USA Houzz Tour: ‘Interior Surrealism’ in a San Francisco Terrace
A designer works with a daring homeowner willing to make playful, bold decor choices that allude to surrealist paintings
The owner of this terrace house is a San Francisco tech worker in his 40s who, when he was single, was able to purchase the home while it was under construction. He discovered a photo of a room he loved on Houzz and called its creator, Jamie Bush, ultimately hiring him as his interior designer.
This photo shows the entrance. Bush changed the stairs from the natural timber with black selected by the builder to the current all-black design. The windows beyond the staircase look out over a rooftop garden.
Find an interior designer on Houzz near you
Find an interior designer on Houzz near you
Here’s a look at the entry from the dining area. This view encapsulates a theme Bush used throughout the home: an ‘interior surrealism’ that alludes to surrealist paintings and art.
“The client is young and likes playful, modern things and was willing to be somewhat daring,” says Bush. “I love the idea of playing with colour, scale and references in my design work and this seemed like a fitting narrative for the design choices we made.”
Bush thinks of the glossy blue lacquered space between the entry and the dining area as a kind of portal between the spaces. “Looking through that portal, that opening, you basically see we’re looking at it like a night-time sky,” says Bush. The light fixture is akin to the moon, and the sculptural objects on the walls almost resemble stars. “This bench is crawling – it has five legs and it’s luminous. The rug is almost a body of water,” says Bush.
“The client is young and likes playful, modern things and was willing to be somewhat daring,” says Bush. “I love the idea of playing with colour, scale and references in my design work and this seemed like a fitting narrative for the design choices we made.”
Bush thinks of the glossy blue lacquered space between the entry and the dining area as a kind of portal between the spaces. “Looking through that portal, that opening, you basically see we’re looking at it like a night-time sky,” says Bush. The light fixture is akin to the moon, and the sculptural objects on the walls almost resemble stars. “This bench is crawling – it has five legs and it’s luminous. The rug is almost a body of water,” says Bush.
Just off the blue portal is this powder room, which has an ombré palette and abstract cattle skull that overtly reference surrealism. “It’s almost like a tequila sunset aspect to it with a nod to Spanish surrealist painters,” says Bush.
The blue portal transitions into the pink dining space, a colour that Bush chose to feel warm and enveloping. “We wanted this backdrop that made it special, somewhat cosy,” he says.
The shapes on the table are interconnecting chrome candlesticks. The timber piece is a vintage Italian bar cabinet.
The shapes on the table are interconnecting chrome candlesticks. The timber piece is a vintage Italian bar cabinet.
Bush custom-designed the dining table, which has an organic, pebble-like shape. The wood is wire-brushed oak with a dark stain. The chairs and light fixture also have rounded shapes rather than sharp, straight lines – Bush likes the contrast of these curves against the boxy lines that make up the room itself.
The dining room opens to the kitchen, but the rooms’ differing colour palettes make them feel distinct. Bush removed the kitchen cabinets that the builder had installed and replaced them with taupe-stained oak with integrated pulls. He custom-designed the bronze light fixture over the island.
The Calacatta gold marble island and the refrigerator, stove and range hood were on-site when Bush came onto the project.
The Calacatta gold marble island and the refrigerator, stove and range hood were on-site when Bush came onto the project.
Before Bush took over the interior design, the kitchen had upper cabinetry on the range hood wall. He replaced it with open shelving and integrated black steel utensil hooks.
Bush also added the splashback with handmade tiles from Heath Ceramics, and the perimeter benchtops, which are thick honed basalt. “All these things will patina well over time and age properly,” he says.
Bush also added the splashback with handmade tiles from Heath Ceramics, and the perimeter benchtops, which are thick honed basalt. “All these things will patina well over time and age properly,” he says.
The living room is also open to the kitchen, and its glass door leads out to a green roof. In this space, Bush wanted to balance the heavy items in the kitchen – the dramatic island, the tall cabinetry, the large range hood – with visually weighty furnishings. “All the furnishings are somewhat blocky and overscale and have a visual weight and chunk to them,” he says.
The art above the sofa is by Mara De Luca. The lamp in the corner is 1.2 metres tall. “I like to do bold, graphic gestures,” says Bush. “Everything to me [here] has a balanced graphic and weight, even the cactus.”
The walnut table is handmade. The pink chairs were designed by Gerrit Rietveld, a Dutch architect and designer whose work is still being produced posthumously.
The walnut table is handmade. The pink chairs were designed by Gerrit Rietveld, a Dutch architect and designer whose work is still being produced posthumously.
This photo shows the wall opposite the sofa. The cabinet is made of steel I-beams and thick oak shelves. “We go to great lengths to disguise the TV in plain sight,” says Bush. The rug has rounded corners rather than sharp right-angles, again reflecting Bush’s preference for curves.
This photo shows the back of the home. The lower level opens onto the backyard, which has a dining table and a fire pit. The bottom interior level houses a media room. Bush created a unified colour palette for both the outdoor furnishings and those in the adjacent media room.
Above the media room is the living room. The vertical window on the right side of the exterior facade follows the interior staircase.
Above the media room is the living room. The vertical window on the right side of the exterior facade follows the interior staircase.
Here’s a look inside the media room. Bush created another reference to surrealist paintings here. “To the right of the plant there’s a wood sculpture and it’s an abstracted form of an owl on this pole,” he says. To Bush, the vignette is like an owl standing on a rock in a forest, perhaps beneath a glowing moon, suggested by the lamp.
With whites, greys and blacks, the overall palette of the room is cool-toned. “We bring these wood elements in to warm it up but also refer to warmer spaces in the rest of the house,” the designer says.
With whites, greys and blacks, the overall palette of the room is cool-toned. “We bring these wood elements in to warm it up but also refer to warmer spaces in the rest of the house,” the designer says.
A movie projector is hidden in the dark ceiling. Bush designed a subtle ceiling bump-out between the two skylights that encases it.
Two large, light paintings brighten the room. The generous, round rug is part of a line that Bush designed for Marc Phillips Decorative Rugs called TOPO.
“It’s playful but sort of this dark garden room that’s very organic and supposed to bring in some of the lighter and darker tones of the garden,” says Bush.
Two large, light paintings brighten the room. The generous, round rug is part of a line that Bush designed for Marc Phillips Decorative Rugs called TOPO.
“It’s playful but sort of this dark garden room that’s very organic and supposed to bring in some of the lighter and darker tones of the garden,” says Bush.
The guest bedroom is also on the third floor. The palette for this room is charcoal, army green, timber and brass. The side tables are mid-century oak; the photographic art contemporary.
“To me it looks very California cool: understated but put together nicely,” says Bush.
“To me it looks very California cool: understated but put together nicely,” says Bush.
The art above the guest room’s vintage dresser is by Raymond Pettibon. The text in it says, “I thought California would be different”.
The client owned the Eames chair before hiring Bush, but it was upholstered in black leather. Bush had it re-covered in linen from Kelly Wearstler.
The rug is by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola. The lamp on the dresser is Italian glass; the vase is Japanese pottery.
The client owned the Eames chair before hiring Bush, but it was upholstered in black leather. Bush had it re-covered in linen from Kelly Wearstler.
The rug is by Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola. The lamp on the dresser is Italian glass; the vase is Japanese pottery.
The top floor of the home contains what Bush calls the view room. “It has 270-degree views of the city overlooking Noe Valley,” he says.
A blocky leather sectional sofa, vintage Italian chairs in green and sculptural art tables create a contemporary lounge feel. “At night the whole room becomes dark and very lounge-y,” says Bush.
A blocky leather sectional sofa, vintage Italian chairs in green and sculptural art tables create a contemporary lounge feel. “At night the whole room becomes dark and very lounge-y,” says Bush.
Situated off the ‘view room’ is a deck that leads out to another green roof.
Your turn
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More
Craving more design inspiration? Don’t miss last week’s German Houzz Tour: Fairytale Thatched Cottage on the North Sea
Your turn
What do you love most about this home? Tell us in the Comments, save these images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Craving more design inspiration? Don’t miss last week’s German Houzz Tour: Fairytale Thatched Cottage on the North Sea
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: San Francisco, USA
Size: 325 square metres
Designer: Jamie Bush of Jamie Bush & Co.
Landscape designer: Rana Creek Living Architecture
At first Bush was focused on decor, but the project scope quickly grew into shaping the interior design. Bush altered the three-bedroom home into a two-bedroom plus an open office off the third-floor stairs. This arrangement worked better for the homeowner, who needed only one guest room. Bush also redesigned the powder rooms and master bathroom, changed the kitchen cabinetry and added green roofs to the design.
The homeowner doesn’t have a design background but did have a strong interest in learning. “His overall direction for the project was he wanted something that was collected and artful, but not showy, and done in a way that it could be believed that if he was sort of a design-savvy, learned individual, he could have done it himself,” says Bush.