Here’s a real, live, high-end design for less.

We got fantastic feedback on the story about Marsh & Clark’s elegant and contemporary powder room design for the 2009 San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

I was thrilled when Stephanie Marsh Fillbrandt wrote me about another version of the room they recently completed. Here’s the new room:

Photographs by Elisabeth Fall

As you’ll recall, the original room featured an incredible stone [...] Read more »

When interior designer Debbie Wiener makes over a room, her goal is twofold: 1) To create a beautiful environment that people are pleased to be in and 2) To “Slobproof” it. Debbie coined the term Slobproof to describe her philosophy of designing with families and pets in mind.

Here’s a living room that Debbie recently decorated. The room before was bland and lacked the warmth of [...] Read more »

Renovation of a 1940’s Kitchen

What happens when you’re born to cook, but your kitchen isn’t? That was the case for the woman who hangs her apron in this beautiful Southern California, Spanish Colonial Revival home.

The existing kitchen had vintage 40’s charm—but its style was not in keeping with the home’s architecture or with its rich color palette.

And it was far from convenient for a [...] Read more »

Color is powerful. Even if you prefer your rooms anchored in neutral tones, you can achieve an enormous impact with colorful accessories.

Bath After

See what Dallas Designer Cristie Schlosser, ASID, did with this kitchen and bath renovation. First, check out the Before and Afters of the striking transformation.

Bath Before

Kitchen Before

In the resulting contemporary spaces, Cristie used neutral-toned finishes, accented with pops of bright color in the [...] Read more »

by Cristie Schlosser

Today we are treated with a Guest Post by designer Cristie Schlosser, ASID of

Dallas, Texas.

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Color catches the eye and moves you visually through space.

It’s a great accent and can be used with neutrals to make a splash. There are several ways to introduce color; one of these is with artwork and saturated colors used in unexpected areas.

My clients called me and [...] Read more »

Designer Nancy Van Natta brought a room in the sky back down to earth. Van Natta’s dining room for the Icons of Design at San Francisco’s Millennium Tower is an aerie saturated in comfort.

Other rooms in the space have jaw-dropping views of the San Francisco Bay and surrounding city, but this room is different. “I wanted it to be an intimate and cozy nest in [...] Read more »

Built-in cabinetry can add storage and charm to a space. Case in point? This San Francisco bungalow dining room.

Before

“The clients wanted a space to store their large collection of books, collections from travels, linens, and personal photographs,” said designer Jennifer Jones.

After

“The room is a generous size for a dining area (compared to the rest of the house) so it made sense to design built-ins [...] Read more »

What’s one way to add drama to a masculine space? Ground the rooms with graphic area rugs. That’s what Jennifer Jones did with the living and dining rooms she designed for a San Francisco bachelor/CEO.

“Using graphic area rugs in both spaces was a fun way to tie the rooms together conceptually,” said Jones. “They bring pattern and movement to the rooms, creating [...] Read more »

by Susan Serra, CKD

Once again, today we are joined by Kitchen Design Expert and Contributor, Susan Serra, CKD. Known to many as “The Kitchen Designer” for her popular blog, Susan is an award-winning Certified Kitchen Designer, with a national clientele.

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The social kitchen has an important role to play in the home every day, under so many different scenarios. Whether it is two people sitting down [...] Read more »

One way to add graphic punch and sparkle to a space is by creating simple grid and block patterns in glass tile, like these in bathrooms by designer Valerie Borden of Chimera Interior Design.

Recently, Valerie and I discussed how she developed the designs and how you might get a similar impact in your space.

HomeWorkshop (HW): What inspired the tile colors and design in the [...] Read more »

How do you design an understated room that entices?

Anchor the space with captivating, sculptural shapes. Layer in calming, neutral tones and natural textures, and pepper with shots of color. That’s how San Francisco Designer Will Wick crafted this living room for a Presidio Heights family.

“The first couple of pieces…purchased to start the design were Wassily chairs and Chista lamp,” said Wick. “Both of [...] Read more »

Single family home in a great neighborhood near a Southern California beach. Sounds fabulous, right? But if the space feels humdrum and cramped, who wants to hang out and entertain there?

Before

After

With their renovation in this Hermosa Beach abode, Hornbeck Design Partners undertook transforming the tight, cold and uninviting kitchen, dining and living space into a stylish, contemporary and welcoming environment for the homeowner and his [...] Read more »

Home Decor Drives Nursery Decor

A Room that will Last and Grow

A Comfortable “Mini Apartment”

Interesting, Personalized Artwork

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The other day, I had a great conversation about nursery decor and design with acclaimed designer and southern gentleman Kenneth Brown. The host of HGTV’s reDesign, new dad Kenneth spends plenty of time in his own baby daughter Harper’s nursery.

Kenneth’s clientele for his celebrated Los Angeles design firm, Kenneth [...] Read more »

Enter a powder room and be transported into another world? Not usually. But that’s how it felt when I stepped into the multimedia space that Faiella Design created for the San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

Photographs by Chi Fang.

A dark, moody hue enveloped me. Calming, spa-like chimes wafted through the air. And what’s this? A dance of color and light on the ceiling.

The small room was [...] Read more »

Every room has its challenges. But what if your challenge is a fantastic view? I mean a breathtaking, page-from-a-coffee-table-book view. How do you design a room that embraces and complements such a view?

Photographs by Caren Alpert. Special thanks to Diane Horne.

That’s what designer Heather Hilliard faced when she took on the Penthouse floor at this year’s San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

Spectacular Golden Gate Bridge and [...] Read more »