We recently had the pleasure of designing a home for the grandson of the late Sister Parish. Not to worry if that name does not ring a bell. Sister Parish is an icon in the interior design world, but lesser known in popular culture.

Crash course:  Sister Parish may be best known for designing the Kennedy White House. She and Albert Hadley ran the influential firm Parish-Hadley in Manhattan for over six decades. 

The experience of designing a home for her grandson and his wife was meaningful to me in many ways.  As I learned more about Sister, I was inspired by her ability to give new life to antique and vintage furnishings and to create rooms that felt fresh and innovative in their time – and for years to come.

When making decisions about how to best use furnishings that our clients already owned, my goal was to channel Sister’s design sensibility.  In many ways, she was ahead of her time. I suspect that sustainability was not top of mind for Sister Parish, but her commitment to reimagining pre-owned furniture is one way to slow the cycle of consumption.  There was a range of storied art and furniture that our clients wanted to fold into the mix, including several pieces that were inherited from Sister.

We gave a lot of thought to this secretary desk that Sister originally bought for herself. To preserve or to reimagine?  Since Sister frequently had pieces painted, we decided she would have been pleased with our decision to paint it a solid pine green on the exterior and a creamy white on the interior.

For the chair, we preserved the weathered paint and the original silk fabric.  Paired with the reimagined secretary desk, and relocated from the living room to the stair landing, the ensemble got a whole new look.

This Fauteuil chair, inherited from the wife’s mother, also got a total makeover.  A modern chevron fabric with black piping and a fresh coat of paint on the frame make this chair feel at home with the rest of the updates to the living room.

A set of iron chairs that originated in Spain, c. 1786, were acquired by our client’s father in England before they arrived in San Francisco.  They had previously been upholstered in a sweet eyelet cotton fabric, and we streamlined the look with a faux leather.  Their story continues as companions to the dining room credenza, paired with a set of acrylic lamps.

As much as I love talking about chair makeovers, this project also included extensive cosmetic upgrades, breathing new life into dated spaces with minimal waste.  The guest bathroom received all new finishes, including a custom cut marble feature wall.  The original vanity was re-purposed with fresh paint and hardware.

Head over to our website to see the full set of photos from our Lake Street Project.  And if you would like to talk about an interior design project, reach out to schedule a Discovery Call with me.

Schedule a Discovery Call