Author: malik@mondaylovesyou.com

Meet Paul Wiseman

The list of Bay Area designers who command global recognition, industry acknowledgement and universal respect from peers and clients alike can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Paul Wiseman is a member of that select club. With a client roster that includes the rich, the powerful, the connected and the common person, his creations provide the setting for the contented lifestyle of the homeowner and, in many cases, serve as a stage for the coffee klatch gathering of the nation’s political, business and artistic elite.  As with all who occupy luminary status within their professional communities, he exudes the style, taste, confidence and opinion of the Renaissance man that he is – without the affectation that traditionally accompanies the appellation. Accomplished cook and gardener, this extraverted sensualist thrives on a Bacchanalian energy – touching, tasting, feeling, doing — that dictates when too much is just enough.

On the early years and living the peripatetic lifestyle
I was raised in the Sacramento Delta in a farming community. My father was a plant pathologist and an entomologist who owned an Ag Chemical business.  My mother taught English and Home Economics.  I attended public schools in the Delta before attending UC Davis where I pursued a Liberal Arts degree. That tertiary schooling was broken up by life-changing bouts of extended travel to Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia.

After my overseas sojourns, I took pre-Law at UC Berkeley, and hated every minute of it. It was time to get a job. I began by selling office furniture; followed by a showroom manager’s position; followed by an outside rep position with S.M. Hexter fabric company; followed by time spent with Robert Hering Associates and Winfield Windsor antiques. Not to mention a sabbatical in Paris and a stint designing window displays for my good friend Sue Fisher King on Sacramento Street. That 5-year period of my life served as an irreplaceable apprenticeship in design, fabrics and antiques, not to mention good-old selling technique.

On becoming a designer
A great patron and mentor to me all of my life convinced me to not buy a car and stereo like all the other kids, but go to Europe instead.  So, the day after I graduated, I went to Europe for three months on $5 a day, and that changed my life. That’s when I became passionate about architecture and art. I was able to connect the dots — Italian architecture, English architecture, German architecture — all of a sudden, it made sense — right down to what we call Spanish Colonial here in California.

The Floating Bedroom designed by the late Ricardo Legorreta (Luis Barragán’s protégé).
Completely private oasis on the Big Island of Hawaii.

On developing his aesthetic sense
I distinctly recall trekking through Bhutan. We kept walking through villages, crossing a bridge and there would be three houses here, two there, and one over here.  It was like a perfectly-decided pattern.  I asked my guide, “Why is everything so perfect?”  To which he replied, “You’re only allowed to build Bhutanese architecture, and you can’t put your house anywhere until a feng shui expert approves of the energy of the site.”  That formed an indelible impression upon me in terms of appropriateness and connectiveness.

We don’t have a look. There is a TWG standard — which is quality and appropriateness. People have identified our work not by what it looked like, but by the fact that it was so well pulled together. It reflected “relationship”. The house looked like it belonged to the client. A room and everything in it must offer comfort. Otherwise it’s not a home, it’s a museum. And it must be appropriate for the client’s lifestyle.  You don’t design an all-white house for someone with a large dog or a three-year-old.  Don’t try to build Versailles in Malibu.  I always hate it when I see these super traditional Mario Buatta houses in Palm Beach.  Excuse me!  That’s the Tropics.  Why would you have that?  It makes no sense.  

On the foundation and development of The Wiseman Group
One of my employers gave me the unexpected news that “I’m going to fire you because you’re making too much money.” That hurt. But not for long. Soon after, two of his clients found me and said, “Oh, we wondered where you went.  Why don’t you work for us?”  I had $600 to my name which was enough for a Selectric typewriter and a business license.  They were my first two clients, and by the early 80’s I was truly on my own.

I can honestly say that, based on our clients and projects, we are considered to be one of the top design firms in the country, and one of the largest. We’re currently undertaking projects all over the world including Paris, London, Tokyo, Cambodia, and Cape Town. And our portfolio extends well beyond design into custom furnishing and advisory services for antiques, art, rare objects and special collections. We’re also designing the aesthetics for our first yacht, a 200 ft. exploration ship.

Salesforce has been a client for a number of years. They have asked us to put our touch on all of their commercial work — the Salesforce Worldwide Vision. We’re working on a residential look for their corporate environment. Ultimately, we want to expand more fully into corporate work, but only as a separate entity. We’ll never mix our residential and commercial business.

Dining Terrace and adjacent hot tub on the Big Island of Hawaii. Architecture by Ricardo Legorreta.
All furniture custom designed by The Wiseman Group.

On how he works
I’m a firm believer that your home is a reflection of you.  If you want to be unique, you need to have unique things.  Art and custom furniture are the best ways to reflect that uniqueness. The trouble is in getting it (custom furniture) made. I love working with artisans because they have the technical skills to manifest my dream. But it’s becoming more and more difficult because our vendors are having to leave the Bay Area because of affordability issues.

There are patterns in life.  Some people are fearful.  Some people are prideful.  Those are the motivating forces that make people do things.  I’m a fear-based person.  “The phone will never ring again!  Oh, My God!” I’ve found that I’m actually not afraid of very much. But ironically, fear is still my motivation.  Fear that I didn’t do a good job.  Fear that they won’t like it.   

I’m a committed gardener, because among other things, it reminds me of change. It’s meditation for me.  Buddhists have a great saying, “Chop wood.  Carry water.” When the monkey mind needs to be calmed, pull a weed, prune, trim, water, nurture — become the “constant gardener”.  A garden doesn’t wait for you.  You have to constantly be attentive.

I will not take a design project without giving serious consideration to what’s outside. That’s why I really insist that the clients and the landscape designer work with me. It’s about making sure we’re all on the same page about what the general aesthetics should be. There’s nothing worse than having a Zen interior and an English garden out the window.  

On projects that excite
I’m working on a ski house for one of my clients up in Tahoe with renowned architect Peter Bohlin, who designed the Apple stores. We’re also doing our first project with Frank Gehry for one of our clients. It’s his first northern California home — a 16,000 square foot house.

The project that remains imbedded in my memory is the multi-million dollar estate that I designed in partnership with architect Ricardo Legorreta. It encompassed buying trips in Indonesia and Hong Kong; a stunning floating bedroom; Indonesian lanterns — solid pieces of teak anchored in stone; 500-year-old Chinese Ming panels; a unique bronze coffee table. There was never a quibble about cost. 

On mentors he reveres and peers he admires
Holly Hunt – she’s still got the best-looking modern designs – a great eye. Geoffrey Bawa – the first tropical modernist. He was half-Indian, half-English and he culled their “traditional essence”, simplified it and turned it into such elegance. I admire the work of design house Gregorious/Pineo, designer Renzo Mongiardino (for details), architect Ricardo Legorreta (for angles), architect Peter Bohlin of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Mexican architect Luis Barragan, and Edwin Lutyens, the last of the great English architects, who collected and reassembled 500 years of English architecture into his amazing buildings.

I’ve had great mentors in my life, including my spiritual teacher, W. Brugh Joy, and my great friend, Nancy Moser, now 103. She’s been in my life since I was a child, encouraging me all the way.  She’s elegant, intellectually compelling and one of my most trusted guides in life.

Sandy and Jeanne Robertson gave me my first “entire house” assignment and started referring me to all of their friends. They provided me the opportunity to produce some of my most satisfying and compelling work. Chuck and Helen Schwab were my patron clients. They forced me to become a real company capable of serving large, complex projects.

On the true meaning of luxury
High-quality simplicity. If it’s food, it’s the very best food prepared very simply.  I spend my whole life trying to make people’s lives beautiful, make things more attractive in relationship to the banality of everyday living, to show people that you need to be in a relationship with respect to where you live – whether it’s the interior or the architecture. I consider my own home in Belvedere to be the epitome of luxury – not in the traditional sense, but as a magical retreat for me, the gardener, reader and cook—and my husband of 30 years, as well as the cat!

In the traditional world of luxury, I will give spices as gifts. Instead of a bottle of wine, I’ll bring fennel pollen in beautiful little boxes. My favorite resort—Amanjiwo in Java. The travel wish list that I’m waiting to fulfill includes Namibia, Botswana and Patagonia.  As a foodie, my most memorable experience was at Noma in Copenhagen — simplicity incarnate. It was art.  But it was food that you have never tasted, that you would never even think of eating, such as the most delectable juniper tips.

Designers Deconstructed – Jon de la Cruz

Currently residing on the cusp of design fame, this classically-trained designer is capturing attention for past projects as well as current accolades, including the 2017 House Beautiful “Kitchen of the Year” which was a major feature of the San Francisco Decorator Showcase. Focused to the extent of being devoid of interests other than his work, de la Cruz operates with an obsessiveness that applies in equal measure to his design aesthetic, business management and career path, and is destined to claim his rank as one of the California’s design luminaries in-the-making. With quiet determination and a steely resolve, he continues to accumulate clout and kudos from clients and colleagues as he journeys to the pinnacle of professional recognition.

On how it all began

I was born and raised in San Francisco by Filipino parents. I studied biology at U.C. Santa Cruz because I thought I wanted to be a marine biologist. When I took my first advanced chemistry class, with its complex equations, I said to myself, “I’m an artist, not a scientist!” Which makes sense. As a child, I would always doodle and draw. Art was always a huge part of my life. In class, I would always be the artist who did the bulletin boards outside the classrooms. Ultimately, I learned my craft graduating from AAU with a BFA in Interior Architecture Design.

On his grooming as a designer

My first experience in interior design was working for Joel Hendler as a receptionist. I moved quickly into a variety of roles—librarian, assistant and finally Junior Designer. The seniors did the serious architectural work. I got to do the frosting– and I loved it. I progressed to a Senior Designer role with Steven Volpe, an incredible mentor, who taught me the design basics and a keen eye for detail– how to order curtains; how to design a lamp shade or a pillow; and all of those little intricate details in traditional interior design that you don’t get in most of the younger people coming out of design school today. And he taught me how the industry works—for example, working at the residential high-end with very private clients who are protective of their privacy.

When I went to work for Pamela Babey at BAMO, it was a 180-degree turn in direction. Steven’s point of view is very honed and concise. At BAMO, because of its hospitality focus, I learned how to compromise—in a good way. When you’re working in a hospitality interior, you don’t have $10,000 for a sofa. You have $1,500. I learned flexibility at BAMO—in design and in dealing with clients. Instead of “My way, or the highway”, it was “Let’s see what we can do with your budget”.

I was introduced to Ken Fulk on Facebook. He was looking for someone to work on a hospitality project, which turned out to be The Battery. I worked on that assignment from start to finish–all the interior architecture, the finishes, the furniture. It was an illuminating and exhilarating experience because they did things differently and quickly. There was no CAD. No drafting. Everything was done through images and fabrics. They would be clipped to a board and then shown to the clients. They would promise to deliver full houses in three to five weeks. And it would happen because Ken had an amazing group of people who were intensely creative and committed.

One of the biggest lessons I took from working with Ken was “vertical integration”. He had people doing flowers, staging, branding and marketing and even planning events. He wanted to make sure that everything the client touched would look beautiful. He has a belief that the client shouldn’t have to worry about anything. That’s what I took away from my time with Ken, that and the belief that “Why do it, if you’re not going to make it beautiful? Why do it half-way?”

On going out on his own

I never thought I wanted my name on the door. I just wanted to do good work and be well paid for it. But when I turned 40, and I thought, “Maybe it’s time for me to start getting the recognition.” Ken was very good about giving me recognition–very generous, very appreciative, and always understanding. But as I looked at all the magazines, I found myself saying, “Hey, I did that. That was my work!”

I don’t want to become a huge design enterprise. I want to have high-quality projects and a great team, and develop a portfolo that I can be proud of. Right now, I’m busy, so my first priority is to make sure that I’m doing right by the clients I’ve got before I worry about tackling anything else. When you hire Jon de la Cruz, you get me. You don’t get an assistant. I work on every single project. And I still like to do the actual work. I want to be the one who designs the table or the counter. That’s why I fear getting bigger.

On his design style.

When someone walks into a room I’ve designed, I want them to feel that the design has been well thought out. For example, when you walk through the kitchen at the Decorator Showcase, the function should dictate the design. If it doesn’t, it won’t be beautiful. I stressed about everything on that job — about the placement of the oven, the range and the sink, and making sure that it all functions well for a house with 10 bedrooms. I could stand in that kitchen and not find a single thing that I would do differently.

My house is not my showroom. It’s a big white box with a stack of laundry — folded and not put away. There’s not a lot there–a couple of pieces of beautiful art, and every now and then I add a special piece of furniture. I have a comfortable sofa and a great, comfortable mattress. When I go home, I like to turn it off and not think about work. That’s my luxury right there.

On his current focus

I’m currently concentrating on new residential construction and restaurants. I like designing restaurants. Not only do you get to work with food people, whom I like, but it’s a faster-paced environment where the work can be more “out there” and leave a more decorative mark. You also get to see the reactions from a wider audience, and that’s particularly gratifying.

Leo’s Oyster Bar was one of my first projects when I went out on my own. That was with Anna Weinberg, with whom I did Cavalier and Marlowe while at KFI. I’ve worked on the small Turner’s Kitchen in the Mission and the huge Carbone restaurant at the Aria in Las Vegas. Right now, I have a number of restaurants on the books—Che Fico, an Italian restaurant on Divisadero and an adjoining pie shop called Theorita. I’m also working on a restaurant in Palo Alto called Protege, and Merriman’s on Oahu.

On the people and assignments that endure in memory

I had a Volpe assignment for a client who had a very traditional suburban house. It was horrible- completely overdone–the quintessential mansion that had been over-designed and over-decorated throughout the years and then sold for a lot of money to a client who didn’t think it needed any change, just more furniture. When we took that project over it was a lesson in how to develop a relationship with your client, and a lesson in design—how do you glean a diamond from an ugly rock?

Joel Hendler was a great mentor because he taught me that I could be an interior designer and that this is a viable business. I’m not just being an artist — I’m being someone who can actually make a paid living. Stephen Volpe taught me about quality. Sometimes working for him would make me want to pull my hair out. His response to everything I’d show him would be, “No, no, no. None of that works.” And then he would come back and say, “Well, this is what works.” You’d look at it and you wouldn’t know why, but you would understand once you touched the fabric or saw the color. There’s that indefinable, intangible factor that makes it perfect for what it has to accomplish. Pamela Babey taught me how to break all of Stephen’s rules!

On the seminal moments in life

I visited Europe when I was 23, and seeing Paris–all of the old beautiful buildings and architecture– was one of those moments. Just that sense of style, the panache, looking at all the windows and all the beautiful things in them. That’s when I realized, “We don’t have to just do it. We can do it with style and beauty.” Like walking into Pain Poilane, a bakery in Paris, and watching the way they wrapped a beautiful pastry and handed it to you almost as if it were an heirloom gift. Rome was also another life-changing experience. It’s a different point of view. It’s the way the Italians think– a combination of “bella figura” and La Dolce Vita.

I visited Axel Vervoordt, an antiquarian and designer in Belgium. He does stunning design and collects beautiful antiques. That heightened my point of view about interior design and antiques. It taught me about the integrity of materials and antiques and how to just let it be. In his gallery, he had installed a huge Anish Kapoor dome, 8 meters in diameter and painted in this most beautiful pigment of red. You walk under the dome, and it’s almost as if you’re swallowed into time and space, and forget where you are.

Interview conducted by Alf Nucifora, Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council; sponsored by the San Francisco Design Center.

Designers Deconstructed | Kendall Wilkinson

At the peak of her career, and with a reputation that places her at the very top of the interior design firmament in California, Kendall Wilkinson has earned her stripes. The product of a strong and supportive matriarchal background, this single mother of two adored sons exudes a fascinating mélange of honesty, vigor, stamina, vitality, and grit, all of which confirm the potency of her brand and the creative exceptionalism of her design. As she wrestles with the demands of career ambition, yet-to-be aspirations, and the rigors of managing a team of 20, and client portfolio that is the stuff of other designers’ dreams, this immensely personable design maven now confronts a future where the potential for escalating success must be tempered by the demands of motherhood, unrelenting client need, and the transition from design prodigy to household fame.


On the early years

We lived in San Francisco and Mill Valley. I was schooled in Marin before heading to UC San Diego where I minored in music and majored in communications, with an emphasis on film. I moved to Los Angeles directly after graduation, commencing as a page at CBS. I worked on The Price Is Right, the $25,000 Pyramid and was in front of and behind the camera on The Young and the Restless. A move into media sales was followed by a five-year stint as a production assistant on L.A. Law and a number of Movies of the Week. My game plan was to be a movie producer, but a serious auto accident forced a change.


On the first indication of an interest in design

I had a discussion with my mother and a family friend, who were decorators.  Both were single moms who raised their kids from the fruits of interior design — and had fun doing it. So, I thought, “Well, I’ll just do that.”  I attended the Academy of Art while working for my mother who taught me the basics of scale and color.  But you have to be born with good skills in interior design—and I was. I was always an artist. I sculpted and I was always painting.  I also sang in a bunch of different rock and roll bands. I just knew I had an artistic sensibility and a creative bent, as did all the women in my extended family.

After I left the Academy of Art, I moved to Paris for about a year and traveled around Europe. I fell in love with Paris and with Italy where I studied architecture and became enamored with the museums, the cathedrals, and design in general. That was my inspiration for becoming a designer. It opened my eyes. I saw for the first time how it all worked together — how the architecture, furniture, and lighting all played together—very European—very holistic.


On what drives her

My grandmother was an antiques dealer and a painter, and she also dabbled in interior design in Chicago.  So, there is a strong thread of maternal drive in my background. On a scale of 1 to 10, on the “driven” scale, I’m definitely a 10. But I’m not driven solely by the money—more by great design, and by an aspiration that my clients will love and appreciate my work. I am still very ambitious. And I would like my work to become iconic.  I have a fabric line and a furniture line and I’ve already started on a book. I have a million ideas. But there’s only one of me. I don’t have a spouse, partner, or second-in-command, and that makes a difference.


On Kendall Wilkinson Design—the company

I started out on my own in 1992. I had a good business mind, and from my production experience in LA, I knew how to commit ideas to the drawing board, a requisite for interior design. Our current design business, with its staff of 20, is heavily rooted in high-end residential home projects, but we’re quickly expanding into commercial offices for the tech and finance communities, cafes and restaurants, such as Bellota, medical offices, and wineries. And we’re about to branch out into our first hotel assignment because the hotel developer wants to bring a cohesive, residential feel to the space. I have my Signature line of furniture which sells in high-end retail stores. We have an online catalog which features my designs and selections, and which also sell on popular online sites such as 1st Dibs and Chairish. The fabric line we sell through Fabricut is also highly popular. Our output and clientele can only be described as eclectic–modern apartments in the city, traditional family homes in Hillsborough, tech offices in the Peninsula, classic estates in Beverly Hills, cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea, ski lodges in Jackson Hole, pied-à-terre’s, family cabins, Tahoe weekenders– and clients that include tech super stars, art collecting professionals, and single entrepreneurs.


On the Kendall Wilkinson “design” and how it’s derived

My design work is as varied as my clients because I really do create their homes with my understanding of scale and style.  I gather a lot of information about my clients, and I know how they want to live, what’s important to them. That’s because I’m a good listener, very intuitive, and really can help people better understand what they need or want—even when they themselves don’t yet know. My look is very inviting, and it’s also very cohesive.  That goes back to my mantra about scale and proportion.  I also believe that “order equals calm”—meaning that everything has a place and that there should never be too much going on. The design has to be edited, and also very aesthetically pleasing, but there has to be something very functional about every single piece in the room. What does my own home look like? It’s a beautiful Edwardian, traditional in architectural style, that has huge stately rooms. There’s an architect in Paris named Joseph Dirand, and I incorporated some of his elements–dark floors, everything white, and sparse, but inviting warm furniture that has a lot of texture to it.


On the daily challenges

Educating clients about quality is a continuing challenge. Between the internet and having to make design judgements without the training or the “right eye,”clients are becoming confused.  That Gregorius Pineo knock-off may be cheap, and look good on the website, but in my experience, the delivered product is inevitably incomplete or disappointing. I often have to explain, especially with the young tech folks, why putting “all retail” in your house isn’t going to get you the look that you should have.  It’s going to look like a showroom.  I’m not saying that we should keep interior design as a wholesale business, very exclusive and only available by hiring a designer.  That goes against my ingrained belief that people should live (whether or not they can afford a top-rated designer) in a space that makes them feel good about themselves, rejuvenated, and brings positive energy to their lives.


On the projects of which she’s particularly proud

A Silicon Valley project, a total labor of love, stands out—seven-years in the making, art collector clients, 5,000 square-feet guest house, indoor pool, organic garden, extensive travel, design fairs to acquire unique items., That project was special because the client couple were learning along the way, so I had to educate them. It was an easy back-and-forth, and I learned with them as we progressed.  When they realized they wanted to be art collectors, I taught them what direction to take in both the art and furniture worlds.  I advised them on the best sources and how to articulate and describe what they wanted. There was the 2007 Decorators’ Showcase house where I designed a turquoise and orange master bedroom that cemented my reputation. People really took notice after that—the notorious turquoise bedroom!


On the people who have influenced her life

My mother is incredibly talented, has remarkable class, and has been highly influential in creating who I am today.  I also worked for Lonnie and Dave Hinckley who were like second parents and who helped me blossom my creativity. When I was learning the antiques business, Dave took me to France, showed me the ropes and helped me understand what to buy and what not to buy.  I’ve been influenced by Parrish-Hadley because of their yin and yang as designers.  My Decorators’ Showcase room–the turquoise room, was based partially on an old Albert Hadley room. And Barbara Barry is someone I emulate.  The whole ‘30s, ‘40s were her kind of schtick. I love that period, and I definitely love her design.


Interview conducted by Alf Nucifora, Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council; sponsored by the San Francisco Design Center.

Designers Deconstructed | Jay Jeffers

This creative wunderkind, an ELLE DECOR Designer A-List honoree, has migrated from youthful career indecision to industry luminary status in relatively short time. As he adroitly grows his design “empire,” he relies upon the sound business strategies that he has acquired as an accomplished marketer, all the while maintaining the creativity, enthusiasm, and authority that one expects from a design legend-in-the-making. As a result, this son of modest, middle-class beginnings has built the Jay Jeffers brand to prominence, popularity, and profitability, and shows no sign of letting up as he plots a pathway to additional design fame and business fortune.

On the early years 

I was born in Dallas and lived in Plano, Texas, a town of 100,000 people at the time. My mother was a teacher at the time; my father was in the insurance industry. I grew up a gay kid. Initially, I wanted to be the normal guy who played football and married the homecoming queen. That was probably the biggest struggle in my life as a teen — trying to be who I was. But I didn’t want to be who I was. Amazingly, given my very conservative home environment, both of my parents were incredibly accepting.  

I initially enrolled at the University of Texas for an architectural engineering degree but I realized I didn’t want to be an engineer. I took a marketing class and fell in love with all the creative aspects of advertising, marketing, and promotion. I switched disciplines, and when I graduated with a degree in International Business and Marketing, I took an entry-level job with a small advertising agency in Austin at $16,000 a year. I was the receptionist, office manager, and chief bottle washer.

I fell in love with San Francisco the moment I first saw it. I was on a Super Shuttle from the airport and I remember that a fellow passenger exited the shuttle and went into a Victorian apartment on a hill. I remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, that’s a real person who actually lives and works there.”  A lightbulb went on in my head: “People do function in this city.  It’s not just a fantasy place that you go to visit– and I can do the same thing.” I packed my car, said goodbye to my friends, gave two-weeks’ notice at my job, and drove to San Francisco.

The journey to interior design 

Initially, I took a day job at Zuni Café and a night job at Structure, a men’s clothing store. I also worked a part-time job at a small advertising agency before being hired at the Gap, where I worked in Advertising for the Gap, Gap Kids, and Old Navy brands. But I was craving a greater outlet for creative expression, and took an evening course at Berkeley Extension on the “Introduction to Interior Design.” Loved every minute of it! I balanced evening and weekend classes and studies with a reduced, part-time role at the Gap, gopher work for designer Richard Witzel and a job at Susan Chastain’s drapery and bedding showroom working on installations for Tucker & Marks, The Wiseman Group, and Gary Hutton. 

In 1999, Diane Dorrans Saeks wrote about seven designers to watch, when she was writing for the San Francisco Chronicle. I was one of the seven. At the time, I was still working for Richard Witzel at his store on Sacramento Street and I had gotten a couple of small projects from clients who came in from the Presidio. I don’t really remember why, but that was the moment when I decided I was ready to go out on my own.  

On the Jay Jeffers enterprise 

The Jay Jeffers business incorporates interior design, interior architecture, and furniture design which is marketed through Arteriors, the company that licenses my name and my designs. Our first Arteriors collection in 2015 emphasized entertaining—trays, ice buckets, light fixtures, small cocktail tables, etc. The new 2017 collection expanded into upholstered pieces, more lighting, and case goods. We also consult on art, antiques, acquisitions, and decorations for private clients through our design firm, and feature antiques, vintage pieces, as well as emerging companies and designers in fields such as lighting and furniture, through our retail store.  

My husband Michael and I joined forces when I decided I wanted to get into the retail business. I had bought a building in the Tenderloin where I had moved my offices and didn’t need all the space for the studio.  Coincidentally, many of my favorite stores — like Swallow Tail and Alabaster — had gone out of business. I had a continuing need for accessories that appealed to me but I was finding myself going to L.A. and New York to source what I needed—not searching online, as we do now. My retail store would be a place where I could shop for my projects without traveling all over the country.  It’s been a major success, with our biggest customers being other Bay Area designers.

I don’t really want a 50-person design firm.  We may grow more, but being able to carefully pick and choose the right projects is more important. What with paying the bills and meeting employee salary needs, I haven’t always had complete financial freedom. But we’re at that place right now.  And I’m really enjoying the product design side of the business, so I would like to expand in that arena by licensing more lines with Arteriors, including fabrics and additional furniture collections.

On what motivates him 

It’s only in recent years that I’ve considered myself as successful, but I still regard myself as an aspiring novice when compared to the likes of Paul Wiseman, Suzanne Tucker, and Gary Hutton, who has been an idol of mine forever.  Having said that, I’m definitely confident in who I am and what I do as a designer.

I always want better projects and the budgets that come with those projects. But more importantly, I want to feel comfortable in my life.  I’ve always carried some degree of fear that everything is going to disappear, and even today, there’s still a nagging thought in the back of my mind that says it could happen.  I need to be careful of that. 

On the Jay Jeffers aesthetic 

I don’t design with a Jay Jeffers look. I prefer not to repeat designs and I don’t have a look that I impose on my clients. Ten years ago, people may have said, “He is the king of color and pattern,” but my style has evolved since then. I want a home to feel like it’s been collected over time.  I don’t want everything to feel as if it’s brand new, nor do want it to feel like it’s pulled from Grandma’s attic. It’s very current–how we look at things today.  And it’s definitely a mix of the curated and the edited—but absolutely not minimalist.  I want it to feel like someone lives there, and I want people to feel like they can sit on the furniture and not get upset if the dogs jump on the couch. But it should also be very chic.

I place an emphasis on artist-made decorative objects, hand work with textiles and lighting that is thoughtfully produced in limited editions.  I want my clients to live with fine paintings and one-of-a-kind lighting and custom-designed furniture that will give them a lifetime of use and pleasure. I want every home to feel special.  I am not the kind of person who walks into a showroom, sees it, puts it in somebody’s home and it’s done.

I subscribe to “high-low” philosophy with respect to accessories. I just did a significant purchase at West Elm for client accessories. That’s low.  But we’re also bringing in some beautiful, unique items from our store. When you mix them together, the items that feel like they’re a bit too precious become “humbled”, while the $20 West Elm vase is equally elevated by the company it keeps.

On projects that inspired him and the designers he admires 

We just finished a project at The St. Regis, a luxury high-rise, two apartments that the client bought and joined together.  We gutted it.  Took it down to the studs.  My client has a Bohemian spirit, so she likes color and bright things.  She wants her friends to be comfortable, but yet it’s so incredibly chic.  She likes everything to be perfect and in its place, so it’s lots of paneled walls, gorgeous views, and open windows. The entire floor in the library is one big cushion.  We call it the “Cuddle Puddle Room” where everybody can hang out, smoke a hookah, and listen to music–just feel comfortable.  In the media room, we designed a custom built-in sectional where the two ottomans basically create a huge bed. She’s a gamer, and if her friends are all playing video games in the media room, you can pull the two ottomans out and it becomes a beautiful place for seating a gaming party.

David Hicks would be high on my list. He was innovative, forward-thinking, outside-of-the-box, different.  I love the fact that he would decorate a castle with purple walls and create fabrics out of torn paper–that sort of thing. If somebody was designing my house, I’d hire Yabu Pushelberg.  They’re hospitality designers, but everything that they do is innovative.  It’s different.  It’s outside-of-the-box.  It’s unique.  It’s incredibly chic.  I’d choose Gary Hutton for the same reason.  


Interview conducted by Alf Nucifora, Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council; sponsored by the San Francisco Design Center.

Designers Deconstructed | Gary Hutton

Often acclaimed as the Dean of West Coast design, this unassuming and personable designer exhibits none of the diva-like traits that are often expected from design luminaries. His attachment to “keeping it small” is driven by the need to stay involved in every step of the design process, while his long-felt love of art imbues his work with an aesthetic that defies the norm. Respected by peers and appreciated by clients who reward the partnership with multiple projects, Gary Hutton justifiably lays claim to the rarefied community of the Bay Area’s design elite.


ON HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

I was born and raised in Watsonville, California on my grandmother’s apple orchard.  My dad was an engineer, driving trains for the railroad; my mother a homemaker. That’s where I lived until I went to college. It was a traditional country upbringing. I was even the head cheerleader at Watsonville High School, State Champions, I might add.I took Art at Cabrillo Junior College as I debated pursuing Art or Interiors as a career choice. I transferred to U.C. Davis during the Golden Age of its Art Department, and studied for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree under a number of luminaries–Wayne Thiebaud, Manuel Neri, Bob Arneson, Bill Wiley. It was a magical time. I took to it like a fish to water. I kept thinking, “These are my people”.



ON THE EARLY YEARS IN THE BUSINESS

After I graduated Davis, I got a commission with an advertising agency to do a sculpture for their offices on Sacramento Street.  But that wasn’t enough to live on so I worked in a clothing store, a book store and a mall before deciding that Interiors was something that I was interested in. I knew that CCA offered a reputable program, so I enrolled for an Interior Design degree In between CCA and starting my own design practice in earnest, I did a variety of projects—sample boy at Scalamandre; working the CJ Welch showroom; and a stint in what was then Macy’s interior design studio. My big break came when I was asked to design a new restaurant in Union Square called Today’s that drew San Francisco’s most sophisticated and glittering audiences. The project was published in Interior Design Magazine and that’s what got me noticed by the design world. All of a sudden, I went from sample boy to designer who attracted the attention and respect of design luminaries like Orlando Diaz and Charlie Pfister who lunched at the restaurant. I opened my practice with a small apartment design for a friend as well as a restaurant design for Saks (which never eventuated). For twenty years, I operated out of my apartment—just me and my bookkeeper.


ON HIS AESTHETIC AND HOW HE DEVELOPED IT

I come out of a very rural, conservative background but even since childhood, I’ve always had an appreciation for all things visual and beautiful. It’s something I was born with. How did I know about fancy jewelry?  My mother had no jewelry, other than her wedding ring.  When I was eight years old, I went into Watsonville to get my hair cut, and while I was sitting in the barber chair, who walks in the barber shop–Kim Novak.  It was like, “Oh, my goodness.  The glamour.”  I suddenly understood. “There’s something more here, and I want to know about it.” My design aesthetic originates from my art background and training. Touch and feel are very important. It’s like textiles —how does this fabric feel?  What’s it going to look like?  How is it going to perform?  I’d describe my style as clean, modern, and experimental. For example, in 2010, we did the master suite in the Met Home Showhouse. We designed a partition — but it was composed of bars of soap—in the best Andy Warhol tradition. It sprung from the idea that nothing has to be “precious.”  Frank Gehry did these beautiful cardboard tables that Vitra was making, and we borrowed what we thought were two sets for the nightstands.  Two days before the show was to open, we were only given one set. So, we made the other one. We took discarded cardboard boxes, cut them into pieces, stacked them, and encircled them with big rubber-bands.  On one side, you had this very refined piece crafted by Geary, and on the other side, a pile of cardboard with rubber-bands.  It created quite a stir.  People wanted to buy them.


ON THE SEMINAL MOMENTS THAT ALTERED HIS LIFE

I did a student apprenticeship at Gump’s, back in the day when they had a very famous residential design department founded by Eleanor Forbes who invented Chinese Modern in the ‘50s. She was in her 80s at that time, and she designed amazing furniture that was built locally and shipped all over the country.  That experience changed my life because of the caliber of clientele I was exposed to—big jobs in Hillsborough as opposed to “picking out the wallpaper for the bathroom.” The “Ah hah!” was, “I am where I need to be.  This is what I want to do.” Recently, my client Chara Schreyer hosted the Board of Trustees of MOMA New York at her house in Los Angeles and asked that I be there as the person responsible for its design. It was an amazing experience because attending were luminaries such as David and Susan Rockefeller, Maria José Kravis, Mrs. Pulitzer and the Cisneros.  That was bliss for me, because in my mind I’m still a country boy from Watsonville, and suddenly I’m having a lovely conversation with David Rockefeller.  Mrs. Rockefeller sent a thank-you note to Chara and waxed elegant, not only about Chara’s astounding collection, but also about the design of the house and how thoughtful and interesting it was.



ON WHY HE DOES WHAT HE DOES

Money is wonderful, but I’m motivated by the work.  I like to do it, and I think it’s one of the reasons that I’ve never aspired to bigness.  At one point I had six employees, and I discovered that I was only managing; I wasn’t getting to do the work.  It’s the creative act that really drives me.  I could have made a lot more money had I gotten larger, but I gave up size for creativity and control.I’m always in search of the client who is willing to take some risk–try something new and different. We currently have a project in Los Altos where most of the design will be relatively conventional, but they said, “The powder room is all yours.  Do whatever you want in there.”  We’ve devised a Yayoi Kusama-like installation piece, where there is mirror reflecting on itself. You get this sense of infinity with LED lights that wrap the floor, the ceilings, and the walls.  It’s going to be a wonderful piece of experiential design and inspirational art. I love doing that. I started designing furniture as an outlet for my sculptural tendencies–the idea of designing items of beauty and seeing them come to life.  I also saw it as a means of generating additional revenue without the commitment of individual time that interior design demands. We do it all ourselves, from concept through delivery, with artisans who construct and manufacture, and showrooms that rep the product line.


 ON DREAM PROJECTS AND CLIENTS

We did an apartment at the Four Seasons that had to house an incredible art collection. We had complete creative freedom, and there were no domestic considerations because no one was going to live there. The apartment was essentially an intimate museum for the client’s art collection.We did the restoration for an A. Quincy Jones house on the lagoon in Belvedere.  The house had been un-sympathetically remodeled, and we able to get the plans from Mr. Jones’ widow which enabled us to restore the house.  A “creative restoration” was how I would describe it. We utilized materials — that had they been available at the time of the home’s initial construction, would have been used. The restored house was also used to store an art collection from the ‘60s and the ‘70s, and so it gave me a platform to create a stage set.  We were able to use really early George Nelson furniture and carpet designs from Raymond Loewy, as an example.We’re working on a tiny project right now where there is virtually no budget.  It is so much fun to work with the client, who is an art consultant, because we can throw out a crazy idea and, because she understands crazy ideas from the art world, she’ll listen. She had this ugly chandelier in the dining room–one of the old ‘20s crystal things- and I said, “Why don’t we coat it in black rubber?”  She said, “I’m going to have to think about that!”  Then, a few days later, she said, “I think that’s fantastic!  Let’s coat it in black rubber!”


ON PROJECTS (NOT HIS) THAT MADE AN IMPRESSION

I vividly recall a former bank headquarters designed by Charles Phister in downtown San Francisco that made an incredible use of luxurious materials in a commercial setting.  I had never seen anything like that before.  The president’s office had walls upholstered in Aubergene mohair velvet with Matisse drawings hanging on them.  And private conference rooms that were round. Inside one conference room, there was a cylinder that came down from the ceiling to the nine-foot level, and from nine feet all the way up, were tubes of multicolored silk that formed rainbow effects.There was a project that Orlando Diaz did in Embarcadero Center. Again, he had applied a residential thought process to a commercial space.  The waiting room was elliptical-shaped, and the walls were upholstered with raw silk. There were niches with giant blue and white Chinese jars.   The secretarial areas all had typewriters in those days, and he had designed special inset pads under the typewriters and on the wall right behind the typewriter to absorb the sound.


ON ART HOUSE

Editor’s note: Art House, published by Assouline, and written by Alisa Carroll, editor in chief of SFC&G, chronicles leading art collector Chara Schreyer’s forty-year collaboration with Gary Hutton which has produced five residences designed to house six hundred works of art.  It started out with Matthew Millman, the photographer, who wanted to document my client Chara’s collection.  Without a doubt, it is one of the top ten private contemporary art collections in the world.We started talking to a book agent from New York who did some research about Chara and me, and our partnership. Her feedback was, “A book with pictures of a rich person’s art collection, nobody will ever buy. The real story here is that Gary and Chara have worked together for almost 40 years, and they have done these five houses that hold this collection.  That’s the story.”  That’s how the book morphed into what it is.  It’s gone to second printing.  Alisa and I did a book signing in Paris in January, and the manager of the Assouline store in Paris said it was the #1 seller of the holidays.


Interview conducted by Alf Nucifora, Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council; sponsored by the San Francisco Design Center.

Designers Deconstructed | Meet Pamela Babey | BAMO

Considered by clients and peers as a commanding presence in interior design and one whose artistry redefines the term “visionary,” Pamela Babey speaks softly but carries a big and impressive body of work.  With parental direction that led her to appreciate beauty in its every form, and a work history guided by architectural and design maestros who encouraged and allowed her talent to blossom, this lover of light, color, Fortuny fabric and all things Venetian, not to mention, tasteful and sentimental bric-a-brac, has established a reputation that attracts aficionados of great taste and awe-inspiring design, be they individual or corporate.

On the early years

I was born in Brooklyn with a physician father and a medical technologist mother.  My father wanted to go somewhere where doctors were really needed so we ended up in Las Cruces, NM, with a then population of 12,000. From age five until my college years at UC Berkeley, that’s where I spent my formative years.

On a career in design

My first job was with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in New York.  I was always poking around. The interior design group was on another floor, so I would hang out there when I had time, watching them doing space planning.  It’s important to realize that you will hear a lot going on around you if you don’t have earbuds on.I decided I had to get into interiors, so I went to work for James Stewart Polshek & Partners, also in New York. That experience was interesting because the Polshek style was eclectic– very different than the disciplined SOM style. Then I returned to SOM, this time working for Charlie Pfister in the San Francisco office. That’s when I was introduced to hotel design, working on the Kapalua project in Maui, and a Sun Valley hotel.  I followed that up with a return stint in NYC where I helped design Simon & Schuster’s new headquarters. Upon return to San Francisco, I joined KMD Architects, designing hospitals, jails, and a law firm office.  I had one more return to SOM in New York as an Associate in their interior design group, working on major corporate headquarters for Irving Trust and Georgia Pacific. Charlie Pfister left SOM and asked me to join him at his new firm in San Francisco, which I happily did, and that’s where I stayed for nine years until he passed away.

On becoming BAMO

David Moulton, Michael Booth, Gerry Jue, and I had all worked at Pfister, so when Charlie, who was the sole owner, passed away we naturally opened our own office. We began with the Four Seasons in Milan, a Pfister client who asked us to continue designing the project. Nan McEvoy was another early client, whom we enjoyed for many years.  There were only the four of us at the beginning and it was only when we were able to start hiring that I knew that we would make it. Today, we’re a staff of 45, including 13 architects and a team of designers and support staff. We don’t do architecture from the ground up.  We design inside of the box — walls, doors, finishes, and lighting, then furniture.We picked up the Four Seasons in Bora Bora, partly as a result of the Milan experience. We won the Villa Feltrinelli in Italy because the client had worked with us on the Four Seasons Milan. We were selected for a prestigious residential compound in Beijing, because of a referral from a client in Hong Kong. We’ve completed three homes on the Peak in Hong Kong all for the same client who also had us decorate his 55-meter luxury super yacht and private jet. And we had Abu Dhabi royalty call us to design a villa based on work they had seen on the internet.

On the influences that made an impact

SOM taught me about looking at the shapes of spaces and organizing them-adjacencies, how they work, how they function, how you move in and out of a building. I realized what can be special when designing a hotel is that you are designing everything there’s a consistent thread to the design of the entire project.  At SOM we did the graphics; we designed and printed the fabrics; we made the furniture with John & Elinor McGuire. It’s what European architects do, they design the buildings, the interiors, everything.  That was the ideal.The success of our hotel work, maybe because we’re all residentially-sensitive — brings the feeling of a home into the hotel design. Our hotel work has made us think about important design issues such as, “How do you turn the lights off when you get in bed?  Where do you put your bathrobe when you take a shower?  How do you light your shower?  How do you light your face for makeup? And how do you make someone look good in a living room?”  You’re accentuating things, creating contrast and a space that’s lively. That’s what people enjoy.Charlie Pfister was a remarkable mentor because he taught me how to be simple about interiors, and he definitely taught me how to enjoy things.  Have a nice glass of champagne, relax.  Tony Duquette, the LA designer, was another major influence in my life. If you see his work, it’s “full speed ahead!” If you’re going to put one pair of antlers on the wall and paint them green, you might as well put two dozen. He used colors that were almost hysterical, and most of his interiors were very open space, with lots of windows.

On the Babey style

I like to think of every project as a Carta Bianca (blank page).  The process begins by listening to and getting to know the owner.  Only then am I able to create a personal space that reflects their unique personality.  I also take great joy in encouraging the artisan so that I can layer unique pieces made with passion and care.  Everything from rich plaster walls to a trim on a cushion.  It starts with a blank page and then incorporates the psyche of the client.I always try to make the home warm and inviting. It’s all about living with things that you enjoy. I hate those picture rooms that look like they belong in a museum.  The residence must feel like a home.  It should be under-designed, not over-decorated. I want pieces that are memorable, things that I like, things that the client likes. But they don’t have to be valuable; they can come from Target!Once a client showed me an auction catalog and he said, “I’m thinking of buying these.” They were pearls of a color I had never seen before.  I said, “Oh, that’s the color for the plaster I want for the yacht’s staircase.”  The entire stairway became this plaster spiral; we shaded the color from bottom to top. It’s darker down at the bottom with cool guest cabins. Then as you go up to the top deck — the outdoors — it becomes very pale.  It’s the opposite of what most people would do.  They’d want to bring light down to the bottom.  But I thought, “you’re down by the water level”, and because the rooms are upholstered, it’s mysterious and quiet.

On her love affair with Fortuny

I fell in love with Fortuny because of its understated elegance.  It’s chicly casual. It’s a special cotton, painted in many layers. And because of its fresh colors, it’s a perfect for California — casually elegant and perfectly practical. It’s expensive, but I wouldn’t make a client buy anything I wouldn’t buy.  That’s why my bedroom is upholstered in Fortuny. When I get up and the sun is coming up, my room has a glow that’s reminiscent of Venetian sunlight. International travel is an imperative. It opens your eyes to different ways of life, different experiences, and different aesthetics.  For example, there is a different way of designing a restaurant in Paris.  The chairs are lower, the table is lower and smaller.  As a result, it makes the room taller.  It makes the diner feel important when they’re eating.  You bring that kind of sensitivity back with you.

On memorable experiences

The Japanese Pavilion at Biennale in 2015  stands out in my mind. There were thousands of keys hung on red strings from the ceiling of the pavilion at different heights, and underneath it was an old Venetian boat, very rusty, roughly painted.  You entered this red fog, and as you walked around you began to see the boat appear. It gave me goosebumps.  It was like the fog in San Francisco when it’s just floating on the water and Alcatraz is sticking out. I love Venice.  You have to walk most of the time and there are always new places to explore and new corners to find. It makes my heart sing. One night I was there in the winter.  It was cold and crisp, and as I was walking across the Accademia Bridge, along comes a barge with a piano player and an opera singer.  That’s what Venice is really all about — not the tourism and the gondola singing. You go down the canal in the evening and you can look in all the windows.  Just like San Francisco, people don’t close their drapery.This is an in-depth interview series featuring interior design luminaries who are redefining the business. The interviews are conducted by Alf Nucifora, Chairman of The Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco. Designers Deconstructed is brought to you by…

Interview conducted by Alf Nucifora, Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council; sponsored by the San Francisco Design Center.

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