The "Don't Miss" Event of the Season: DINING BY DESIGN San Francisco

The most exciting and glamorous designer event of the year in San Francisco is coming soon! For an inspiring and magical evening don't miss DINING BY DESIGN , co-produced by DIFFA and the AIDS Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco, this November.

The Gala Dinner (formal and fabulous!) is Thursday, November 19 and the Table Hop & Taste (fun cocktail party!) is Wednesday, November 18. Get your tickets now so you don't miss out on an evening or two at the glamorous Galleria in the San Francisco Design Center!

Photo of Table

Designed by Martha Angus

for the Gump's Preview Party this week

Courtesy of the wonderful and gorgeous

Chic Coles blog!

I can tell you from my own personal experience (I designed a table for the event) that this is a unique and magical extravaganza.

This signature fundraising event showcases the most inspired dining installations created by a talented and intriguing cast of designer, architects, personalities and artists. You will not be disappointed.

DINING BY DESIGN travels through eight US cities and has granted more than $38 million for the fight against HIV/AIDS. DINING BY DESIGN in San Francisco benefits the UCSF Positive Health Program (PHP) at San Francisco General Hospital.

What I love about this is that the programs developed to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS here ultimately benefit poverty-stricken populations in the most wretched areas of the developing world also.

So you see, you can't go wrong! See you there, on the side of the angels!

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We are again this year donating a few days at our family's seaside Mexican villa, Casa Gala in Sayulita, to the Silent Auction....you'll want to bid on this wonderfully relaxing and enchanting holiday!

Casa Gala, Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico

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CONTACT:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Hello Coloradans ....

...I have a gift for you.

This is what {the geologic map of} Colorado looks like underneath all that snow and ice you're getting! and I think it's cool enough to frame and hang on the wall! I hope the lovely colors banish all that grey and white gloom for you!

{I'm hoping you have your Colorado sunshine back soon!}

Geological Map of Colorado

by Ogden Tweto

(it's 42' x 50" and cost me $10.95...hey, you could use it as wallpaper!)

Some Gorgeous Zoffany Paint Colors

That Would Accent Map Beautifully!

The View From Someone's Porch Today!

from the Denver Post

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CONTACT:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

There's Magic Afoot in St. Helena!

In Napa Valley the other day, and I had the good fortune to catch the brilliant and creative Daniel Hale and his wife Christine in their amazing home/studio in St. Helena, nestled among the vineyards west of the village.

If I thought I had seen repurposing before, this is transformative magic. In the hands of this skilled artisinal architect the humblest of old cast off materials is transformed into elegant, spare and chic-in-spite-of-himself details, finishes and furnishings.

A Whimsical Bird Sculpture Stands in Front of

Reclaimed Galvanized Fencing

A Door Made From Cast-Off Wooden Fencing

A Canoe Shaped Chandelier Made From Found Wood

This Charming Clock is Daniel's Design, and Reminds Me

of the Charm of Picasso's Satyr Paintings

Another Door Made From Wood Used

Exactly as it Was Found

The Guest Bedroom; Transluscent Plaster Walls, a Headboard

Made and Decorated by Daniel, Christine's French Linens

The Headboard With Fanciful, Hieroglyphic-like Designs

A Sculpture Made From Found Wood for Pedestal

and An Old Iron Hoop

Christine's Inviting Old French Linens Furnish the Sofa Daniel

Crafted from Crating Material

These Angel's Wings Arrived From a Friend

Who Knew Daniel Could Work Magic With Them!

The Approach to Daniel and Christine's Home in St. Helena, Napa

Trained in architecture on the east coast, Daniel's aesthetic was honed by living two years in St. Remy, in the south of France, where he and Christine moved their brood of three children and set up home. Christine spent time gathering lovely old French linens that she has put to good use as upholstery, pillows and bedding for their home in St. Helena.

The home they are creating for themselves is stunning, spare, modern and completely unique. It's clad in beautifully worked plaster that Daniel insisted be mixed with the local dirt so the color would blend perfectly with the land. Situated at the end of the road in the vineyards, the home is open to the views on both sides; large sliding doors are integral to the design. From the great room you can see vineyards in either direction. The imaginative layout includes a dining room "peninsula" that is open to the air and yet sheltered from the heat and the rain. The guest suite is up a flight of stairs in the style of the "pigeonnier" found in the old bastides in France...vaulted ceiling and lovely, high views.

Every single detail, from the refreshingly scaled and liveable floorplan to the elegant and spare materials, to the artistic and creative detailing is a unique synthesis of his creativity and the salvage he finds. Daniel uses what he finds around him to build his walls, his doors, his windows, his furnishings, his art.

In this magical home you will see life as it is meant to be lived: open to the outdoors visually and literally, a work of love in progress, and a place that supports their life work of creating beautiful living spaces and things out of found objects.

See Daniel's Blog: Serendipity Rising and Website

All Photos (except Bird Sculpture) Taken by Kit Golson

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CONTACT:

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Orange & Blue...Suddenly New!

Orange paired with blue is everywhere these days. Although the combination of these two strong colors is not for everyone, there is no question that a little orange adds a lot of energy and zing to a room.

When orange is used with blue, a good bit of white should be part of the design plan, too. That makes it very fresh and appealing. Here's how George Smith does it:

A George Smith Orange Linen Print

A Classic George Smith Chair in Orange

A George Smith Linen in Blue Print

And here are two rooms using Harlequin fabrics and wallpapers:

I Love This White Sofa With Orange and Blue Pillows!

A Modern Fresh Take On Orange and Blue

From My Collection of Fabrics: French Jacquard in Orange &

Ancient Toile de Jouey in Blue

Que pense tu?

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Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Hello Girlfriends...You Might Like It Here!

You know, I don't know, it's just a feeling....I could be wrong,

but I'm guessing...women live here, right?

all photos courtesy Harlequin

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Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

The Romantic Soul of Stanford University

Inspired by her travels to the Piazza San Marco in Venice, and built by Jane Stanford in 1903 as a memorial to her husband, the Memorial Chapel is the irresistibly romantic soul of one of the most innovative and intellectual centers for the development of modern, high technology.

Built in a period of American eclecticism, the Chapel is Romanesque in form with semi-circular arches, symmetry and massive quality; yet Byzantine in detail, with extensive mosaics and foliate stone carvings. The original building featured a huge quatrefoil window in its facade, which was damaged in the earthquake of 1906, and subsequently replaced with the arched window we see today.

Gorgeous Mosaics by Venetian Artist

Maurizio Camerino Adorn the Facade

(this gorgeous photo is by Jill Clardy; the rest of the photos below were taken

by me with my iPhone while I waited for a friend)

Foliated Stone Carved Arches and Mosaics of the Facade

Ornate Entry Doorway

Foliated Stone Carved Quatrefoil in the Interior

Memorial Plaque and Detail of Mosaics of the Facade

Flowers Arrangement by my friend Robert Fountain Greets Visitors

If you live in Silicon Valley, you have undoubtedly seen the Stanford Campus with its magnificent architecture, beautiful and natural landscaping, and its Cantor Arts Center and Rodin Sculpture Garden. Go have lunch at the Cantor Cafe, visit the museum and marvel at the collection; then wander through the grounds for a lovely way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in Palo Alto.

Then reflect for a moment: you are reading this blog on the internet largely because of the ingenious creativity of the brilliant minds right here at Stanford University. Go visit its soul.

The Gates of Hell, Rodin Sculpture Garden, Cantor Arts Center

The Burghers of Calais, Rodin Sculpture Garden, Cantor Arts Center

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Lonny: Lovely, Exquisite, Accessible, If Not Exactly Tactile

You've undoubtedly heard already about Lonny Magazine, the amazing, wonderful, appetizing new online only magazine that somehow fills the (cyber) soul where Domino left off. Check it out here.

It's full of fabulous design ideas and is instantly addicting (if a little difficult to navigate, but I am sure the smart people over there at Lonny will be tweaking a few things to make that a little smoother). And it's (so far) free! ENJOY!

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Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

These Pumpkins Are Too Glam For Words!

But they weren't always that way.

When all sixty of them arrived in a big brown box, disheveled and shaken up in the truck ride over the hills from Half Moon Bay, you could almost hear the indignation, stamping off dust and straightening up their stems before looking around to see just where on earth they had been so rudely carted off. Harrumph!

Lined Up and Waiting

the Day Before the Big Event

"What is the Meaning of All This...

and *sniff*..a WATERMELON Box??"

There was almost an audible sigh of relief when they learned that they had been brought in to the very lovely Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills for starring roles as centerpieces for the annual fundraising dinner with 375 esteemed guests. (Those olive groves...are we in the south of France??)

Follow along as we watch their transformation into gilded, cradled, and, dare we say pampered, petites choux!

The Entry Sign Alongside the Olive Groves

The Tent Set Up Awaiting 35 Tables and 350 Guests

Centerpieces Starring the Humble Pumpkin

the Day Before the Big Event

Amazing How a Little "Bling" Can Even Make a Pumpkin Smile!

This Little Pumpkin Looks Quite Contentedly Cradled

The Big Night: Centerpieces Starring the Humble Pumpkin

on the 35 Tables for Ten Guests Each

The Fence at the Dana Center, Hidden Villa

The dinner was a huge success, raising funds and creating goodwill for this wonderful nonprofit center of sustainable and organic farming 40 miles south of San Francisco. I was happy to design this event for such a uniquely worthwhile venture. Hidden Villa's mission as a nonprofit educational organization is to use organic farm, wilderness and community to teach and provide opportunities to learn about the environment and social justice.

Please visit Hidden Villa to become involved or to make a donation! And if you live in the Bay Area, go visit, bring your kids. You'll love it!

Your Mother Earth will thank you, and those little pumpkins will not have dressed to the "nines" in vain!

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Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design