Designer Phillip Silver: A Sense Of Timelessness
Phillip Silver
Interior designer Phillip Silver reflects on his nearly four-decade career "In all my work, I try to achieve a sense of timelessness, I'm not a great follower of instant trends." The native Australian got his start in the trade at the age of eighteen when he went to work for Leslie Walford, the decorating doyen of Sydney society. While his mentor loved cluttering rooms with clustered objects, Phillip carefully edits his projects. Influenced by five years of living in Hong Kong, he melds Eastern restraint with Western refinement.
181 Fremont Penthouse
Phillip practiced his timeless aesthetic when he joined Kendall Wilkinson Design as a Principal Designer. In the Penthouse of 181 Fremont, designed with Kendall Wilkinson, the skyscraper's light-filled spaces float above the cityscape with easy access to cultural and commercial venues on the ground below. Phillip complemented the condominium's dramatic vistas of San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, Sutro Tower, and Mount Diablo with sexy, mid-century styled interiors. In the cream-colored living room, Vladimir Kagan inspired curved sofas mix with 1980's Brueton-designed coffee and side tables. Dark wood floors and pops of blue contrast with the pale interior.
Sydney pied-à-terre
While maintaining his firm Phillip Silver Design, the designer created a Sydney pied-à-terre apartment in a historic Gothic Revival mansion. Situated in Double Bay, the restored sandstone manor features a modern waterfront addition. Capturing the city's magical light, Phillip made the marina view the focal point; classic contemporary pieces combine with custom furnishings against a neutral palette of dark woods and light textiles. In the living room, Thomas Pheasant's Constellation Mirror hung above an ivory upholstered sofa. Juxtaposed against this, Phillip placed a sleek black lacquer cocktail table accented by white coral. On an adjacent acrylic console, a terracotta rider on a horse from the Han Dynasty surveyed the room.
2015 San Francisco Decorator Showcase Living Room
Phillip felt an immediate affinity to San Francisco with its unique commingling of Asian culture and European ambiance. Along with his design projects in the Bay Area, he proudly participated in the San Francisco Decorator Showcase. Awarded the living room of the 2015 showcase the Pacific Heights Tudor styled estate designed by Julia Morgan, Phillip, inspired by Yves Saint Laurent's 1966 Rive Gauche collection, turned the space into a glamourous salon with bold colors and dressmaker details. For the 2013 showcase, the Georgian style mansion's master bedroom became a serene retreat with the designer's signature balance of Eastern and Western aesthetics.
