen baby!  Coming Soon to Maison de Noise!

Progress

One great thing about being up in Tahoe whilst on a "no booze" Lent jag, you have LOTS of time to talk home design with your partner - poor, poor long suffering Gregg.

Well anyhow we made some decisions and I am most happy!  Following my inspirational trip to NYC I started updating our prototype floor plan with some real items that I had fallen in love with.

Here is the result for the living room - what do you think?  Comments are appreciated although I know many of you are struggling with the comments portion of the site - email me!

And from a different view . . 

And if you were a bird or Spiderman on my ceiling, it would look like . . .

I suspect the ceiling fixture is too small and that the lack of art and books make it a little antiseptic.  And you?

Solo in the City!

Last week I had the pleasure of spending 2 full days in New York City solo and then another 2 days with my sister! Wow!  A real luxury unmatched in the past 41 years!

I decided to spend the solo days hitting all the fabulous furniture and design stores I have been stalking, ehmmm I mean, visiting online for years via my favorite site, 1stDibs.com.


It took me almost a full hour but I actually mapped all my favorite resources on Google Maps and devised two manageable walking tours.

Note: Flats Required.

After all this work, I thought it only right to post my TripIt itinerary (great travel planning site started by a real FOX!) so my girls who may be in NYC soon (or now!), could save some time and see some hot spots.  

Downtown Store Tour for Freaky Home Design Maniacs

ABC Carpet and Home (Almost too big but inspiring especially first floor)
888 & 881 broadway at east 19th street 212 473 3000

Showplace Antique + Design Center (Yatzi!  Lots and Lots)
40 West 25th St.
New York City, NY, 10010
Phone: 212.633.6063
E-Mail: sales@nyshowplace.com

Kerson Gallery (Killer ART)
135 West 24th Street 
New York . NY 10011 . 

Todd Merrill Antiques  (Mi piace but cha ching!)
65 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012
Phone: 212-673-0531
Fax: 212-677-6068
E-Mail: tnmerrill@att.net
Phone: 212.229.2406

The Rug Company (Dear Rug Company, Please come to SF!)
88 Wooster Street
New York
NY 10012
United States
T: +1 212 274 0444

 Flair Home Collection (Fun, Affordable, Dark)
88 Grand Street
New York City, NY 10013

Duane
176 DUANE ST.
New York, NY
Phone: 212-625 8066

WYETH (expensive, serious, beautiful)
315 Spring St 212-243-3661
New York, NY, 10013
Phone: 212-243-3661
E-Mail: info@wyethome.com

 BDDW  (lindsey Adelman - BANANAS!!!)
79 Crosby Street New York NY 10012

AREA ID (Really stylish in a feminine and edgy way)
262 Elizabeth Street New York, NY 10012. USA Phone: 212-219- 9903. Fax: 212-219-9904

Uptown itinerary comes next posting!

I heart John Salibello!!!

Vote on My Floor Plans!

As part of our design process, Gregg and I enlisted the help of the fantastic Tamara Mack of TM Design and her zippy computer wiz side kick Roque (pronounced Row-Kay!  Snap!)

We love mid-century furniture but its not that widely available in San Francisco (and really expensive when it is) so we anticipate acquiring pieces from other parts of the country.

This means we will not have ability to buy things "on approval" or try them out in the space before we own them.

As much as I love my hubby,  he doesn't totally trust me on scale (sigh) or internet shopping in general (I wonder why?) sooooooo  in an effort to avoid expensive mistakes and preserve marital bliss, I had Tamara and Roque measure all our major rooms and then build 3D renderings.

With these renderings we can try out floor plans, understand ideal sizes and scale and even preview specific pieces of furniture in the room with other items.  Yahoo!!  Now we're cooking with gas!

Here are a few Living Room floor plan options using generic furniture types which we just sort of like.  Remember this room is used almost totally for entertaining and we like to host large events  to maximize seating!

Please vote and tell me which floor plan you like the best for Masion De Noise!

Option A:  Twin Loveseats By Fireplace

Option B :  With Chairs by Fireplace

Previous Incarnations

The previous owner of Maison de Noise was a very charming and beautiful San Francisco interior designer with Southern roots.

Her approach to the house was traditional and featured lots of upholstered walls, puddling silk drapes, toile and polished french antiques.  Here are a few "Before" pictures to check out . .

While this classic look was well executed, we are a young family aiming for a clean, more modern and unexpected point of view that showcases the natural bones of the house.  

How to get there?  Hmmmmmmm

Albert Farr Refreshed by Barabara Barry

I found an Architectural Digest feature about a beautiful Albert Farr designed home in Piedmont that was fully re-imagined by the fantastic interior designer Barbara Barry.  

I am so inspired by her use of a calm palate and simplified furnishings which brings this grand home straight into the 21st century with major style!  By keeping things minimal and clean, she allows the graceful proportions, impressive scale and classic architectural details to shine in the sparkling and unique Bay Area light.

We are planning a similar approach so stay tuned!  Wish Ms. Barry was in my budget to consult . . .

Here's the link to the full story on this project. Enjoy!

AD article on a Albert Farr House by Barbara Barry

Introducing the Fabulous Mr. Farr

As my close friends know, real estate (especially on line real estate) is my porn!  After years of  house hunting in San Francisco, Piedmont, Belvedere, Tiburon, Ross, Atherton, Woodside, Palo Alto and pretty much every other town I could drag my poor husband to, one thing stood out:  Albert Farr!  Consistently I fell in love with his homes.  

So when I first saw Maison de Noise, I was happy to learn that Mr. Farr was the architect. Serendipity! So here is a little information, pulled from the website of San Francisco interior designer extrordinaire Cecilie Starin Starr, about the late great Albert Farr:

Albert Farr, the architect who designed the house chosen for the 2010 San Francisco Decorator Showcase, was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1871 and was raised in Japan where his father worked to establish the postal system. He came to SF in 1890 at the age of 18.
His career began just as the First Bay Tradition began to upstage Victorian Architects, until the time Modernism began to emerge. Farr’s most famous project is Wolf house, built for Jack and Charmian London in Glen Ellen in Sonoma County. Begun in 1910, the 15,000 square foot house, two years into construction, tragically burned down in 1912, most likely due to the spontaneous combustion of linseed rags left in the house. Under-insured, London could not afford to rebuild. The ruins can be visited at the Jack London Historic State Park.

An Emerging Style: First Bay Tradition
Farr was an important architect in his own time, emerging in the early 20th century as a key part of the development of the “First Bay Tradition,” which included such greats as architects Ernest Coxhead, Willis Polk and Bernard Maybeck.

In the 1890’s and 1900’s, the First Bay Tradition, which combined styles with historical references, began to emerge. It specialized in combining vernacular in informal suburban homes and less formal city homes. Architects celebrated the awkward and rustic nature of this genre.

This combining of styles in varying periods into a look that was centered on the West Coast is what intrigued these architects. The style was not specific to a period as much as it was a study of the relationship between classic period and national styles. The juxtapositions of scale and materials would create a new paradigm that was deliberately slightly out of the norm. This odd mix of traditions was used in an unorthodox manner purposefully to convey a regionally specific look.

Farr incorporated many architectural styles into his own work that evolved over time during his 50 year career. The use of historical reference in architecture prevailed at the time and few were as adept as Farr in creating structures using such a wide variety of styles.

Albert Farr had a unique approach to his own view of this rustic Bay movement. Many examples of his works can be seen in Belvedere, Piedmont, Claremont, and Oakland, as well as San Francisco. His details include numerous gables, overhanging medieval half-timbered shingle designs with influences from Coxhead and Polk. This became a popular look that continued for many years. In fact, based on an erroneous building permit entry, the Showcase house was incorrectly attributed to Polk.



Mixing Styles and Influence
Throughout his career Albert Farr worked with Latin influences, both Spanish and Italian, using a Mediterranean vernacular years preceding the popularity of Spanish Colonial revival in the 1920’s. Mission motifs can be seen in some of his earliest works. His interpretation is subtle, inventive and unexpected.


Farr’s work is incorrectly termed “period revival.” He was interested in combining styles rather than recreating exact period works. He created styles that combined Italian baroque, French, Moorish, Gothic, Medieval, English Georgian, Tudor and more. 

Farr’s importance has gone relatively unnoticed by historians. Knowledgeable clients have always been aware of his talents. Farr retired at the beginning of WWII and his work was upstaged by the onset of Modernism. Albert Farr passed away July 12, 1947 in Piedmont after a distinctive 50-year career.

CECILIE STARIN

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Cecilie is owner of Cecilie Starin Design Inc., a high-end residential full-service interior design firm that works with clients in San Francisco, Marin County, Napa and the Peninsula. She has participated in four San Francisco Decorator Showcases, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. She brings a painter’s eye to all of her projects. For her, every room is a still life. Her studies in fine arts and years of travel and design in the fashion industry come together in her global eclectic mix that is refined yet fresh; the studied timelessness of comfortable classicism.

New House!