I started my trip to San Francisco by visiting the SF MOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art).
This was the major exhibition of California artist Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993), who found inspiration in the work of Henri Matisse (1869-1954). In total, 100 paintings and drawings were displayed-40 by Matisse and 60 by Diebenkorn.
Diebenkorn grew up in San Francisco, and he attended Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley; he first saw the work of Matisse at a Palo Alto home. He studied works by Matisse in museums around the country, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
The Henri Matisse paintings “French window at Collioure” and “View of Notre Dame”, both from 1914 had great influence on Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park paintings. Diebenkorn established a studio in the Ocean Park neighborhood of Santa Monica in 1966 and returned to abstract expressionism works, for which he is best known.
I continued my journey in the city by visiting the San Francisco Decorator Showcase House on 2698 Pacific Heights, an 11,000 square feet, classical Revival Mansion built in 1904, where proceeds benefited the financial aid program of San Francisco University High School.
I enjoyed it, and admired the creativity, craftsmanship and uniqueness that each designer displayed in every space. I spoke to the majority of the designers that were there and I was fascinated when listening to them, asking a lot of questions, and noting sources for my design studio, Cecilia Pacheco Interior Design. It was a remarkable experience, as I learned the use of brass in the furniture, hardware and light fixtures, as well as hand painted and hand embroidered wallpaper, an exquisite wall collage, cut paper mural with origami birds at the top, fine embroidery on cushions, hand decorated ceilings and fine art everywhere. The 625 -square foot kitchen in this showcase was selected by House Beautiful as” Kitchen of the year.”
I had the great opportunity to see a project already finished by my son, Diego, an architect and owner of Diego Pacheco Design Practice, a residential architecture firm. He explained and showed me the use of glass, stainless steel and walnut throughout the house, an 6,000 square feet in Pacific Heights. I was fascinated by the design of the wine room, the stairs, the lighting and all the custom details in the kitchen and bathrooms that his clients requested.
I also took a walking city tour led by a very knowledgeable guide, who pointed out the architecture of San Francisco around the Pacific Heights, “No two houses are alike”.
The landscape and the flowers were magnificent at this time of the year.
I visited several interior design and lighting showrooms (walking through Presidio Heights) to update my interior design skills and implement them by helping my clients in the best possible way.
I concluded my journey by visiting another work by Diego Pacheco Design Practice, a project in progress in Mill Valley that is going to be finished in August. A house with a beautiful view and an amazing kitchen connected to the outdoors, for a husband who loves to cook and a wife who loves outdoor living.
My son and I went to Sausalito to a restaurant for a late lunch with an ocean view , and then to the airport so I may return to Houston.
Sources:
www.sfmoma.org
San Francisco Decorator Showcase House 2017
Diego Pacheco Design Practice (www.diegopacheco.com)
