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

Hidden Villa: Humanitarian Awards Dinner

could anything be more appealing than

this beautiful chioggia beet?

The Duveneck family were on the side of the angels a long, long time ago. In 1924 they established a self-sustaining organic farm as an educational center and invited multi-racial children to the summer camps they started in 1945. This is the incredible legacy and mandate for Hidden Villa today.

It was an honor to head the Decorating Committee for the annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner for 350 tented outside under the stars this last weekend in the hills west of Palo Alto, California.

With an almost non-existent budget for decorations, we naturally turned to the Farm itself as a source to interpret this year's theme, Deep Roots, New Shoots, and used our own farm-grown products: olive tree branches, chioggia beets, organic carrots, sunflowers, zinnias, amaranth for the centerpieces. We asked the board members, staff and decorations committee to collect old bottles. We were able to use those as single-stem-vases, jumping on that hot trend. A cornstalk turned roots-up became a holder for the table numbers.

We were thrilled to witness the incredible honorees Chris Bischof & Helen Kim, Eboo Patel, and Susan, Franklin, Katherine, David & Katy Orr receive the distinguished Humanitarian Awards that evening over our farm-cultivated gourmet feast and fine wines.

Plan to join us next year! and in the meantime, be sure to visit Hidden Villa, in person or online. You will be impressed and grateful to know there is an organization that cares so deeply about our culture, our children, and our mother earth.

And, you can get fresh, organic vegetables every week next summer if you sign up early enough!

the theme: Deep Roots, New Shoots inspired us

to use farm produce in the centerpieces

the big tent the afternoon before the dinner

tables are just about ready for the evening festivities

our artistic "melange" of farm-grown

flowers and vegetables;

we wanted a simple presentation

we notched the upturned cornstalk and

let the roots anchor the centerpiece while

holding the table number

the second tent looks so cool and inviting before

we set up the silent auction items

***

A Little Tour Around

a pathway leading to the old stagecoach stop

the old stagecoach house now houses summer interns

from all over the world

a peaceful, pastoral scene

the Duveneck residence built in 1924, now center

for Hidden Villa staff and events, including weddings!

the roadway meanders through the farm pastures,

gardens, buildings with gorgeous views all around

gorgeous zinnias grown on the farm!

{from Kit}

linked to Between Naps on the Porch

Vintage Navajo Rug: UpCycle-able?

I was quite distraught about this.....

valuable vintage Navajo Rug of mine that

got damaged in storage

estimates to repair the damage were in the

thousands of $$$

...until I saw these!

really fun sofa and chair upholstered

in antique Tunisian kilim fragments...

very chic in this room!

from Cote Maison

none other than the beloved French interior designer Madelaine Castaing

loved these tribal rugs too and used them with abandon!

from Jeanne-Aelia, my dear friend at Through the French Eye of Design

French designer Pierre Yovanovitch used kilim remnants

to add texture and drama to a simple interior

from remodelista

a very "kilim-like" Missoni fabric upholstering the

venerable Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman

from 3rings

Now there isn't an ottoman or chair anywhere that's safe with me! Wouldn't my damaged rug look fabulous as a pouf? or covering a clean-lined modern chair like this one?

What do you think? Ideas, please, brilliant readers!!

{from Kit}

A Simple Summer Backyard Wedding à la Chic Provence

The appeal of the backyard wedding is stronger than ever. Brides today want to have their weddings in unique, personalized and..yes, less expensive settings. So, rather than rent the magnificent hotel ballroom or the caves at the local winery, if the backyard has some nice features and lends itself to a little sprucing up and has enough elbowroom for guests, it’s the perfect solution!

Pear & Pepper Fine Events and Catering asked me to designed this small, intimate and very chic wedding setting for an upcoming bride to see an example of just how charming and effective a backyard wedding can be. She was enchanted, P&P was happy, and she booked us both for the wedding!

For an early evening wedding, nothing is more glamorous than

flickering tea lights casting a soft glow on crystal,

silver, shimmering table linens and beautiful flowers. Don't you agree?

The centerpiece is a simple and elegant arrangement of vintage bottles

on a footed silver tray with a different flower stem in each..

very effective, charming and doesn't cost the earth!

Pear and Pepper designed this pitch perfect menu of delicious

Provencal dishes for the small wedding. The amazing

Provencal wines they chose will accompany each course. Yum!

Because the wedding is small..24 guests..we used gorgeous

dishes, glassware and napkins from Anthropologie for the settings.

The bride is thrilled to keep these lovely items for

her new home. And with the money she saves by having

a backyard wedding, she can keep all 24 settings, or give as

gifts to her bridal party. Notice the plums from the tree?

It's a signature of Chic Provence event design to use things from

nature whenever the opportunity presents itself!

A richness is created by the textures and jewel tones of the

patterned champagne and small tumblers (here used for tea lights), the

Ikat patterned napkins, the rich tones of the flowers and

the plum color of the ..well, plums from the tree!

This version is a little different; the cloches are placed on each plate and

the ikat napkins are hanging to show off their lovely design. We tried this

version earlier in the afternoon and decided the look just didn't work.

That's the fun part of design..it's always a process!

Although I designed the center table only, we Photoshopped in two more

tables to give the bride a realistic view of

three 48" square tables, each seating eight people.

We think we like the

"Louis Ghost" chairs (not sure). Do you?

A sheer lavender layer over old French linen tablecloths

is the perfect color for anchoring our scheme.

***

inspiration pieces: the rich purple votives,

and the bottle arrangement centerpieces we are designing

for a large fundraiser in the fall

***

some photos by Kit and the better ones by

Chris Golson Photography!