For many homeowners, modern design may still be a tough sell. While it’s interesting to check at, some designs can appear unapproachable and hard to live in. Surprisingly, some designers would say the identical thing. After a San Francisco pair approached Chloe Warner of Redmond Aldrich Design, they wanted their home to exude a style that’s a little more modern than what she’s famous for. While Warner has a contemporary look, her projects are usually punctuated with colour and pattern.
However, as Warner pared down her usual details, it ended up being a learning experience for an experiment in minimalist style. “I learned that I really don’t need tons of pattern to make an intriguing distance,” she says. “It’s important to listen to a sense of proportion, colour, light, symmetry, and quirkiness.”
Photography by Matthew Millman
Chloe Warner
The palette of the home is neutral, but Warner infused the design with enough shade to keep the house from getting monotone. “There isn’t much pattern, but there’s a good deal of texture and subtle colour,” she says. These timeless Saarinen Executive seats help balance the cool tones of the kitchen in this combined kitchen and dining room.
Chloe Warner
The gorgeous slab dining table was custom designed by Warner and her team at Redmond Aldrich Design. The warm tones of the wood grain are improved from the seats’ rosy colour.
Chairs: Saarinen Executive Chairs
Lighting: Phillipe Starck Romeo Louis II Pendant
Chloe Warner
When the customers bought this flat, the inside finishing was brand new. Regrettably it wasn’t in line with the couple’s flavor — the design was overly slick, and too much. “It was essential that the end product revealed our customers’ flavor, but we also didn’t wish to be ineffective,” says Warner. “We spent a great deal of time making certain that the countertops, cabinets, sinks, and lots of other things found great homes in other projects.”
The kitchen was based around a simple palette of varied natural grey and metal materials. The complex herringbone floors is constructed from walnut, and the grey granite countertops are only a slightly different shade of grey compared to stainless steel chimney. The backsplash onto the far wall is made entirely of large rectangular Travertine tile.
Barstools: Classic, Charlotte Perriand
Countertop: Stargazer Granite
Pendants: Alison Berger
Chloe Warner
The combined library and living area is just one of Warner’s favorite rooms in this house. The style is modern and minimal, but is still visually intriguing. “I love how the ground, artwork, and stainless steel bookshelves all unite into a classic, comfortable, and quite innovative manner,” she says.
Chloe Warner
The built-in bookshelves and rolling library ladder are both custom creations forged out of steel. The coffee table is made out of steel as well, and is another customized design from Redmond Aldrich. Vintage chairs with polished wood backs add a natural element to the room, and a canary yellow couch provides soft, warm shade.
Couch: Christian Liaigre
Chloe Warner
Before going into this home, the customers were living in a loft in the SOMA district. Because this new apartment had quite set spaces, they actually wanted to make a space that would permit them to live in town in a different way. This home is designed for easy entertaining, and of course enjoying the wonderful views, as you’ll see later.
Chloe Warner
The powder room is an ideal blend of modern and vintage pieces. The wall panels are made out of resin, and Warner had them back-painted using an extremely mild blue-green, which gives the space a small turquoise glow. The lively mirror and sconces are vintage pieces which add a stylish touch to the otherwise barren walls. “It seems amazing in person,” Warner says. “It’s really watery and calm and glowing.”
Resin panels: 3-form
Chloe Warner
Just past the primary living space, a small sitting room with a vintage lamp and Egg Chair makes for a fantastic reading nook. Large-scale black-and-white photography from the customers’ art set plays into Warner’s neutral colour palette.
Art: Sally Mann
Bench: Christian Liaigre
Chloe Warner
The master bedroom plays from lighter colors of lilac and sage, which match the blue and grey view of this foggy San Francisco Bay. Straightforward design was the secret in this area — Warner wanted it to be a place for complete comfort, so no identifiable particulars were necessary.
Bedframe: Custom leather, designed by Redmond Aldrich Design
Rug: Fort Street Studio
Bedding: Custom, designed by Redmond Aldrich Design
Chloe Warner
The flat is perched perfectly on a few of the sloping hills in the Russian Hill neighborhood. Its prime location has an incredible view of the San Francisco bay — such as Alcatraz.
Floor lamp: Vintage
Chloe Warner
Warner wanted her customers to feel totally comfortable in the house, so products were closely conducted by them. The customers did an superb job of picking pieces of furniture which were quite sculptural, so you can find curves and motion in every one of the pieces. “It does not feel like everything is right-angled and boxy,” she says.
Chloe Warner
Stunning onyx walls have been installed using a bookmatched technique from the master bath. The slabs of rock were installed so that the two surfaces mirror each other, developing a special and dramatic pattern. A very minimal tub and Lagos Azul limestone floor tiles are all that’s required to decorate the remainder of this area.
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