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Lovely Leather

Nov 17, 2025 | Posted in Inspirations |

I just love leather furniture: The texture, the feeling, the look of something aged by use, loved by a family. Here we look back at some of my favorite projects that include leather furniture, in time for the holidays!

Close-up of a dark brown leather arm chair with patina nail heads on the arm's end is countered with an American flag pillow in front of a yellow and white chevron-patterned throw blanket.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

Love the cracks in this well-worn armchair.

A hair-on-hide ottoman pairs with leather armchairs in this gentleman's living room in front of a wooden fireplace mantel and a stone surround. A second red velvet sofa sits across from the armchairs, the other side of the ottoman, with 3 patterned throw pillows. Books are piled behind glass doors to the right side of the fireplace.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

Leather chairs pair nicely with a hair-on-hide ottoman, here used as a coffee table.

Two images side-by-side. On the left, closeup of a shiny white bedside table with a bowling pin lamp and a small posey of white flowers in a clear vase. Next to the table is the bed, with a dark navy blue leather headboard, white sheets, and two pillows in army green crochet and blue. The right photo is of the corner of the leather headboard showing the patina nailheads in two lines. Behind the headboard is a red curtain fabric with a yellow patterned accent stitching.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

The look of the bed’s leather headboard with nail-head details in this same gentleman’s modern classic condo makes my heart sing.

White leather Barcelona chairs with silver legs and button-tufting on the seats and backs, in front of a floor-to-ceiling window and a dark curtain with a gold band a foot above the floor.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Barcelona leather chairs are timeless.

An off-white leather daybed faces the view in this contemporary hillside retreat. The daybed holds green-blue-brown-white striped throw pillows, along with an orange and another turquoise blue pillow. To the left are patterned upholstered chairs with metal frames, a round wooden coffee table dressed with a vase and several different-shaped sky-blue shiny containers. A hot pink throw blanket covers the back of one of the chairs. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors form the corner of the room in front of a beautiful San Francisco night view through metal railings.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Lounging on an ecru leather daybed as day turns to night, with this gorgeous San Francisco skyline view outside, is just heavenly.

Kimball Starr designs custom leather furniture for homes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe. Contact her today for a consultation.

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Home Office to Guest Room

Nov 03, 2025 | Posted in Before & After |

Do you struggle to use a spare bedroom as your home office? Books, computer gear, and paper piled everywhere? Difficult to make space for your guests when they arrive last-minute? I have just the solution for you! Take a look at this San Francisco home office / bedroom before-and-after for inspiration.

A hardworking home office converts to a comfortable guest getaway with this convertible bed, hidden behind a large custom-made blue wall cabinet. A white desk chair and a blue-and-white desk sit in front of a window with roller blinds. The light colored carpet helps with sound attenuation. Custom built-in cabinetry provides storage for both guests and office needs.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

In a contemporary urban condo, this workhorse office converts into a serene guest bedroom. Blue custom-designed cabinetry hides a convertible Murphy bed for a calm and welcoming space, matched with custom desk drawers.

Before photo of a guest bedroom used as a home office, with stacks of paper on every surface, and a computer.
BEFORE photo by Kimball Starr

‘Before’ photo, showing how the guest bed and all available surfaces are piled high with paperwork.

AFTER view of the guest bedroom used as a home office. A white table is folded down from the closed wall bed, creating a second desk area. The main desk is a custom-built blue and white surface with drawers against the windows, with a Macintosh computer on top. Art is hung nearby, and storage is also built-in either side of the convertible bed.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

‘After’ view of the home office, showing a white wood and metal desk folded down, providing additional space for laying out papers, drawing, reading, or computing. You can fit two people into this office at the same time now!

BEFORE photo of the home office, walls lined with boxes, bins, and paperwork plus a computer and printer.
BEFORE photo by Kimball Starr

In another ‘before’ view, you see the challenge of organizing and hiding all the paperwork and equipment needed for a home office. The stark walls could use some love as well.

AFTER view of the home office showing the blue convertible guest bed starting to come down from the wall.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Now artwork provides a beautiful place for the eye to land above the neatly organized built-in storage for the desk. The bed is so easy to pull down, you can do it with one hand.

BEFORE with bedding spilling out of the closet and paperwork on all available surfaces including the guest bed. A storage rack of DVDs stands next to the closet.
BEFORE photo by Kimball Starr

Even the closet overflows with spare bedding in this ‘before’ photo, and the bed itself is surrounded by visible storage that looks busy and cramped. Not restful for your guests or peaceful for YOU to use.

AFTER the home office space is calmed, the guest bed can be revealed, dressed with white linens, yellow blanket, and yellow and blue patterned throw pillows. Overhead lights provide a way to read in bed, while a pulldown surface is a place for guests to place their book or glasses. It currently holds a beautiful orange and red flower posey in a clear vase. Books and magazines are stored neatly on the shelves either side of the bed. Pull-down blackout window shades are a thoughtful addition for guests.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

After, storage is neat and tidy while still being accessible. The fold-down bedside table, here dressed with a vase of flowers, is a thoughtful touch for guests, as are the pull-down blackout window shades.

A sky blue wall paint color is the backdrop to this restful bedroom, showing 2 ceramic blue lamps on blond bedside tables, either side of a sea-blue-green headboard and bedstead, with white and gray patterned sheets and 2 stacks of pillows, and a matching blue accent pillow in front. The dark wood floor contrasts against an oriental rug at the foot of the bed.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / photo by Joe Fletcher

Here’s another project that’s a bedroom and a home office, with a smaller space for working within the room.

A light-colored wooden folding chair in front of a white wall stands next to a small folding camp table in front of a green-yellow wall.
BEFORE photo by Kimball Starr

Before, this bedroom was crying out for design, and appropriate furniture.

A wood chair with a rattan seat in front of a beautiful medium dark wood midcentury modern secretaire desk with artwork hung on the wall and a single plant in a small vase atop the desk next to the artwork. Small items are inside the desk, revealed by the lowered secretaire surface. A corner of the bed is visible at the bottom right corner of the scene.
AFTER: Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Joe Fletcher

After, this mid-century modern secretaire desk is perfect for writing letters, paying bills, or signing cards, and it folds up neatly so you can relax when it’s time for bed.

Do you have a guest bedroom that needs to double as a home office, but isn’t doing the business? Kimball Starr Interior Design creates contemporary residential spaces that guests and owners love! Contact her today for a complimentary consultation.

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Fireplace Weather Alert

Oct 20, 2025 | Posted in Inspirations |

Autumn is here again! This season, my thoughts turn to warm sweaters, raking crisp leaves, and getting cozy by a warm fire. Here are a few of my clients’ favorite fireplace designs I created, and I think you will enjoy them, too.

Gentleman’s Modern Classic Fireplace

A hair-on-hide ottoman pairs with leather armchairs in this gentleman's living room.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

I like to call this one a modern classic because the room has elements of both traditional and modern design. We styled the fireplace with art, lighting, and a flower arrangement, to make it easy to use and welcoming.

Contemporary Warm and Cozy Fire

The knotty cedar wood wall paneling in this living room is accented by the white custom-designed ribbon fireplace with a black hearth. A midcentury modern stool in white sits atop a fluffy grey faux fur in front of the fire. A piece of artwork in black and white hangs above the fireplace, and two sculptural vases decorate the hearth.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Paul Dyer

A simple yet elegant design that fits today’s busy lifestyle. I custom-created the fireplace and surround to contrast with the warm, knotty cedar wood wall construction, and personalized with art and pottery. The stool and rug are perfect for getting the fire started on a chilly night.

Comfortable Mid-century Fireplace Without Mantel

Living room showing table and 2 vintage green metal chairs at the back left corner, in front of a window. To the right, a modern grey horizontal striped fireplace without a mantel, with simple black firescreen in front. Above the fire, a turquoise blue and bright green and yellow artwork is hung. In the front of the image, a purple and white striped mid-century modern chair and matching footrest sit on a blue patterned rug. The rest of the flooring is warm wood-tones. An orange and white lattice-patterned round side table is at the very front of the view, next to the chair and footrest.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Classic furniture is allowed to be the star of this living room, while the architectural fireplace is appropriately subdued. Having a fireplace without a mantel means you won’t collect clutter, showing off beautiful artwork instead. A simple metal screen stops loose sparks and beautifies the hearth.

Industrial Zen Elements Fireplace

View of a living room fireplace. In the foreground, a grey chaise lounge dressed with brown pillows. A hint of a multicolored rug on the floor, with light colored wood underneath. A glowing globe light sits on the floor, to the right of the hearth, which is patterned grey with oversized brick-like shapes. The Douglas fir wood mantel is dressed with Asian art and sculptures, plus dried plantings that have an architectural, spiky look to them. To the left of the fireplace is a large potted plant, again with spiky leaves, and to the right is a bookcase.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Asian elements and organic surfaces appealed to this client’s understated masculine style, so I used a floating Douglas fir wood mantel to balance out the steel and stone fire surround. We finished off the fireplace design with simple plantings and art. The wood placed just inside invites you to light a fire and enjoy a peaceful evening.

If you dream of having a warm fireplace in your home, Kimball Starr can answer your questions – contact her today!

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Transform Stairs with Paint

Oct 06, 2025 | Posted in Inspirations |

Blue painted stairs with white railings and stringers with a hat on the newel post. A green trunk sits nearby with personal items on it, and a small mirror and art hang on the white wall going up the stairs. Warm wood flooring peeks out at the bottom of the staircase.
Design by Emily Henderson / Photo by Bjorn Wallender, courtesy Country Living

You’ve seen colorfully painted walls, floors, and even ceilings. What about painting stairs?

The example above reverses the basic “paint the railings dark and the stairs white” approach. What follows are some unusual ideas that progress the painted-stair design into new directions!

As seen from above, a country store-style staircase is painted with multiple signage logos such as Pepsi-Cola, Texaco, and Coca-Cola across one to two treads each logo.
Design by Funky Junk Interiors / Photo courtesy Lushome

A country store signage painted staircase, for a bit of fun while changing floors.

An optical illusion of polka dots floating in space is created by painting stairs and their surrounding walls with pink and white paint, including the door at the top of the stairs, and also revealing the wood color for some portions of the dots. Light beams from around the doorway.
Photo courtesy Lushome

This polka-dot stair illusion is amazing, leaving portions of the treads unpainted with the wood revealed, and the door painted to integrate into the vision. This would require a lot of calculations to execute!

A beautiful white painted staircase with beige center portion accented with 3 country-blue colored stripes up the middle, the center stripe being the biggest. A beige jug filled with green and white flowers sits atop a stack of books on the second step.
Photo by Leslee Mitchell, courtesy Country Living

A painted grain-sack inspired stair runner is good for country or city living. Simply stylish.

A staircase with dark wood treads and risers painted white, with aqua blue numbers from 1 to 10 on the risers going upwards. In the background, shelves filled with vases, books, and collectibles are slightly out of focus to the left of the stairs, behind the railings that ends in a circle of rails at the bottom step.
Photo by Lucas Allen, courtesy Country Living

Teach your kids their numbers by going up and down stairs.  This North Carolina home uses aqua-painted brass house numbers to label their stair treads.

A staircase at a slight angle in the photo starts with dark treads at the bottom, gradually lightening the colors through shades of blue and turquoise, rising to a pale blue at the top where the stair turns to the left. This graduated change in color is called ombré. The treads themselves are all painted white, as are the surrounding walls. The stringers are painted a solid turquoise blue to harmonize the colors.
Photo courtesy Shef Sutton

This fun ombré stair tread is something I would suggest to my clients who love color.

Kimball Starr specializes in designing colorful homes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe. Contact her today for a remote or in-person consultation.

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Instagram Moments at Home

Sep 15, 2025 | Posted in Inspirations |

On a tabletop, a black coffee mug sits on a plate beside a pile of bright red strawberries, just behind a striped yellow and white cloth napkin, which matches the upholstered tufted yellow chair in the background, slightly out of focus. This image feels welcoming. Maybe you should sit down for a cup of tea or coffee and a bite of strawberry.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

By now you’ve heard of Instagram — the photography-based social media — and possibly also the trend of creating “Instagrammable moments.”

An old leather chair with nailheads surrounding the front of the arm. An American-flag colored pillow sits on the seat, just out of focus. A chevron-patterned blanket in gold and white sits just at the right of the image, cut off. The cracks and lines in the leather are highlighted by the light falling on the chair arm from a nearby window. This image invites you to look closer, and maybe take a seat.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

It’s a way of creating an experience or feeling that’s easily captured in a single image.

An orange and yellow melon inside with green outsides is sliced open on a well-oiled butcher block, showing the black seeds inside the melon. In the background, just out of focus, are beige and pinkish penny tiles on the floor, grouted with a darker color between them. This image invites you to eat a piece of fruit in a comfortable kitchen.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Today I’m suggesting another way to use Instagrammable moments – by creating spaces in your home that generate happiness.

The corner of a shower showing an inset holding a vase with a single pink flower, a natural sponge, and a white bar of soap underneath on the next shelf. The walls and corner seat are formed with oversize porcelain tiles in varied light tan, medium brown, and grey-beige colors. At the bottom of the image, a bar of soap sits on a green and blue glass tray on top of a white folded towel. You're invited to feel fresh and clean in this space.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Whatever your Instagram moment, Kimball Starr Interior Design can make it happen. Contact her today for a consultation!

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Switch Up Your Light Switches

Sep 01, 2025 | Posted in How To & Decorating Tips |

A white Lutron rocker light switch with a dimmer slider to the right side, on a wall over a tiled backsplash in a kitchen, above the counter with glasses, a stack of white plates, and a coffee canister in silver and black. A tiny peek of a window and a green plant are just visible to the left.
Image courtesy Lutron

You might overlook them, tucked away on your walls, but light switch plates are an opportunity to infuse your home with good design. They’re not just functional, they’re subtle taste statements.

Let’s peek at a few American options beyond the basic builder-grade plastic model pictured below. Other countries will have similar but different versions specific to their electrical needs, so we aren’t discussing those here.

A man's hand with a finger extended to the tip of a standard off-white American-style light switch
Image courtesy TaskRabbit

Think about upgrading your lights themselves with dimmers or sliders, for a beautiful, truly functional value-add. Your home instantly looks more cohesive with the right level of lighting for each space.

An almond-covered rocker light switch by Lutron with a dimmer slide on the right side.
Image courtesy Lutron

PRO TIP: Use smart switches instead of installing spendy smart bulbs to replace your standard bulbs. Check that your LED bulbs allow for dimming – not all do.

A Leviton Decora white plastic light switch plate with a motion sensor at the top, a large button below and two smaller up and down buttons to the right side. Next to the switch plate is a cell phone showing the app allowing you to control the lighting, with a blue background and a white switch in the center, labeled Guest Bathroom Lights 50%. In small letters near the top is Unoccupied On/Off, and at the bottom Motion Snooze, and Remove From Room.
Image courtesy Leviton Decora

Consider the elegance of seamless, screwless plates. They offer a clean, modern look that melts into the wall, allowing your bolder design elements to sing.

Image courtesy Lutron

Then there are plates that embrace texture and material. Think metal finishes – brushed nickel for a contemporary feel, or a warmer brass for classic charm.

Five different metal light switch plates on a pink background. Top left is brass with two round buttons, below that is hexagonal gold with a single switch and two screws, in the center is a dark green and black mottled square plate with a black round knob in the center, top right is a circular gold plate with a switch in the middle and two screws either side, and bottom right is a grey metal rectangular plate with a single grey metal knob in the center.
Image courtesy Architectural Digest

For a bolder statement, explore decorative plates with patterns or unique shapes. Just make sure they harmonize with your overall design, instead of competing for attention.

Five different styles of electrical plug plates and light switch plates, all with the same swirled gold and white pattern printed on them, outlined in gold, with drill holes for screws.
Photo courtesy Anthopologie via Pinterest

Don’t underestimate these small touches. Thoughtful choices in even the most functional elements can truly elevate your space.

Kimball Starr designs for homes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe. Contact her today for a remote or in-person consultation.

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