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Stephan is privileged to have a longtime client with whom he has built a comfortable and constructive relationship working on multiple projects over 25 years. The client’s San Francisco pied-à-terre was to be a refresh of the apartment she has enjoyed for over 20 years, but it quickly evolved into a gut renovation when she gave Stephan the mission to push her out of her comfort zone. Over the years her preference led to tastefully traditional interiors, and she felt that the time was right to try something different and a bit unexpected.
With this new brief, the apartment was taken down to the studs and every element in the unit was redone, from new flooring, bespoke millwork, and handcrafted plaster work designed by Stephan and his team. It was a true new beginning for the apartment on the southeast corner of a high floor in a luxury tower in SoMa. Stephan partnered with his client to explore her interest in art and design, crafting rooms swathed in surprising color and texture—a backdrop that lets pieces by artists and makers as varied as George Nakashima, Osvaldo Borsani, Stack Lab, and Abe Odedina shine and coexist, all within a distinctly urban setting with sweeping city and bay views.
Vibrant color was a starting point in the project, as evidenced in the living room by Marcel Dzama’s commanding ‘Blue Water Blue’ watercolor triptych, from David Zwirner. The work hangs above a custom cabinet by Simon Cabrol in a pearlescent green lacquer, all offset by the custom plaster work from Kamp Studios. In the primary bedroom, Stephan used a brass-framed room divider made of multicolored translucent resin blocks—a one-of-a-kind piece spotted at Blackman Cruz, likely salvaged from a Hollywood production company; it was a true original and sublime touch. The divider created an adjacent sitting room, where the principal element is a custom sofa upholstered in a robin’s egg blue boucle from Rogers & Goffigon, which complements a large William Eggleston photograph and a wall of apricot built-in shelving.
Other strategic interventions focused on the kitchen, where a doorway to the living room was closed off to create a breakfast nook, its banquette seating is angled to capture the view. Stephan delights in the thrum of the streets below, and the refuge he designed draws from that San Franciscan energy even as it quiets it. This makes one’s entrance into the apartment a transformative and calming experience for the client, and her family and friends.
