A lifetime of exotic destinations informs the design of this updated San Francisco home. The owners planned to enjoy their retirement in a home created just for the two of them, where they could appreciate being at leisure to entertain friends amid panoramic views of the city and the Bay. To transform a tall, narrow, three-unit apartment building on Russian Hill into their single-family home, the called on an architect Edgar McEachron of McEachron Architects and contractors JMK Construction. Soon after, a friend referred them t Kendall Wilkinson, principal of Kendall Wilkinson Design, whose work has been featured on HGTV’s Home Across America, in designer showcase houses, and in several publications. Wilkinson is also owner of Patina Atelier, a resource specializing in 18th and 19th-century French antiques. The couple has traveled extensively in Indonesia and Hawaii and wanted to carry an “East meets West” theme throughout their extremely contemporary home. Wilkinson worked in intense cooperation with the clients and other members of the team to compose the serene, inviting interiors. “The experience was wonderful; it was untypical; it was synergy,” she said of the relationship that developed among clients, designer, architect and contractor. “we first decided on the cosmetic aspects, the finishes, and how they were to flow throughout the house.” The finishes, such as the pale, high-sheen, wide planks of maple on the floors, were all selected to evoke a subtle, very clean, Zen feeling” explained Wilkinson. “Taking from their travels, the clients told us what it was that they loved about places they had stayed in Bali.” They wanted the airy, light, open-to-nature feeling of Bali, yet also needed a warm, cozy retreat from the chilly San Francisco weather. “They wanted elements of all of these wonderful experiences in their home, so that when they are home, they don’t need to go out.” The designer’s response was to link room to room with a muted palette of six custom colors she developed with the clients. “I like continuity and fluidity, so that everything flows from one room to the next,” she said. “You experience different things, but the transitions are not jarring; you feel as if you’re still in the same house.” The inspiration for the colors came from the clients’ collection of books and Chinese prints from the 1920s and ‘30s. Naming her custom colors for their Asian, metaphysical inspiration, Wilkinson called her Chinese red “kimono”; other colors in the pallet are “serene blue,” “Utamaro gold,” and shades inspired by celadon, tea, okra and burnt orange. The tone is set from the moment one enters the house. “In Feng Shui, a red door is considered to be good luck,” explained the designer. “We had a glass door, through which dark, kimono red wall of the entry is visible. The entry leads to an open, airy ground-floor “gallery” with a limestone floor, pale walls hung with art, and a pool table at its center, used for casual entertaining. From the gallery, stairs lead to a dark, warm. Cocoon-like library. Wilkinson specializes in designing home movie theatres and media rooms; she and architect Ed McEachron wrapped custom cherry wood cabinets around the whole room to conceal the television and other electronics, which appear at the touch of a keypad. Adjoining the library is a light, water like, serene bathroom lined with glass tile. “we wanted the beauty of the wood and water colors to flow through the house, a s a reminder of Bali,” said Wilkinson. The color palette continues up the stairs to the next level, designed for comfortable entertaining and cooking. Dining room, living room, and kitchen communicate openly and easily with each other and with the extraordinary views beyond the windows. A large, vivid painting dominates the dining room and adds accent colors. “In the kitchen and dining room, the painting plays out through colors and also as a celebration of people together, interacting,” explained the designer. “The whole floor is very open and fluid, with an ‘everyone welcome everywhere’ feeling.” In quiet harmony, a green-gray wash, teal blue, and creamy yellow-gold are accented with the Chinese red of the valences over the windows, made of a fabric by Gretchen Bellinger. Textures mix and blend; wire mesh was used instead of glass on the kitchen cabinets, window coverings are Asian-looking match-stick blinds. “When designing an interior that is rather monochromatic, texture is important,” Wilkinson noted. “Subtle colors that are repeated throughout the house take on a different tone depending on the light, the surface, and the texture.” The ceiling color in consistent for continuity; the wall colors change subtly three times and blend into one another in the living and dining areas. Wilkinson designed one central area rug to bring the home’s colors together and focus the long, narrow living room. At one end is a long, velvet sofa with an ottoman; at the other, a more intimate seating group o four chairs in front of the simple, marble fireplace. Art, which the clients had collected in their travels, is an important presence in the home. The master suite on the third floor, topped by a roof garden and deck, is where a Hawaiian influence is felt; the lady of the house is a native of Hawaii. A focal point of the bedroom is a charming palm-tree patterned chenille on a bun-like seat at the foot of the bed. The green-tea-and-gold colors bring a serene, metaphysical quality simple, elegant bedroom. A bright skylight over the bed allows the outdoors in, much like sleeping in an open hut in the tropics. A luxurious, outdoor bathroom in Bali inspired the tropical jungle-like master bath, where the client designed a garden and waterfall with a pyramid skylight and sweeping views. Hammered steel bowl sinks, reminiscent of Balinese rain drums, sit on the counter; the tub floats in the middle of the room, and portholes in the shower stall look out over the greenhouse garden. “She wanted to feel the pitter-patter of the rain, to feel as if she were bathing outdoors,” said the designer. “In this bathroom, every sensation is heightened.”

Original article published by California Homes written by Julie Goodman.