Tag: Suzanne Tucker

California Mediterranean: Enchanted Oaks

For our design inspiration today, we have a California Mediterranean residence with interiors completed by Suzanne Tucker of Tucker & Marks. This gracious newly built Spanish-style residence stands on an oak-studded hillside in the Carmel Valley overlooking the Monterey Bay. With a classic 1920s Mediterranean vernacular in mind, Tucker used strong Spanish-style elements – terracotta floors, reclaimed hand-hewn beams, plaster walls, steel doors – and a scattering of Moorish details to create a suitable backdrop for the owners’ furnishings and collections.

The designer employed a mix of old and new to give the house immediate age and character, from the glazes and finishes to the hand-hewn beams and selected antiques. She custom-designed fireplace mantels for the living room and library, inspired by seventeenth- and eighteenth-century designs, hand-carved abroad and aged on site. Eighteenth-century doors from Spain retrofitted and refinished, punctuate the passageways and give a significant sense of classic architecture throughout.

CALIFORNIA MEDITERRANEAN DESIGN

Nineteenth-century Spanish carved oak doors frame the living room passageway to the library. The palette of pale warm tones carries seamlessly through from each room. Reclaimed rustic beams and custom steel doors throughout maintain the authentic California Mediterranean feel.

“A polished mix of fine antiques, richly sensual textiles and beautifully designed accessories provide the foundation for a timeless home.”

The custom hand-forged front doors showcase Veronese-inspired grill-work. They open to the perpendicular entry gallery with its enfilade of groin vaults and handmade terracotta tile floor. The classically proportioned gallery forms a gracious artery through the house and provides a backdrop for carefully selected antiques. Rare eighteenth-century Spanish Vargueños anchor both ends of the gallery vestibules.

“I adore the details of design. They are intriguing surprises for the careful observer, and give a room often understated but intricate complexities.”

A pair of rare antique Spanish tooled leather armchairs group with a seventeenth-century Spanish carved walnut table beneath an eighteenth-century Spanish repoussé mirror.

William Bradley’s Cypress Point, Pebble Beach rests on a spectacular eighteenth-century Spanish Vargueno desk.

“Our design work is highly detail oriented. We attend to our clients’ every need and desire – from designing custom furnishings and sumptuous upholstery, to procuring specialized lighting, finely detailed linens, and beautiful accessories, and curating exceptional art and antique collections.”

On axis with the front door, the massive cascading antique stone fountain provides a captivating view straight through the interior.

In the dining room, chunky rock crystals dangle from the chandelier creating the effect of a shimmering waterfall. An exceptional pair of mid-nineteenth-century American hurricanes adds another layer of flickering light to the tabletop.

At the heart of the house, the kitchen is cool and serene in muted shades of café au lait and olive green. Hand-glazed tiles from Tunis add a quietly patterned reflective shimmer that contrasts with the soft painted glaze finish on the cabinetry. Skylights tucked in between the beams bring in natural light. Stained and waxed walnut planks on the floor lend a casual hacienda feel to the kitchen.

The carved marble shell of the basin inspired the powder room details, including the scalloped arch. Reclaimed floor tiles form a pattern echoed in the stenciling on the vanity. A deep hand-troweled pimiento-colored plaster covers the walls.

In the upstairs gallery, a nineteenth-century Chinese bamboo altar table sits beneath a gilded eighteenth-century Spanish Colonial mirror.

Bleached ceiling beams, exotic window grilles, and walls upholstered with a large-scale bird-and-vine toile create a treetop aerie effect in the master bedroom. A tall, Moroccan-inspired custom-made headboard balances the room’s height. The color palette of soft greens and creamy neutrals speaks to the nearby California Live Oaks.

The sculptural oak outside the guest bedroom window influenced the undulating tobacco tones, fabric-covered walls, and textural elements of vintage textiles, inlays, and bamboo.

“My passion is for design, and for using all the elements of design and the decorative arts to create homes that are personal portraits of my clients.”

That concludes our California Mediterranean design inspiration for today, my friend.

“We specialize in comfortable high-end residential interiors that are tailored to each individual client.”

Be sure to see my other posts on beautiful interiors by this leading design firm:

Relaxed Traditional Style: Pacific Heights

Contemporary Classical Interiors: San Francisco

California Mediterranean Design by Suzanne Tucker

Tucker & Marks, Inc. is an interior design and decorating firm based in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1986 by Suzanne Tucker and Timothy Marks, the firm has grown to be one of the largest of its kind on the West Coast, designing luxurious and elegant, extremely comfortable and inviting homes. Tucker believes that by surrounding ourselves with what is beautiful, we enrich and enhance the quality of our lives. With that in mind, she has launched Suzanne Tucker Home, an extraordinary array of beautiful home furnishings, exquisite fabrics, dinnerware, and more.

“For 30 years, our mission has been one and the same: To create personalized living environments that our clients are proud to call home.”

Today’s California Mediterranean residence is featured in Suzanne’s second beautiful book Suzanne Tucker Interiors-The Romance of Design. In this book the designer presents the best of the West Coast, featuring opulent Napa Valley estates, glamorous penthouses on San Francisco Bay, and art-filled apartments. All are united by an attention to detail where the designer’s hand is evident in every tile, molding, railing and finish; Suzanne Tucker redefines the notion of the truly custom home.

Interior Design: Suzanne Tucker/Tucker & Marks

Architecture: Jock M. Sewall & Associates Architects

Landscape architecture: Bellinger, Foster and Steinmetz

Photographer: Matthew Millman

Let me know what you think of today’s California Mediterranean: Enchanted Oaks. I look forward to reading your comments.

Thank you so much for reading along with me today!

June 5, 2018
Relaxed Traditional Style: Pacific Heights

Suzanne Tucker of Tucker & Marks completes this 1908 home in San Francisco’s exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood with a relaxed traditional style designed for casual, contemporary living.

The owner of this residence has been a client of Tucker for the past 25 years. It was now time to downsize from the much larger home the designer helped her and her late husband create. She selected this charming 4,000-square-foot home, just six blocks away from the former. Tucker spent the next year remodeling and personalizing the interiors to make this home just as special as the one left behind.

Tucker & Marks handled all the interior architecture; reconfiguring rooms, improving the flow, creating sightlines, adding skylights for more natural light, etc. The objective was to soften the formality and create a more relaxed, contemporary way of living.

RELAXED TRADITIONAL STYLE INSPIRATION

The designer selected the best of the art and antiques from the former house whose scale was appropriate for this one. She mixed and layered the selection with more contemporary pieces to amp up the traditional style and render the effect timeless.

In the living room (both pics above), a seating area gathers before the fireplace on a 1860s Sultanabad carpet by Ziegler & Co, West Persia. The designer replaced the existing marble fireplace with a French 17th -century Louis XIII limestone mantle. The sofa and two armchairs are custom-designs of Tucker & Marks, with pillows in Fortuny fabric. A custom shagreen coffee table from Ironies centers the grouping. An antique Biedermeier burl-wood round table balances the composition between the two chairs. Suzanne Tucker Home’s silk Capri forms the draperies, with custom Tucker & Marks designed embroidery. A pair of single-arm hurricane globe sconces flanks an Untitled Oil on Canvas by Wayne Thiebaud above the fireplace. John Register’s Train Seat displays on the wall between the openings leading into the family/dining room.

A pair of large 18th-century Italian etched glass mirrors with engraved cartouche crest, part of the collection of the former house, now hang on a side wall in the living room.

A spacious room off the main living room serves as the formal dining/family room. Custom Tucker & Marks designed upholstered furnishings and tables make up the seating area. Suzanne Tucker Home’s Nomad basket-patterned velvet covers the sofa. Claremont’s linen printed damask Alessandro covers the chairs. An antique Bakhtiari carpet from South Persia, circa 1900 covers the floor.

A Tucker & Marks designed pedestal dining table in walnut groups with custom dining chairs from Suzanne Tuckers collection, upholstered in Ocelot by Cowtan & Tout, beneath a vintage six-light pendant with an antiqued bronze finish by Tom Greene for Feldman Lighting.

The kitchen features antique English pine columns and hemlock cabinetry. Two holophane pendant lights from Ann Morris hang above the center island. Two Hopkins Rope stools from The Wicker Works create an excellent breakfast bar. Tucker accented the kitchen with various antique bowls and jugs, circa 1880.

Tucker positioned this antique walnut burl wood drop-down desk, circa 1780, here in this passage-way, so its beauty could shine.

The designer transformed the existing skylight over the stairway into a laylight to fill the interiors with as much light as possible.

The master bedroom’s Chinoiserie-inspired traditional style begins with the custom wall-coverings created by Gracie. Tucker commissioned the hand-painted, custom-colored Georgian-style panels with antiquing and patina, to look like 18th-century paper embellished with Chinese scenes of birds and butterflies. The owner likes the feeling of falling asleep in a garden. Rose Tarlow’s linen Scala Damask covers the Tucker and Marks designed upholstered headboard with Chinese knot tufts. Suzanne Tucker Home’s Felice matelassé forms the bed’s coverlet. A pair of custom gate leg tables in bleached white oak stands on either side of the bed. A Califia Bench by Formations covered in a hand-embroidered fabric by Chelsea Textiles stands at the end.

A Buffet à Deux Corps anchors the room across from the bed. The piece consists of a 19th-century antique walnut buffet passed down from the owner’s grandmother, with a Tucker & Marks designed upper section created to hide the television and create more storage. A pair of Ming Dynasty glazed pottery figures holding symbolic articles stand on either side. The room gathers on an early 20th-century Kirman area rug, Persia.

Tucker removed a second-floor study, bathroom, and closet to make way for a larger luxury marble master bathroom and dressing area. In the bathroom, the floors display custom mosaic designs created with marble tiles by Waterworks. Slabs of marble cover shower walls and form the countertops. A dressing vanity includes an Art Deco-style dressing table mirror and an acrylic fan chair. A Regency-style verdigris pineapple lantern from Charles Edwards in London suspends down from the newly created laylight which floods the room with natural light.

The guest bedroom is a serene dream in blue. Carita linen by Suzanne Tucker Home covers the walls and forms the bed skirt. A Corniche fabric from Clarence House upholsters the custom Tucker & Marks designed headboard. An Arabesque matelassé, also from the designer’s home collection, forms the bed coverlet. A pair of Charles Fradin walnut bedside tables with matching lamps and an upholstered ottoman complete the room with relaxed traditional style.

That concludes our design inspiration for today, my friend.

To see more beautiful residences completed by this designer, be sure to see:

Contemporary Classical Interiors in San Francisco

California Mediterranean: Enchanted Oaks

Suzanne Tucker: Relaxed Traditional Style

Suzanne Tucker is recognized today as one of the USA’s leading interior designers, known for her timeless style, elegant interiors and her passion for architecture and decorative arts. She and her husband/partner Timothy F. Marks, founded Tucker & Marks in 1986, building it into the distinguished firm it is today.

Suzanne Tucker Home launched in 2010 with her textile, tabletop and home furnishings line. Suzanne’s first monograph, Rooms to Remember, The Classic Interiors of Suzanne Tucker, was followed by the publication of Suzanne Tucker Interiors – The Romance of Design. Be sure to check out both Interior Design Books.

Interior Design: Tucker & Marks Design

Photography: Edward Addeo

Thank you so much for reading along with me. Be sure to let me know what you think of Relaxed Traditional Style: Pacific Heights. I hope you found it inspiring and educational and look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

Have a great day!

May 19, 2017
Contemporary Classical Interiors: San Francisco

Our design inspiration for today comes from an elegant contemporary classical apartment located in one of San Francisco’s most desirable residential addresses. Architect Andrew Skurman and interior designer Suzanne Tucker transformed a full floor, 6,000-square-foot apartment into a contemporary home rich with classical architectural details and modern luxury. The residence is within an exclusive 1924 Beaux-Arts luxury co-op apartment building often called the “crown jewel” of prestigious Pacific Heights. It is set among a beautifully landscaped garden and positioned to provide stunning unobstructed views of the city and San Francisco Bay.

The apartment was a dream find for the new owners, a married couple who were long-time clients of the designer, though the 1970s-interior design was not. The architect reconfigured the floor plan to provide a more open, circular flow ideal for elegant entertaining and comfortable modern day city living. He gutted the original five-bedroom space and created a single master bedroom suite complete with separate his-and-her studies, bathrooms, and dressing rooms.

The well-proportioned public rooms feature high ceilings, beautiful Parquet de Versailles floors, and Neoclassical-style architectural details including deep crown molding, fluted pilasters, and Doric columns. The classical elements combine with an edited curation of English furnishings, European antiques, new bespoke pieces, and contemporary art. The results are highly personal, richly layered, luxurious contemporary classical interiors designed for the owner’s lifestyle.

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL DESIGN INSPIRATION

In the opening photo, we see the living room where linen damask by Rose Tarlow Melrose House adds a soft, subtle texture to the walls. Nathan Oliveira’s Stele/Head painting hangs above a custom cinnamon-colored, silk velvet upholstered sofa. The table lamp is a re-purposed Han-dynasty jar. The designer artfully mixes antiques from all periods alongside contemporary works creating a look that is timeless and original.

An 18th-century Spanish mirror hangs above a Louis XV marble fireplace mantle, while a pair of Napoleon III side tables sits on either side. A custom ottoman inset with an 18th-century Italian textile centers the room which gathers on a 19th-century Oushak rug. Brunschwig and Fils velvet on the tub chairs adds a bit of edge to the setting.

David Hockney’s Table Flowable hangs above an antique French commode. Juan Hamilton’s For Annie sculpture stands to the side.

Richard Diebenkorn’s Blue injects a bit of color above a 19th-century English desk and armchair. The gourd lamp is vintage by Robert Kuo.

Robert Motherwell’s Africa Suite #6 creates a worldly sophistication paired with an 18th-century Chinoiserie cabinet holding an antique bronze Buddha head.

A sumptuously decorated, window framed alcove provides scenic views of the San Francisco Bay. The decadent alcove, highlighted with a stately pair of Doric columns, also gives access to the terrace. A custom sofa upholstered in a Clarence House fabric and a pair of silk damask upholstered Michael Taylor “frog” chairs gather on an antique Khotan rug.

A domed ceiling crowns the statement-making oval entrance hallabove, while a dramatic inlaid Belgian marble floor completes it below creating an exemplary contemporary classical scene. A pair of George III mirrors and Demilune tables flank the entry to the living room.

The formal dining room includes the only details that remain from the previous design; etched mirror moldings, inlays and door panels. A Directoire dining table groups with a suite of Queen Anne-style armchairs by Gregorius Pineo beneath a Biedermeier chandelier from Therien & Co. The drawing is by Richard Serra.

The spacious kitchen includes bleached white oak cabinetry, cafe au lait marble counter-tops, honey oak floors, glass-fronted china cabinets, and Viking appliances.

In the walnut-paneled library, custom embroidered citron-hued draperies frame the windows. A 19th-century English center table from Florian Papp groups with chairs by Soane Britain upholstered in chartreuse calfskin. Frank Stella’s Study for New York Interpreted centers the room.

Traditional elegance defines the soothing master bedroom which serves as a true sanctuary for the owners. A recessed oval dome illuminated by a rock crystal chandelier continues the contemporary classical styling. Layers of textured fabric create the feeling of being ensconced in a cocoon. Strie silk upholstered walls set the luxurious tone. Embroidered fabric from Colefax and Fowler make up the window and outer bed draperies. Schumacher silk makes the bed skirt and lines the inner side of the bed drapes. A Chippendale Secretary anchors the wall between the windows. On another wall leading into the wife’s study, an antique English giltwood mirror hangs above an 18th-century Italian Chinoiserie commode.

In the wife’s dressing room, a custom created tiger-patterned wool and silk carpet covers the floor. An Ironies light fixture sparkles above. Christopher Hyland silk velvet covers the chaise giving the room a glamorous appeal.

Her bathroom includes a custom vanity in a white gold finish faced with antiqued mirror and restoration glass. A tortoiseshell mirror and a pair of rock crystal lamps create an ideal dressing table. An inlaid mosaic design on the floor traces the perimeter of the room highlighting the soft apricot marble surfaces. Stained walnut envelops his bathroom which completes with cocoa marble surfaces. The lighting pendant is from Marvin Alexander.

The husband’s study is paneled in rift-sawn oak. Draperies made with a fabric by Cowtan & Tout dress the windows while a vintage Khotan rug covers the floor. The desk is a custom design in the style of Andre Arbus.

That concludes our design inspiration, my friend.

For more projects completed by this designer, be sure to see:

Relaxed Traditional Style: Pacific Heights

California Mediterranean: Enchanted Oaks

SUZANNE TUCKER’S CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL INTERIOR DESIGN

Suzanne Tucker, based in San Francisco, is one of the country’s leading interior designers. She is a founding partner at the design firm Tucker & Marks, which has long been considered one of the most respected and successful interior design companies in the country. The designer has an extraordinary line of beautiful home furnishings, an exquisite fabric collection, a collection of dinnerware, and more.

Tucker has published two books, Rooms to Remember: The Classic Interiors of Suzanne Tucker and Suzanne Tucker Interiors – The Romance of Design. This project is featured in the second. Be sure to check out both Interior Design Books. They are truly inspiring.

Suzanne Tucker interprets her clients’ dreams of home and translates them into lavishly decorated rooms, perfectly tailored to their interests, passions, and personalities. She marries each of her designs to the tastes and sensibilities of her clients while always honoring classic design principles. The result is exquisitely polished interiors that blend timeless Old-World elegance with modern luxury and spirit.

Architecture: Andrew Skurman

Interior Design: Tucker & Marks Design

Photography: Matthew Millman

Additional: AD Magazine

What do you all think of today’s Contemporary Classical Interiors in San Francisco? Let me hear from you in the comments.

Thanks so much for reading along with me!

Have a great day!

March 11, 2017