Whenever I see a beautifully renovated house, I first think about all of the blood, sweat and tears that went into making it what it is today. Then, I feel overjoyed and excited for people – to have your dream house realized must give you an overwhelming feeling of pride. In fact, that excitement is so contagious it makes me want to take on projects of my very own!
Jay Shapiro, a skateboarder and musician, and Claire Bigbie, an interior designer, turned a Victorian house in San Francisco into a skater's dream house. The couple met 10 years ago at a skate park in Rhode Island; they bought their house for $1 million in 2005. Here they show us how they've mixed the vintage and modern pieces together to create a beautifully chic home.
A dressing room has wallpaper by Tom Dixon, a plastic chandelier from Urban Outfitters and a taxidermy deer named Harry. Ms. Bigbie – who had been collecting furniture since she was 14 – has filled the house with vintage and contemporary pieces.
A bathroom designed to look like a pool, with depth marks and pool coping, reminds its owners of the skateboarder's nirvana: an empty pool.
Ms. Bigbie painted the mantel in the bedroom Benjamin Moore's Pool Party Blue; the bottles on it are by Sara Paloma. The Hella Jongerius vase on the floor is from Ikea.
Artwork by Ms. Bigbie and Mr. Shapiro's friends hangs in the kitchen; the paper on the wall at right is Angles, by Erica Wakerly.
The blue-black exterior paint was custom mixed by the architect, Douglas Burnham, to play down the Victorian embellishments.
The fun-loving couple.
First photo: The ground-floor studio has a rolling garage door that opens to a garden designed by Flora Grubb, with “a Palm Springs desert vibe,” Ms. Bigbie said, and succulents in big pots.
{Source: New York Times}
