This has been an interesting week for me.  I normally find myself working with fabrics, color, furniture  and art.  Now a new project has me focused on roof design, gutter design, gate design, exterior trim and all things Architecture.  I was getting very comfortable working with interior decoration, but the challenge of focusing on a new area of design has been very interesting.  I spent part of this week driving around, looking at beautiful San Francisco homes looking for inspriation.  Take a look at what I saw.

This is absolutely one of my favorite houses in the San Francisco.  It is perfect blend of modern and traditional.  The smooth stucco looks like it has almost a suede finish and the mouldings above the windows give the house such a classic look.  They used copper gutters that have darkened and now have a beautiful patina. The color combination of this house is very subdued and sophisticated.

This house is just up the road from the house above.  Again, they used the smooth stucco, but they have paired it with a very, sleek high-gloss black trim.  Above that, they have installed copper gutters, which have yet to patina into a darker brown color.  The combination of the stucco and the black trim makes for a very contemporary, bold home with a graphic, striped effect.  However, the carvings in the mouldings lend it a classic feel and remind you that this is an old home – revitalized.

Oh, the classic beauty.  How I love brown shingled homes with shiney black trim and brick stairways with meticulous boxwood landscaping.  Again, it is a contemporary classic.