If you've been waiting to get a taste of the much revered wine from Burgundy but through lack of opportunity or funding you have missed out, do not delay your registration for Le Paulée Grand Burgundy tasting taking place in San Francisco on March 1st. Although $300 to attend, the long list of current releases available that day will treat your passion for wine to an event it will never forget. If you have a penchant for vintage Burgundy, than by all means, sign up for the Gala Dinner following the evening tasting, but it will cost you more. Typically an event for New Yorkers, west coast oenophiles will be delighted by the return of the Burgundies and a most memorable event for its second year.
The Mission Armory in San Francisco has become quite a racy place. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that porn producer Peter Acworth, who bought the 93-year-old Mission Armory and turned it into a porn video studio, has now approached the city Planning Department with an idea to create "kinky condos." The condos would be wired with webcams so that people could peep in for a fee. So far Acworth hasn't confirmed that he is using the property for anything but a film studio and that the proposal is just one that he is considering.
If you've created one of the most successful clothing companies in the world what do you do for a follow-up project? How about giving your hometown a huge art museum. Donald Fisher, the founder of the Gap has revealed the plans for the contemporary art museum he wants to build in San Francisco's Presidio. Fisher's ambitious plan calls for a two-story, 100,000-square-foot modern structure on the crest of the Parade Ground of the former military base that in 1994 became a national park. The design is composed of white masonry interspersed with glass that will allow people outside to view some of the art within. Fisher is one of the top collectors of contemporary art and the museum would house his collection.
As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, this is not the only proposal for the Presidio. A rival museum plans comes from the Presidio Historical Association which has proposed a 48,000-square-foot "History Center of the Golden Gate." Their building idea is quite different, a more traditional structure that will explore the culture of the American West. The Presidio Historical Association asserts that their structure fits the surroundings and is the proper choice for the already historic Presidio whereas a contemporary art museum could go anywhere.
Fisher's proposal also would add exhibit space on the Parade Ground, and restore one of the neighboring structures to offer educational space, a bookstore, art studios and office space for the main museum. Fisher really wants this spot, he has also offered to give an additional $10 million toward helping to landscape the area. The Presidio Trust directors are expected to choose one of the proposal at the start of next year.
We picked this link up thanks to a tip directing us to the Socket Site conversation regarding this San Francisco listing. This 1880s home has been turned into a really unique modern dwelling. The decor in this house is very House & Garden, cheery, with touches of the artistic and whimsical. The home has three bedrooms, a living room that opens to a small garden and patio, a dining room, library, family room and an office. There is also a separate one-bedroom apartment and a garage. This home is listed at $3.699 million. The folks at Curbed SF reveal that the current owner paid $3.5 million over a year ago. The renovation here is absolutely gorgeous but the size of the home and the jumble of rooms may put some buyers off. After the jump, color glorious color.
This Periodic Table is almost as simple as things can get, really. It's just four pieces of wood stuck together and painted, but somehow it works. Designed by One & Co., this piece was part of the launch of the new San Francisco-based furniture company called 'Council' last month. The metal coated wood block coffee table is made by coating a 48" x 48" x 13" block of wood with your choice of silver (natural, black, or pink). The resulting appearance is modern and bold, while keeping an organic feel with the natural wood-grain staying easily visible.
Today's home in San Francisco is a historic Beaux Arts mansion which seems to have been remodeled by people who were not interested in living in a Beaux Arts mansion that was just a monument to history. The home is a classic beauty built in 1911 by architect George Applegarth. It is located in Presidio Terrace, a private gated community. The six-bedroom home was remodeled so that the even areas like the colossal marble entry way seem more updated. This home has a grand staircase, large living room, formal dining room, gourmet kitchen, a media room with a sky light, billiard room and much more, all enlivened by bright colors and modern fixtures. Off the living room there is a library with bird's-eye maple paneling and a silvered ceiling. The great room/family room is open to the kitchen and has a large skylight with retractable cover. The master bedroom suite has silver leaf walls, a free-form fireplace with marble hearth, his and hers closets with maple built-ins, dressing room with sound system, and a marble bath with heated floors, glass double sinks, two water closets (one with bidet), dual headed glass shower, separate jacuzzi tub and glass tiled walls. This home is listed at $10.4 million. After the jump, should a classic marble entry way have robin's egg blue walls and a scrawled modern rug?
On the outside, this handsome brick manor home in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco looks much as it must have when it was designed by architect Albert Sutton in 1902 (although according to this article it did have an addition in 1937), Inside however, it seems to have left the past far behind. This due to a series of major interior revisions. The five-bedroom home has lovely views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. The spaces are large and impressive. The master suite is sunsplashed and delightful, the gourmet kitchen is all one could wish for and the music room/library is up to date. Flawless. And yet, and yet, it just seems too pulled together. An older home often has eccentricities that show its age and yet make it all the richer and more beloved to its owners. You could see this home as the best of the old and the new or as a lady whose has had a bit too much work done and looks a bit altered. This home is listed at $11 million. After the jump, charming or charmectomy?
Are you in love with today's estate yet? No? How about when I tell you it faces the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco? This Venetian-style villa was designed to harmonize with the palace and has a look that is reminiscent of a ducal palazzo. The three-bedroom home is a big dose of fabulous with ornate columns, marble fireplaces, handpainted tile murals in the kitchen and terrazzo floors. The decor isn't doing a lot for me, it needs more furniture and some warm colors on the walls but this home could be fantastic. It is listed at $7.95 million. After the jump, the ultimate terrace on which to seduce San Francisco's mayor of hotness, Gavin Newsom.
An amazing estate recently went on sale in San Francisco. There is no price listed for 2901 Broadway but rumor has it that the estate could sell for as much as $75 million. What makes this home able to compete in the rarefied air of other recent listings we have seen? Let's take a look. First of all it was designed around 1927 by famed architect Henry Clay Smith or industrialist Milton S. Ray. The palazzo-like mansion is high on a hill with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and this is the first time it has ever been on the market.
The home has a grand reception hall and formal rooms on the main level include a living room, dining room, music room and breakfast room. The living levels have room for seven bedrooms. The east wing includes a large north facing master suite with separate dressing room that adjoins another equally large bedroom suite while the west wing is home to smaller rooms including a sewing room, guest suite and a curio room that was once used to hold a collection of eggs. The attic spans the entire house and could be converted into additional space. Below the main level are the utility room, children's library and office with full bath and room that was once home to a book collection (not to be confused with the main library which has paneled walls with built-in shelves and casement windows). The home has a private tennis court and some gardens.
Decorator showhouses are often a mixed bag. Beautiful but sometimes a hodge podge of decorator styles. This one, the San Francisco Decorator Showcase 2006 manages to maintain a uniformly luxe look. Perhaps because they had such a post framework to start with. The Beaux-Arts Mansion was originally built in 1902 for Nelly Mason and was totally rebuilt in 1928 by George Wagner, whose firm built San Francisco City Hall. The home has six bedrooms, an entry foyer with a sweeping three-story staircase, living room, a formal paneled dining room, gourmet kitchen with adjacent family room, a master suite with sitting room, a home office, a recreation room with adjacent media room and a wine cellar. There is also a carriage house and garage on the property. The home has views of the Golden Gate Bridge and has been 'smart-wired', with a Lutron lighting system, a monitored security system and cabling in comtemplation of whole-home audio, video and CCTV capabilities. It is listed at $14.25 million. After the jump, for once too many decorators don't spoil the pot.
If you aren't
spending your weekend in a lovely place, why not plan to spend an upcoming one somewhere nice, like San Francisco. The
relatively new St. Regis should be your resting place
when you're not taking tea at the Japanese Gardens or eating Dim Sum in Chinatown. The St. Regis features an oh-so
swank decor of neutrals and whites with luxurious linens and baths. The rooms are some of the largest in the city and
have automatic draperies and plasma screen TVs. Located next door to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the hotel
is in a great spot for exploring the city. If you get tired of climbing the never ending hills of San Fran, revive at
the 9,000 sq ft Remede Spa.
Jean-Marc Gorce was onto something when he and his wife created XOX Truffles -- artisanal chocolate delights in over twenty-seven flavors at their storefront in North Beach San Francisco. With a little French attitude and plenty of innovation XOX Truffles offers such interesting flavors as Earl Grey, Rum Raisin, Triple Sec, French Roast Coffee Crunch and Cognac truffles. Their packaging makes for a perfect gift -- in fact their product has been ordered as far away as Italy! Winning awards and accolades for their tasty performance XOX Truffles sound devilishly good.
