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Stacee Christen Phone: 415.317.8615
Email: stacee@christeninteriors.com

January 2024: HAUTE LIVING SAN FRANCISCO

FORECASTING DESIGN TRENDS FOR 2024: FOUR SENSATIONAL LOCAL DESIGNERS WEIGHT IN

Sublime design abounds—and sometimes we take it for granted. Nevertheless, as the mise en scène for our lives, design inspires us every day. Without it, our existence might seem empty and pointless. A captivating fusion of art, science, storytelling, aesthetics, and problem-solving, clever architecture, and interiors set the tempo for our existence, implementing form, function, beauty, and culture. We can’t live without stellar design any more than we can exist without food. We’ve checked in with four of the Bay Area’s top designers for a look at what to expect in 2024. Stacee Christen shares her insights for 2024.
> Read the full article on hautelivingsf.com here

Splitting her time between Paris (a mainstay of her style and inspiration) and San Francisco, Stacee Christen was the first American to graduate from the prestigious Met de Penninghen, Academie Julian, LʼE.S.A.G, Paris, earning a Master’s Degree in interior architecture—despite the fact that she could not speak French fluently at the time. Originally from La Jolla, she is a comprehensive conceptual designer of interior architecture, architectural materials, and furnishings down to the smallest details.  

Her Credo: “I bring beauty and order to a space, plus harmony and peace to the homeowner or couple going through the design process. I bring a ‘complete’ design solution from moving walls to the perfect place setting.”HL: What is something unique you bring to the client?

SC: With endless enthusiasm, I can walk into a space and, in my head, remove all the walls and rebuild the space to better meet your needs. My French design training brings European style and solutions to all aspects of my work. Part of my process with clients is spontaneous ideation, often expressed through quick sketches. I listen and sketch until I capture the client’s aspirations.

HL: How would you define your personal style?

SC: Minimalist Parisian flair, infused with meaningful form and playful pops of color. My design aesthetic is inspired by the elegant and eclectic Parisian apartments that exude both timelessness and playfulness. As Coco Chanel said, “An interior is the natural projection of the soul.” 

HL: What is your work process with clients?

SC: I listen deeply to the client to learn how they imagine their space and to identify their dream. I look critically at the relationship between them and the environment, ever incorporating simplicity with surprising, fun elements that add life to the space. I always try to embody simplicity, order, flow, and playfulness with purpose. 

HL: Which local project reflects your work, a project that makes you proud?

SC:  A current project under construction in Pacific Heights is the most complex and “haute” design project of my career. Of recent works, many come to mind, but one would be the Hillsborough residence for the way I translated their passion for Italian racing cars into an Italian-savvy design motif that included high-end products from Poliform and Bisazza.

HL:  Trends evolve and don’t really have boundaries marked by years, but given that each new year is a kind of crossroads or a portal to the next phase, can you look back at 2023 and look forward to 2024 and tell us: what do you think will be hot in 2024? What do you foresee?

SC: A trend I see coming out of the COVID-19 days of creating cookie cutter home compounds is a move toward character-infused homes that welcome entertaining. I foresee:

1. Layering color, mixing warm and cool color palettes, and using dramatic color statements that evoke emotion.

2. Bringing back hacking antiques to blend them into modern interiors, creating conversation pieces of “historic texture” and context of past and present.

3. More curves. More edges.

4. More artful installations integrated to intentionally reveal the individuality and/or character of the client. 

5. Integrated systems to maximize usable areas: for example, the kitchen may now have hidden burners under the countertop.

 San Francisco Art Deco Home Gets a Playful Makeover

This San Francisco family started remodeling their 1940s Russian Hill art deco home long before Covid-19 hit, but since they moved back in last August, they have a new appreciation for the myriad ways their design team, Christen Interiors, optimized the space to accommodate “stay-at-home” living, including indoor-outdoor flow, playful pops of color, and a minimalist Parisian flair. 

Clients Remarks:

Indoor-outdoor living space. “We are very social.  It is not uncommon to have friends join us for a meal with little notice while we also plan out pizza parties weeks in advance since Brian makes his 3 day rise dough from scratch. In the former layout everyone gathered at the kitchen doors, which resulted in a bottleneck trying to get out to the patio or even cook in the kitchen. With folding doors in the kitchen opening to the larger patio we no longer have that issue. The open kitchen island’s generous counter seating facing a mirror backsplash captures the garden and gives the feeling of working outdoors. Friends can sit at the island and lounge on the patio all evening long and there is so much space to move about.

The master shower wallpaper. “I did not think may husband would go for a floral wallpaper in the shower, but the uniqueness of the material and the beauty of the design impressed him enough to take a risk. With all of the tile walls, stone counters and mirrors in the room, the wallpaper creates a feeling of softness within the bathroom.” 

The orange Bertazzoni range. “My husband is part Italian and loves orange. The range was selected and the rest of the kitchen was designed around it. I love the clean lines and color, but what I am most excited about is the flush installation, there is no bullnose or anything that protrudes to break up the line of the cabinets and counter. I told Stacee, our cabinet maker and contractor that in my mind the kitchen would be a failure if the range was not flush with the front of the cabinetry. It is flush and I love that we matched the height of the counters to the trim of the range.  It creates a simple line that flows throughout the kitchen.” 

The expanded patio. “During the pandemic, our San Francisco patio has been our saving grace. We love that our friends will hang out on our patio for many, many hours. When it gets cold, we grab them a fleece or blanket but we sit out there year round and connect with one another. The garden area outdoor dining seating for 12 people is carved into the hillside facing the new movable glass wall open to the new kitchen, and the pizza oven which brings a fun new element to entertaining.”

Living room sofa and Flexform swivel chairs. “I love that Kroll was able to take 2 sofas I loved and mesh them into one, custom sized for our room. I am also obsessed with our Flexform swivel chairs.  I wanted chairs low enough to sit and not block the television but also  could swivel if we are watching tv with a large group. These chairs will be ours forever and will be even more beautiful over time.” 

The outdoor wood burning pizza oven.  “Watching our 3500 lb wood burning oven be craned over our home was something I will never forget. It took longer to set up the 90 ton crane than it did to actually lift and position the oven on the patio.  As the oven is visible from the sidewalk, I love looking out our windows and seeing people walking on the street pause and stare, wondering what it is and how it got there.” 

 Stay at Home Living. “Now that all four of us are working and studying from home, the space accommodates all of our needs. The dining alcove doubles as an elegant semi-private workstation at the heart of the activity. The remodel of the master suite included a home office, and the children’s bedrooms were created with workspaces which now function well for online course work.  The living room game table area provides a great space for work zoom calls by day and cocktail hour zoom calls by evening, as it is situated next to the custom bar.”