The clients developed a palette of sandy beige, black, white, brown and gray with accents of red for their living room. INSTUDIO Design Director Stephen Kladder found the focal point of the living room while viewing a large wall filled with art at Design Plus Consignment Gallery in San Francisco. A framed, signed and numbered print of La Grande Vitesse by artist Alexander Calder.

The couple used existing furniture in their family room which was largely ignored until this year. A combination of events and lucky finds brought the family room together within a few hours.

INSTUDIO Design Director Samuel Fleming Lewis wanted to increase the use of red in the room. He found a beautiful custom round rug with a red and gray border hiding in the back of a contemporary Palm Springs furniture store. The couple won a bid at a charity auction for a Herman Miller Eames chair and ottoman. The client found another Calder print which she purchased. An “Arco” style lamp was adjusted to fit in the room. A red painted steel and glass table was purchased off the floor at a local furniture store. A contemporary red glass vase the couple owned was moved to the room. A used Ikea table was found at a consignment shop which became a cocktail table. A recently delivered Room & Board sofa bed was accented by pillows from target purchased last year.

With an eye for art and an artist’s eye the Design Directors of INSTUDIO bring rooms together to match your personal style.

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Big Umbrella Studios is making their mark on the San Francisco art scene in the Western Addition. The Divisadero Street location is fostering a sense of community by hosting events for youth and presenting artist talks. The gallery exhibits art by resident, emerging, and established artists. Members are not only surrounded by creativity but have access to an expanding art studio space including shared equipment such as a dark room, tools, art supplies, craft supplies, screen printing essentials and an industrial sewing machine. An optimistic outlook on art, community and neighborhood gives the studio the fresh feel of a new, start up business.

In the spirit of community, Big Umbrella Studios reached out to several diverse art collectives to create exhibits. The 3.9 Art Collective, a San Francisco African American artist’s collective, will be represented by five of its members: Mark Harris, Sydney Cain, Ako Jacintho, William Rhodes and Samuel Fleming Lewis.  Unlike conventional art galleries, Big Umbrella Studios has monthly exhibit cycles. The second Friday of each month there are new openings. The 3.9 Art Collective exhibit opens Friday May 10, 2013.

Big Umbrella Studios, 906.5 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94115. Telephone: 415-359-9211 Hours & Information:  info@bigumbrellastudios.com

3.9 Collective http://www.threepointninecollective.com/

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Once the designers saw all of the chic offerings on Chairish they were captivated. Samuel was soon sourcing all types and styles of individual pieces that came straight from the owners who had cherished them.  Soon he was developing imaginary living room composites that could be purchased to design a room in a day.  If you cherish what you find on Chairish you have to decide fast. In the few hours that it took to group furnishings together pieces were being marked as sold.

INSTUDIO is always looking for special pieces that cross the boundaries of being artistic, vintage, one of a kind, design source selected, funky, unusual, hip, antique, designer, recycled and special. Their finds on Chairish were all the designers could hope for. The prices are fair and you can tailor the offerings to match your personal style. If you love home furnishings you will cherish Chairish.

Shop Chairish http://shop.chairish.com/ Slideshow curated by INSTUDIO.

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We think of houses as stationary places that we call home.  They are in fact living, moving and breathing. Houses change over time taking on the spirit, personality and personal style of current or past occupants changing with age and time just as we do. Ross is excellent at capturing the life of a house in his thought provoking drawings.

San Francisco and the Bay Area are known for unique houses painted in vivid color combinations. Michael developed his colors from another source. While visiting his family home in the southern United States he observed his mother’s colorful “Church Hats” which inspired his exceptional color palette.

Michael Ross is one of ten 3.9 Collective artists exhibiting May 16-19 at the third edition of ArtPad 2013, the San Francisco art event at the Phoenix Hotel.

Information? ArtPad http://artpadsf.com/about/ 3.9 Collective http://www.threepointninecollective.com/

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The vacation home was sold within the family. INSTUDIO Design Directors consulted with the new homeowners who wanted to implement a new design plan in phases by adding personal style to a place that held memories but needed an update. They liked images of rooms in grays and golden yellows accented with black.

Phase one added new accent pillows from Target.  A vintage coffee table and lamp found at consignment shops. Existing art was moved from room to room for fresh appeal. Phase two included the removal of a ceiling mounted cabinet, textured ceilings, wall to wall carpet and dated architectural lighting. New in phase two was stone like porcelain tile throughout, new paint in cool grays and modernist architectural lighting fixtures.

Given time well made designer furniture eventually comes back into fashion. Furnishings in vacation homes get little wear because they are seldom used. Palm Springs vintage, classic modern and consignment shops have a wealth of well preserved furniture from every decade. INSTUDIO Design Directors often take advantage of the great furniture found in Palm Springs sources.  Phase three of the sunny retreat will honor the stylish Midwestern lady with a slight restyle, reupholster and reuse of the 1970’s living room furniture she selected.

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The contrast and detail of his botanical works captures the eye.  Viewers of Ron’s photograms always stop to notice the beauty of nature’s elaborate creations that are often overlooked.  His exhibit “The Secret Life of Plants” can be seen through April, 2013 at San Francisco International Airport (SFO Museum, United Terminal, Check-In, and Ticketing Counters.)

Diverse photogram works by Saunders can be seen at a permanent installation of public art in the courtyard of the recently completed San Francisco Bayview Branch Public Library. Adjacent to the children’s area inside the library his large works were selected for permanent exhibition.

Ron M. Saunders work is represented by the Corden|Potts Gallery, 49 Geary Street, Suite 410, San Francisco, CA. http://www.cordenpottsgallery.com/index.cfm

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Now is the time to bring home a blond! Just like seeing someone for the first time that suddenly went from dark colored hair to blonde it’s shocking to see. The modernist classics are at once familiar yet completely, stunningly new.

INSTUDIO Interior Design Directors are excited by the reinvention. They suggest using the new light wood furnishings to add contrast to dark colored floors, textiles or walls. White on white rooms or pale neutral monochromatic color palettes now have modernist classic furnishings to complement their décor.

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Black has staying power that is honored in time. Designers forget about historic negative connotations of black to take advantage of its power to reinforce forms. Modernist designers often used the color to introduce iconic products that have been etched in our minds. The elegance of form is remembered as we think about well designed classics that were first produced in black. Images of grand pianos, Noguchi tables, Le Corbusier Lounges, Eames Chairs, and Fortuny floor lamps come to mind when we think of design innovations.

On a wider range every woman knows the power of a “little black dress”; any man always looks great in a tailored black suit or tuxedo; we think of New Yorkers always wearing black. Our “little black book” has been replaced by our little black screens. A shiny black lacquered box or chest of any style has presence. We may not want them around us but crows, skunks and black cats are quite beautiful to look at; a sleek black polished car of any era always gets our attention; and who doesn’t like a well designed pair of black boots?

Whether you call it Onyx, Ebony, Raven, Charcoal, Midnight or Jet Black, use the power of black forms to develop any style of interior design.

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INSTUDIO Design Directors used their imagination to develop the story of an urban movie loving couple who decided to turn their small home media room into a glamorous “Green Room” to enjoy the Academy Awards. Traditionally a Green Room is a well appointed space or facility that accommodates individuals making public appearances. INSTUDIO envisioned the couple dressing up for the occasion, enjoying cocktails and dinner while happily watching the long awards program at home.

The luxurious furnishings, accessories and art were selected from vendors from across the globe selling exceptional goods represented by the online site 1^st Dibs. The Design Directors created six eclectic rooms of furnishings to match the different personalities and design styles of interesting fictional movie watching couples.

Because green is created from blue and yellow it’s a chameleon color that easily blends with any color. When yellow dominates yellow-greens create warmth in a room. When blue dominates blue-greens create cool tones in a room. Tinted with white or shaded with black, greens become a wide range of colors that can suit any interior design color palette.

INSTUDIO Design Directors can create a green room (or any color room) in any part of your home to match your personal style.  For a free initial design consultation contact the Design Directors at email@instudio-sf.com .

For high quality rare furnishing and art visit 1^st Dibs http://www.1stdibs.com/

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Rhodes is an Artist, Wood Carver, Craftsman and Furniture Maker who combines his talents with his interest in Astrology, Global Religions, Spiritual Icons, African Cultures, Myths and Religious Duality to create thought provoking works of art that defy category. The spiritual theme is a thread that can be sensed in all of his timeless works. Along with recent spiritually themed works William’s art collectors from across the country lent pieces that are included in this exhibit.

INSTUDIO Design Director Samuel Fleming Lewis recognizes his fine furniture making skills and creative finish applications. William’s expertise was particularly exposed on a beautifully crafted and finished chair that blends Egyptian and West African influences into a usable work of art. Lewis discovered that a pair of sculptures of a Mermaid and Merman were actually beautifully carved vanity cabinets with mirrors and secret drawers.

Water, light and reflection are themes that Rhodes embraces. He points out that the first human reflection was seen in water, the human body is largely water, we couldn’t live without water and water runs as a current throughout religions and spirituality. Purposefully dim lights with a quiet glow in the head of some of his sculptures represent an awakening of the mind. Mirrors in his works are part of both water and religious themes as we are reflected in our beliefs. The furniture maker embodies drawers, chambers and secret compartments in his art. William often doesn’t tell his collectors about them and hides artistic messages for future discovery.

When asked about his own spiritual evolution, William Rhodes says that as he gets older he is evolving beyond the religious and spiritual contexts. He believes in constantly striving to improve himself to allow him to better contribute to society.

He believes in a new age, “The Age of Aquarius!”

What is Your Spiritual Evolution?

The Sargent Johnson Gallery in the African American Art & Culture Complex
762 Fulton Street, San Francisco, California
Tuesday-Saturday, Noon-5:00 pm through February 7, 2013

http://www.aaacc.org/gallery.php

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