How The Men Do Antiques: Coup d'État

If revolution is in the air, then ground zero for establishing a new order in the world of antiques and interior design is surely Coup d'État * in San Francisco. This cutting edge point of view is expressed in overscale, unlikely pieces recouped from the industrial salvage yard, given a bit of polish (maybe) and a functional lift, then placed in spaces alongside interpretations of the classical and the modern.

Visiting the Potrero Hill showroom is a bit like entering the collective movie sets of Eyes Wide Shut, all the Harry Potters, Around the World in Eighty Days, Clan of the Cave Bear, and Alice in Wonderland. You will not see the gentility of Scalamandré and deGournay fabrics and wallpapers here, not even a whiff of Minimalism, Queen Ann, French Country, nor the whites and greiges of Gustavian chic. There is nothing delicate or spare in this repertoire. There is a lot of muscle in this Industrial Antique Recoup look.

Yet the genius of this showroom are incredibly intimate settings that invite touch and lingering. I think there is a lesson here for us designers to carefully and deliberately use texture, symmetry, lighting and comfort to invite people to draw in close to each other, to gather around face to face. It's a big scary world out there! Let's cozy up together.

such talent and vision to create an Art Deco setting

from rusting industrial salvage!

a surprising and stunningly feminime

lacy Venetian mirror is found in one corner

Beowulf meets Industrial Art Deco

could you cozy up to this sculpture

in your living room :)

the San Francisco shipyard is the source for

this dining table with nailhead detailing

no simple antelope antlers adorn this wall... half of

the animal is literally leaping into your room

and yet, the huge scale of the potted ponderosa pine creates

a desire to group together beneath its boughs and gather

around the antique kilim stools and the red wine velvet linen sofa

the perennially beloved sphere above the

jewelmakers' table cut into amoeba-like shape,

surrounded by reinterpreted klismos and wing chairs

a nod to the prosaic: green and blue pottery ware... but

displayed on a grand scale

no ordinary wing chairs, these could have seated

Captain Nemo on his day off

Coup d'État

Darin Geise, owner

111 Rhode Island Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

415-241-9300

* A coup d'état (English: /ˌkuːdeɪˈtɑː/, French: [ku deta]; plural: coups d'état)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow

Midsummer in the Forest

She had always wanted a home of her own, a sweet sanctuary she could furnish with lovingly chosen things that didn't cost the earth. She wanted to create a small visual feast just for herself and to have things exactly how she wanted. So she found an old hunting cabin deep in the forest and transformed it into her little haven:

once a neglected old hunting hut, now

transformed with Victoriana and white paint

she made every square inch count, from the

bookshelves under the eaves to the

wire-front cupboards

a downy sleeping loft under the rafters

the simplest of arrangements: foliage from the

forest tucked into clear glass containers of all kinds

those raspberry colored mud boots could not be

more charming on the little front porch

see the enchanting story of how she used salvaged, found

things to create her tiny Victorian cottage in the Catskills on

a shoestring..it's a fascinating story!

The New York Times

perhaps a midsummer's celebration

in the forest? what shall we

choose for dessert?

apricot ice cream with

nut crust?

violette cassis ice cream?

petits choux?

berry meringue tarts with mint?

rhubarb sables with strawberries

and orange?

recipes here at Marie Claire Maison

(in French, you'll have to get

Bardot in Blue to translate them, she just finished school

in Paris last month!!)

A Fireplace Makeover: A Small Before & After

The client had inherited a flush marble tile faced fireplace with no mantel. Stopgap measures included experimenting with a unique screen (didn't go too far!) and settling for hanging a couple of oil paintings from France over the opening and hoping it didn't attract too much attention to itself.

fireplace, afterwards

With tiny budget, we were able to create an elegant fireplace surround and mantel, and place a wonderful Empire style gilt mirror over the mantel. We bought the mirror at a local thrift store for $12.00, then with a few cents' worth of gesso and $9.00 in gold leaf from Michael's, we created a gorgeous gold-leafed mirror for $21.00. A friend arrived and guessed the mirror had cost $1200 so we knew we had succeeded!

The mantel was found at the local building materials salvage yard for $75.00. It was sanded and prepped for priming and painting, then mounted on the fireplace surround for a perfect fit and a wonderful nod to Louis XV in design.

Total cost: Mirror: $21.00, Mantel $75 plus paint and labor to attach to wall (about $125 here in the Bay Area) Total: $221. and change.

What do you think?

fireplace, before

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in 2010, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

The Magical Land of Flora Grubb

a seating area with bright orange metal chairs next to

signature Flora Grubb pots and palms

On the prowl with one of my hippest young clients for cool, repurposed & floral items to anchor a wedding design, in the early morning mists and fogs south of San Francisco today, we found ourselves lost for hours in the magical land of Flora Grubb.

It's quite possible that I am hopelessly un-hip, or at least the very last person on the planet to discover Flora Grubb. But that's OK. It's still an experience of wonderment and awe, and worth blogging about!

You know you are somewhere very cool when you spot an old bicycle planted (somehow!) with air plants & succulents and suspended over an old reclaimed zinc-top table, looking for all the world like the Wicked Witch of the West had just hopped off of it and left it in mid-air when she stepped inside for her organic latte with The Mad Hatter. It's that kind of place.

succulents and old suguaro plants

accented with red ceramics create a

stunning entryway

cool planting table in front

of inviting green shutters

I love this blue orb set among the succulents!

a cool tile that could work for a cheese plate in

a rustic-chic setting

these plates have the look of

botanical etchings, wonderful!

inviting and colorful bistro set

on one of the garden pathways

another view down the garden path

a very cool blue chair with modern

lines invites a little respite in the garden

if you like the metal furniture, choose your favorite

from the wall and take it home today

blue chairs face the wonderful

coffee bar inside

sinuous concrete chaises for your

outdoors

concrete and redwood table is lovely

contrast to the lacy air plants

this rusty old Chevy Impala has an

ongoing life as a whimsical (not for everyone!)

planter in the quixotic garden

Lady Flora herself...a delightful

and charming creator of gardens!

When you get past the astonishing huge installations (that's really the only word for her artistic plant, artifact and salvage vignettes) and vertical green wall gardens (all the rage these days...and much easier to achieve than the green roof) scattered over the large, botanical-gardens-like outdoors, your eye will also find exquisite details and furniture. This is not your old Smith & Hawkins!

Wandering the pathways in her gardens you will see a vintage 60's Chevy Impala gently rusting away as one of (surely) the world's most unique planters. You can meander up to the coffee bar and request the barista make you one of the best espresso drinks around, then take in the scene sitting at the whimsical Caribbean pastel bistro chairs and tables while you admire every little detail. There's a lot to take in.

While we decided not every bride would choose this much drama and originality for her wedding, some elements would work beautifully for that rustic-chic wedding up in Sonoma or a wild Pacific coast setting.

This is the domain of the landscape artist and not to be missed by anyone with an eye for design and beautiful, exotic vignettes. Although the living green walls have a certain portability about them, most of these amazing plantings are well-suited for the long haul, enhancing a space on a permanent basis.

Flora Grubb Gardens

1634 Jerrold Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94124

415.648.2670

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in 2010, it's:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design