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Houzz Tour: ‘Interior Surrealism’ in a San Francisco Row House
A designer works with a daring homeowner willing to make playful, bold decor choices that allude to surrealist paintings
This photo shows the entryway. Bush changed the stairs from the natural wood with black selected by the builder to the current all black. The windows beyond the staircase look out over a roof garden.
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Here’s a look at the entry from the dining area. This view encapsulates a theme Bush used throughout the home: an “interior surrealism” that alludes to surrealist paintings and art. “The client is young and likes playful, modern things and was willing to be somewhat daring,” Bush says. “I love the idea of playing with color, scale and references in my design work and this seemed like a fitting narrative for the design choices we made.”
Bush thinks of the glossy blue lacquered space between the entry and the dining area as a kind of portal between the spaces. “Looking through that portal, that opening, you basically see we’re looking at it like a nighttime sky,” Bush says. The light fixture is the moon, the sculptural objects on the walls are drippy stars. “This bench is crawling — it’s got five legs and it’s luminous. The rug is almost a body of water,” Bush says.
Bush thinks of the glossy blue lacquered space between the entry and the dining area as a kind of portal between the spaces. “Looking through that portal, that opening, you basically see we’re looking at it like a nighttime sky,” Bush says. The light fixture is the moon, the sculptural objects on the walls are drippy stars. “This bench is crawling — it’s got five legs and it’s luminous. The rug is almost a body of water,” Bush says.
Just off the blue portal is this powder room, which has an ombre palette and abstract cattle skull that overtly reference surrealism. “It’s almost like a tequila sunset aspect to it with a nod to Spanish surrealist painters,” Bush says.
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The blue portal transitions into the pink dining space, a color that Bush chose to feel warm and enveloping. “We wanted this backdrop that made it special, somewhat cozy,” he says.
The shapes on the table are interconnecting chrome candlesticks. The wood piece is a vintage Italian bar cabinet.
The shapes on the table are interconnecting chrome candlesticks. The wood piece is a vintage Italian bar cabinet.
Bush custom-designed the dining table, which has an organic, pebble-like shape. The wood is wire-brushed oak with a dark stain. The chairs and light fixture also have rounded shapes rather than sharp, straight lines — Bush likes the contrast of these curves against the boxy lines that make up the room itself.
The dining room opens to the kitchen, but the rooms’ differing color palettes make them feel distinct. Bush removed the kitchen cabinets that the builder had installed and replaced them with taupe-stained oak with integrated pulls. He custom-designed the bronze light fixture over the island.
The Calacatta gold marble island and the refrigerator, stove and range hood were there when Bush came onto the project.
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The Calacatta gold marble island and the refrigerator, stove and range hood were there when Bush came onto the project.
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When Bush joined the project, the kitchen had upper cabinetry on the range hood wall. He replaced it with open shelving that has integrated black steel utensil hooks.
Bush also added the backsplash, handmade tiles from Heath Ceramics, and the perimeter countertop, which is thick honed basalt. “All these things will patina well over time and age properly,” he says.
Bush also added the backsplash, handmade tiles from Heath Ceramics, and the perimeter countertop, which is thick honed basalt. “All these things will patina well over time and age properly,” he says.
The living room is also open to the kitchen, and its glass door leads out to a green roof. In this space, Bush wanted to balance the heavy items in the kitchen — the dramatic island, the tall cabinetry, the large range hood — with visually weighty furnishings. “All the furnishings are somewhat blocky and overscaled and have a visual weight and chunk to them,” he says.
The art above the sofa is by Mara De Luca. The lamp in the corner is 4 feet tall. “I like to do bold graphic gestures,” Bush says. “Everything to me [here] has a balanced graphic and weight, even the cactus.”
The walnut table is handmade. The pink chairs were designed by Gerrit Rietveld, a Dutch architect and designer whose work is still being produced posthumously.
The walnut table is handmade. The pink chairs were designed by Gerrit Rietveld, a Dutch architect and designer whose work is still being produced posthumously.
This photo shows the wall opposite the sofa. The cabinet is made of steel I-beams and thick oak shelves. “We go to great lengths to disguise the TV in plain sight,” Bush says. The rug has rounded corners rather than sharp ones, again reflecting Bush’s preference for curves.
This photo shows the back of the home. The lower level opens onto the backyard, which has a dining table and a fire pit. The bottom interior level houses a screening room. Bush created a unified color palette for the outdoor furnishings and those in the screening lounge.
Above the screening lounge is the living room. The vertical window on the right side of the exterior facade follows the interior staircase.
Above the screening lounge is the living room. The vertical window on the right side of the exterior facade follows the interior staircase.
Here’s a look inside the screening room. Bush created another reference to surrealist paintings here. “To the right of the plant there’s a wood sculpture and it’s an abstracted form of an owl on this pole,” he says. To Bush the vignette is like an owl standing on a rock in a forest, perhaps beneath a glowing moon (the lamp).
With whites, grays and blacks, the overall palette of the room is cool. “But we bring these wood elements in to warm it up but also refer to warmer spaces in the rest of the house,” the designer says.
With whites, grays and blacks, the overall palette of the room is cool. “But we bring these wood elements in to warm it up but also refer to warmer spaces in the rest of the house,” the designer says.
A movie projector is hidden in the dark ceiling. Bush designed a subtle ceiling bump-out between the two skylights that encases it.
Two large, light paintings brighten the room. The large round rug is part of a line that Bush designed for Marc Phillips Decorative Rugs called TOPO.
“It’s playful but sort of this dark garden room that’s very organic and supposed to bring in some of the lighter and darker tones of the garden,” Bush says.
Two large, light paintings brighten the room. The large round rug is part of a line that Bush designed for Marc Phillips Decorative Rugs called TOPO.
“It’s playful but sort of this dark garden room that’s very organic and supposed to bring in some of the lighter and darker tones of the garden,” Bush says.
The guest bedroom is also on the third floor. The palette for this room is charcoal, army green, wood and brass. The side tables are midcentury oak, the photography contemporary.
“To me it looks very California cool: understated but put together nicely,” Bush says.
“To me it looks very California cool: understated but put together nicely,” Bush says.
The art above the guest room’s vintage dresser is by Raymond Pettibon. The text in it says, “I thought California would be different.”
The homeowner had the Eames chair before hiring Bush, but it was upholstered in black leather. Bush had it re-covered in linen from Kelly Wearstler.
The rug is by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola. The lamp on the dresser is Italian glass; the vase is Japanese pottery.
The homeowner had the Eames chair before hiring Bush, but it was upholstered in black leather. Bush had it re-covered in linen from Kelly Wearstler.
The rug is by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola. The lamp on the dresser is Italian glass; the vase is Japanese pottery.
The top floor of the home contains what Bush calls the view room. “It has 270-degree views of the city overlooking Noe Valley,” he says.
A blocky leather sectional, vintage Italian chairs in green and sculptural art tables create a contemporary lounge feel. “At night the whole room becomes dark and very lounge-y,” Bush says.
A blocky leather sectional, vintage Italian chairs in green and sculptural art tables create a contemporary lounge feel. “At night the whole room becomes dark and very lounge-y,” Bush says.
Off the view room is a deck that leads out to another green roof.
Landscape designer: Rana Creek
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Landscape designer: Rana Creek
More on Houzz
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: San Francisco
Size: 3,500 square feet (325 square meters)
Designer: Jamie Bush of Jamie Bush & Co.
The owner of this row home is a San Francisco tech worker in his 40s who, when he was single, was able to purchase the home while it was under construction. He discovered a photo of a room that he loved on Houzz and called its creator, Jamie Bush, ultimately hiring him as his interior designer.
At first Bush was focused on decor, but the project scope quickly grew into shaping the interior architecture. Bush shifted the three-bedroom to a two-bedroom plus an open office off the third-floor stairs. This arrangement worked better for the homeowner, who needed only one guest room. Bush also redid the powder rooms and master bathroom, changed out the kitchen cabinetry and added green roofs to the design.
The homeowner doesn’t have a design background but did have a strong interest in learning. “His overall direction for the project was he wanted something that was collected and artful but not showy and done in a way that it could be believed that if he was sort of a design-savvy learned individual, he could have done it himself,” Bush says.