Bridge For Design March 2015 Bridge For Design March 2015 | Page 90

‘

I

nterior design is in my DNA,’ states Geoffrey De Sousa
about his chosen vocation and avocation. In addition
to opening his eponymous design firm twenty years
ago, he co-founded De Sousa Hughes with business
partner Erik Hughes. Located in San Francisco,
the exquisitely edited ‘to the trade’ showroom reflects De
Sousa’s passion for textiles, furniture, and art.

For his projects, the Boston native deftly fuses the past with the
present. ‘I love history, and there’s a real sense of tradition to my
approach, but a house must also stand in the now,’ he said. De
Sousa understands the architectural nuances of buildings from
another time. For a recent commission in San Francisco’s Clarendon
Heights district, he ushered a classic California Modern home into
the 21st Century.
Designed in 1940 by modernist master Clarence William
Whitehead Mayhew, the asymmetrical three-story residence
features a reverse floor plan to maximize panoramic views of the bay
area. Mayhew, known for site-specific structures, built his own iconic
Piedmont home at the same time. To assist in the preservation of
the house’s Mid-Century character while adding current amenities,
De Sousa enlisted architect Lorissa Kimm. The colleagues and
friends, share an affinity for contemporary architecture.
To access the third floor’s open plan living and dining rooms,
Kimm installed an ethereal wood, glass, and chrome stairway. De
Sousa played off of the space’s dramatic fog-shrouded vistas with a
warm colour palette of taupe and moody blues. Showcasing the
views, Kimm replaced each window with new insulated units that
respected Mayhew’s original design.
For the living room, De Sousa featured a conversation group in
front of a horizontal fireplace incorporated into a freestanding brick
surround. He anchored the space with French designer Christian
Liagre’s clean lined s ofa and coffee table on a textured carpet from
Mark Nelson. In the dining room a hand blown cluster of pendants
from John Pomp dance against the cityscape. Adjacent to the dining
room lies the renovated kitchen while a tranquil den hides behind
the fireplace.

PREVIOUS PAGE: In the living room De Sousa paired the Palo Alto lounge chair
from the De Sousa Hughes collection with a sleek tub chair from A. Rudin. An
Ironies accent table with blue cast resin top joins the tub chair
TOP LEFT: On the stairway landing De Sousa installed an archival pigment print
on Innova paper from Chista in New York
BOTTOM LEFT: In the den, DeSousa placed one of Erik Hughes’ furniture designs,
the sleek Lakeside sofa in an umber Pollock textile accented by periwinkle
pillows
RIGHT: On the terrace dark woven chairs upholstered in marigold fabric pair
white ceramic garden stools for casual elegance

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Bridge for Design March 2015