San Francisco Proper
Project info
San Francisco Proper
- Location
- San Francisco
- Type
- Hotel
- Year
- 2017
- Sq. Footage
- 350,000
Set within a landmarked 1904 Beaux-Arts flatiron by architect Albert Pissis, San Francisco Proper reinterprets the building’s history through a richly layered mix of art, color, pattern, and vintage and contemporary design. Original marble floors and soaring seventeen-foot lobby walls provide a backdrop for works by San Francisco artists past and present, while references to Cubism, Viennese Secession, French Deco, and Swedish modernism bring different eras into conversation. A fictional muse: a well-traveled woman with an eclectic art collection and a love of entertaining, shapes the narrative throughout, giving the hotel the character of a home assembled over time: rooted in the past, but entirely of the present.
Restored architectural details set the stage for sculptural forms and unexpected pattern
throughout the lobby. Ornate metal elevator doors and original moldings frame a vintage Carlo Scarpa marble table, where seasonal florals sit alongside a late-1980s abstract Cubist sculpture by Peter Charles.
Antiqued mirrored café tables, vintage rugs, deep sofas, and tub chairs create a layered play of checks and stripes, bringing old-world references into a more contemporary setting. Ceramics and vintage-inspired objects complete the composition, adding warmth and a collected character to spaces designed for lingering.
Tucked into a secluded corner of the lobby, Gilda’s is an intimate private dining room wrapped in leafy wallpaper inspired by a vintage European graphic. A large-scale handwoven tapestry introduces texture at the entrance, while mirrored walls and ceilings reflect the warm glow of a 1950s Stilnovo chandelier. Vintage chairs gather around a table for fourteen, complemented by a 150-piece collection of one-of-a-kind china in a persimmon floral pattern sourced especially for the room.