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Leather Furniture is Beautiful

Nov 20, 2023 | 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!

A dark brown leather arm chair with patina nail heads on the arm's end is countered with an American flag pillow over a yellow and white 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.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Marija Vidal

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

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.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Barcelona leather chairs are timeless.

Light-colored walls and ceiling, to the front and right showing patterned upholstered chair with metal frame and a hot pink throw blanket covering the back, a round wooden coffee table dressed with a vase and several different shaped sky-blue shiny containers. Behind the chair is a set of stairs with black metal railings and warm wood top rails. to the right is the living room with a light colored corner sofa with chaise, covered in colorful throw pillows, and a contemporary light-colored chair with metal legs that match the corner sofa. In the center is a Noguchi-style coffee table with warm wooden support and glass top, dressed with multiple vases filled with flowers, and books. A dog sits upon the corner sofa chaise.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

Even the family dog loves the leather sectional sofa in this hillside retreat.

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

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Custom Cabinetry for Entertainment

Nov 06, 2023 | Posted in How To & Decorating Tips |

One of the common issues we have in a modern world is entertainment equipment and collections – your wifi router, streaming devices, books, magazines, and Blu-rays take space to store and can look cluttered. I have an elegant solution: Custom cabinetry!

Looking into a living room with an L-shaped sofa, glass side table, white coffee table, and a beautiful geometrically-shaped chandelier above. A fireplace adorns the far wall near the open hallways. On the back wall, there's custom cabinetry in white oak with closed cabinets and single bar metal handles, plus open shelving in narrow widths on either side of the tv opening, and a wider set of shelves to the right. Four cabinet drawers are underneath the television, providing a surface for books, photos, and collectibles. A grey armchair sits in front of the cabinets to the right, with a grey, white, and yellow striped lumbar pillow. A geometrically patterned rug in white, grey, and pale pinkish-tan that matches the cabinetry creates a zone for the furniture.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Steph Dewey

Look how many cabinets and drawers we can fit in this light, bright, contemporary family living room by creating a custom wall of storage.

A closeup view of the custom cabinetry in white oak cabinets and single bar metal handles. Open shelving in a narrow width goes up the right side, next to a larger and wider open shelf. One of the drawers underneath the television is visible, creating a surface for books, photos, and collectibles. Honey-colored wood planks in a chevron pattern make up the flooring.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Steph Dewey

Books, photos, and collectibles are easily accessible and displayed with open storage.

Closer view of the white oak wall of custom cabinetry with closed cabinets and single bar metal handles. Open shelving in a narrow width goes up the left side, next to larger and wider closed cabinets. One of the drawers underneath the television is visible, creating a surface for books, photos, and collectibles.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Steph Dewey

Closed storage keeps the messier things like wifi equipment, magazines and personal papers out of sight.

The row of cabinets underneath the television are specially designed to open out of the way, so nothing prevents you from looking in to see the contents without having to bend over. Thoughtful design like this makes such a difference to how you enjoy the space.

A white oak wall of custom cabinetry with closed cabinets and single bar metal handles, plus open shelving in narrow widths on either side of the tv opening, and a wider set of shelves to the right. Four cabinet drawers are underneath the television, providing a surface for books, photos, and collectibles. A grey armchair sits in front to the right, with a grey, white, and yellow striped lumbar pillow. A round white table is in the center bottom, cut off partially by the framing. A geometrically patterned rug in white, grey, and pale pinkish-tan that matches the cabinetry ties the space together.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Steph Dewey

What’s on display is the beauty of this light oak wood cabinetry, which is trending right now. I can create something like this for you, too!

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

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Powder Room Wow

Oct 23, 2023 | Posted in Starr Spotlight |

Have you ever been in a powder room that really made you say, Wow? Was it a single detail that bowled you over, or the coordination of multiple materials in such a small space? Let’s look at some of my work on powder rooms to learn more.

A blue-grey powder room showing a portrait mirror above a single-spigot silver tap from the wall over a white one-piece quartzite counter and undermount sink. Glass and silver drawer pulls bring a touch of bling, while geometric square patterns in black and white on a field of powder grey-blue create excitement for flooring.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Steph Dewey

A mix of patterns and shapes adds energy to this small-but-mighty powder room in a transitional home. From the vertical backsplash wall tiling with a wall-mounted single spigot to the geometrically-patterned flooring, joined by grey-blue cabinetry with clear acrylic handles, this little room is smartly appointed, if I do say so myself!

A petite powder room featuring a white toilet, white marble flooring with large grey veins, night-sky-blue subway tiles, contrasting tiny mosaic tiles inside the inset, with a repetition of the white marble on the ceiling of the inset above a white basin sink atop a two-drawer cabinet with silver horizontal metal drawer pulls, and an oval wood-framed mirror above the sink.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by David Duncan Livingston

The many colors, patterns, and textures in my Sunnyside client’s powder room are unified by the color scheme of blues and blue-greys. Notice the marble continued on the ceiling inset in a different scale from the marble floor tile, repeating but not copying each other. Repetition is one of the hallmarks of good design.

Earthy adobe-colored walls form a corner for this stone basin sink niche with a single waterfall spigot in solver, a teardrop-shaped wall-mount mirror with a hand-beaten metal frame. A wall sconce in off-white art glass and metal frame sits just at the right edge of the view. The basin sink is set atop a chunky wooden wall-mounted shelf in the corner.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

This is a detail view with bold impact. The above-counter stone basin is the star here, with a single waterfall spigot, while the teardrop mirror is a simple, usable, and stylish addition.

A veiny marble wall in off-white, grey, and tan counterpoints the wood-look floor tiling planks, custom white cabinet under a trough-style white ceramic sink with a brass single spigot to control water temperature. Slightly behind and partially hidden is the wall-mounted white modern toilet that appears to float above the floor.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

This one isn’t solely a powder room, but we’re looking at just a portion of the space. Here the wall mount toilet is a space savings, leaving more open floor. Wood-look plank floor tiles keep the space easy to clean. Using a small amount of veining in the marble wall tiling maintains interest while not overwhelming the space.

A toilet room has a warm, yellow light coming down from above, across some varied-height raised square tiles, creating shadow and highlights.
Design and photo by Kimball Starr

Here we made a toilet niche interesting with textural stone. While not technically a full powder room, this stand-alone toilet room has the same project goal of providing interest with the textural stone tiles while maintaining usability in a very small space. Do you think we achieved that goal?

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

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Stairways to Heavenly Places

Oct 09, 2023 | Posted in Inspirations |

More than just a way to get from one floor to another, staircase designs can truly uplift your spirit. Here are three of my own designs and an image from the web.

Underneath the ceiling in a loft apartment, a black metal circular staircase with silver curving metal rails has a moveable bookshelf filled with collectibles, books, and pillows. The interior of the shelving is painted orange, to match the wall niche displaying a Buddha head statue.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Joe Fletcher

A stunning circular staircase is surrounded by a moveable bookcase –- one of my favorite project solutions for a San Francisco condo. Subtle pattern keeps the exterior from looking too industrial, while the interior is painted a warm orange to match the statue wall inset.

Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

This elegant traditional staircase lives happily alongside midcentury modern furnishings in another of my projects in San Francisco. Notice how the end is curled and finished neatly without a fussy finial.

Knotty pine wood shiplap runs horizontally across the back wall of this San Francisco home. In front of that sits a white oak handrail with blue metal balustrades with an oblong circle accents repeated 3 times.
Design by Kimball Starr / Photo by Eric Rorer

My Belmont client’s home has a cabin feel that’s uplifted by modern balustrades and glass pendant lighting. We kept the natural oak color in contrast with the knotty pine-clad walls, so it doesn’t get lost in the existing wood paneling, which the client wanted to keep. Specifying the balusters in blue ties it in with the kitchen, from which this staircase is visible.

A mostly-white home with a stone wall has an open beechwood staircase with black metal framing and handrails that has a twist and a landing partway up. Light streams in from multiple open windows without curtains or blinds, above and by the front door.
Photo courtesy Viewrail

Here’s a beautiful example from the web: I just adore a wooden floating staircase with metal accents, especially when it has a little twist and landing partway up. So modern and clean.

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

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Projecting Light

Sep 18, 2023 | Posted in Trends |

I’m a fan of lighting design. One of the cool, modern trends I’ve seen recently is created by projecting light. Here’s what I mean:

4 overlapping circles of white light are projected onto a grey wall behind. The floor lamp has a black base and silver stand with 4 adjustable LED lights.
Photo courtesy Lightoro

This projector LED floor lamp can create multiple overlays and shapes.

The Sunset table lamp is a small black square on a stand that throws a single large gradiant circle of orange light with red in the center.
Photo courtesy Lightoro

A Sunset table lamp throws the shape and color of the sun onto your walls or artwork.

A small almost-clear glass lamp throws a tall slice of white light directly upwards against a wall next to a framed print of a woman biting into a blackberry.
Photo courtesy Lightoro

This table lamp washes light in a long slice, creating an exciting accent.

A gold semi-dome sconce wall lamp with tendrils of the construction material at the edges throws gold light against a dark blue wall.
Photo courtesy Lightoro

The PostKrisi Sun wall lamp displays its unique texture as an interplay of light with tendrils of material.

Would any of these bring excitement to your next project?

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

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Pet-Friendly Kitchens

Sep 04, 2023 | Posted in Inspirations |

We love furry friends; they’re part of the family. Why not design your kitchen so they can hang out with you, too?

A black, silver, and white mudroom with a pair of open shelves above a tiled and rubber-finished dog-washing station. A stacked black washer and dryer set are partially seen to the left. To the right are silver cabinets, a cubby, and pull-out food and water dishes inside two front drawers. On the right, grey wallpaper has illustrations of black, white, and grey dogs. Grey trim surrounds the door frame almost out of view on the right. Herringbone grey and white tiled flooring finishes the space.
Photo courtesy Artisan Signature Homes

A dog washing station is integrated in the laundry corner along with built-in feeding stations for dogs and cats over a beautiful and useful herringbone tile floor. Keeping your pet friends clean is made easier for you by good interior design.

A tall and deep drawer is pulled out on the left to reveal dog food and treats underneath an off-white countertop near double cabinet doors, while the right image shows a wicker basked tucked underneath the desi, with the capital letters CHARLIE carved into the head of the counter. Above are baskets and jars of supplies. Tan herringbone wooden floors tone with the top of a built-in seat nearby in warm beige.
Photo courtesy TomHowley.co.uk

A large hidden storage bin can really help with oversize bags of pet food, as can tucking the bed away under a desk with supplies on the shelves above.

A grey-green island in the center of a kitchen shows the short end towards the viewer, with white shiny tiling inside and inset that reveals a silver metal pot-filler that can be pulled out to fill the water bowl underneath, with a food bowl next to it. The island is the same color as the rest of the kitchen cabinetry, with a gooseneck faucet above.
Photo courtesy House of Rohl

Create a water and food station in your kitchen island using a pot filler for stylish convenience. The slick subway tiles contrast with the gorgeous grey-green finish of the cabinets here.

A cat-shaped cut-out sits in the center where two cabinet doors meet under a sink in a country-style kitchen. A pair of child's boots sit on a built-in seat nearby, while jars of treats and supplies sit atop the dark grey kitchen countertop above. Twisted dark metal spigots adorn the country sink below a window filled with green plants.
 Photo courtesy Atticmag

This country cabinet cutout provides a space for a kitty or small dog to feel safer from the outside world with a hidden bed.

An Airdale terrier lays on a red and white checked bed underneath an open sided off-white country kitchen island. On top, the counter is dressed with a basket of white flowers and a container of flour labeled "Bread". Board and batten off-white paneling can be seen just behind the island.
 Photo courtesy Atticmag

Or you can make the bed visible to keep an eye on your pooch. Kitchen islands are often perfectly sized for this.

A small curly-haired brown dog sits on a tan rug against a dark wood floor, between a white galley kitchen with white and grey marble counters, dressed with a bottle of wine. A multi-paned black metal door is behind him, with one pane open to show it's a dog door. Outside is a grill and green plants.
Photo courtesy Ladisicfinehomes

Give them access to the outdoors using a real metal door, sized for pets. Then you can focus on your cooking and your guests.

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

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