Its been a wonderful Easter long weekend here in Hong Kong, warm, but a little on the overcast side. If only I had a place like like this to hide out in until the good weather arrives…
I think San Francisco based designer Steven Volpe might just be my new favorite designer. His work ticks all the boxes for me. This particular home, which was featured in the latest US Architectural Digest, is amazing. I’m personally not keen on the faux neo-classical outside of the building, but Volpe has updated the inside of it perfectly. The interior is clean and minimal and every last detail has been distilled down to its very essence.
Let’s start with the entry. Imagine coming home through those doors every night..!? They’re heavenly. As is the Anish Kapoor sculpture (on the right), and the Ado Chale table (centre)…and the list goes on…
The dining room, with its Zaha Hadid dining table, is stunning in its simplicity. Interestingly though, the artwork in this image is different to the piece photographed for the AD shoot. I think I prefer this piece…what do you think?
And then there’s the lounge. I love the minimal detail around the inset bookshelves. Is that bronze? The shot of colour at the back is simple but effective. And if you’re going to have a billiard table, why not have one restored from 1915… seriously, I think I’m in love.
Photos from Steven Volpe’s website, feature in AD was photographed by Pieter Estersohn.
I am so excited to be able to share with you a sneak peek of the as yet unpublished Fairmont San Francisco Penthouse. The iconic suite, which has been recently revitalized by Alexandra Champalimaud and her team, is 6,000 sq ft of pure luxury.
Ten times larger than the average apartment here in Hong Kong, the suite spans the entire eight floor of the building and consists of three large bedrooms, a living room with grand piano, a formal dining room able to seat 60 people, a kitchen, a two-story library, a billiard room, and an expansive terrace with sweeping views of San Francisco.
On top of all these amazing features, the suite is also home to an impressive art collection featuring original works by David Hockney and other contemporary artists as well as a grouping of exquisite Chinese porcelain vases.
If that’s not enough to impress you, the world’s elite have called The Penthouse home. President John F. Kennedy, Prince Charles of Wales, Mikhail Gorbachev, King Hussein of Jordan, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands as well as Mick Jagger, Elton John, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and Marlene Dietrich are just a few of the suite’s famous guests since it opened to the public.
About the spectacular suite, Champalimaud says “The Penthouse of The Fairmont San Francisco is like no other hotel suite. This mansion in the sky is a perfect example of the grand and richly detailed residences that were built for families of San Francisco’s great fortunes almost a century ago. In designing The Penthouse, we have inherited a rich history and the eclectic and sophisticated tastes of the suite’s original owners and those who lived here”.
One of the three bedrooms in the Penthouse, this one is utterly beautiful. The colours are so fresh and calming, and the mix is classic and completely timeless.
The living room…I am absolutely in love with it! The colours are beautiful, as are the subtle details and the mix of antique and modern furnishings.
Can you imagine 60 of your closest friends in this room for a night? That’s a recipe for one hell of a dinner party if you ask me!
The two-story circular library crowned by a rotunda where a celestial map is rendered in gold leaf against a sapphire sky. A secret passageway concealed behind bookshelves on the library’s second floor lends a sense of intrigue to the historic suite.
The billiard room covered in Persian tile from floor to vaulted ceiling. The Moorish details in this room were inspired by the original designer of the suite, Arthur Upham Pope, a pioneering scholar on Persian art and architecture.
The suite’s terrace with enviable views of San Francisco. I certainly wouldn’t mind sitting out here with a gin & tonic on a nice night! What do you think?
All images taken by Matthew Millman, care of Champalimaud design.
I’m so pleased to be able to share with you some images of the recent San Francisco Decorator Showcase…a beautiful tower attic created by Benjamin Dhong.
For Dhong’s third year of participating in the showcase he created a cool, calm and serene space that was inspired by a chic Parisian garret. The tower attic has deep dormer windows, deep sloping eaves and a killer view of the Golden Gate bridge. Sounds (and looks) divine!
The room has been painted with a very subtle mural by decorative artist Linda Horning which gives the feeling of being surround by fog or clouds (a nice change from the feeling of being surrounded by smog, like I am here!)
In Dhong’s own words, “the room is swathed in a cocoon of monochromatic taupes and greys. The pop of color comes from the most incredibly chic combination of silver and various shades of teal and blue”. A very chic combination indeed.
The combination of furniture and objet d’art is also pretty chic I think, an egg chair covered in silk velvet, vintage Fortuny fabric cushions, the zebra rug, a bone marquetry side table, that Giacometti lamp (in silver!). AND those stunning gilt edge brackets (those are from Quatrain by the way). Yum.
The combination of colours and furniture is absolute perfection. I would kill to have an attic like this one day to go hide in and read – how heavenly!
The creator of this beautiful space, Benjamin Dhong, looking very dapper, and completely colour co-ordinated!