The COUPAR Edit
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Take 10 With COUPAR’S Wyatt Shigley
Design Associate Wyatt Shigley started as a Design Assistant at COUPAR a little over three years ago. Wyatt segued effortlessly into the role with a B.A.S. in Interior Design from Colorado State University and nearly nine years of visual merchandising experience. One of his current projects is a four-story Pacific Heights Edwardian designed by Julius Kraft, and another is a contemporary ranch house in Portola Valley.
The San Francisco Fall Show: COUPAR Sponsors The Authors’ Alcove
How do young connoisseurs collect now? Art historian, designer, and author Michael Diaz-Griffith explores this topic in his book The New Antiquarians: At Home with Young Collectors. His compendium will be one of the books featured at the COUPAR-sponsored Authors' Alcove during The San Francisco Fall Show.
Jackson Square: When the Design District was North of Market
Before The San Francisco Design Center’s development in the 1970s, interior designers frequented "To the Trade" showrooms North of Market in historic Jackson Square. Just as it took vision, ingenuity, and hard work to transform SOMA's vacant warehouses and factories into a design mecca, so did the restoration of the neglected Classical Revival and Italianate commercial buildings in Jackson Square.
Take 10 With COUPAR's Mary Eaton
Lead Project Manager Mary Eaton has been with COUPAR for over four years and comes from an interior design background. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from High Point University in North Carolina, she immersed herself in the industry, working at various San Francisco Bay Area firms. Now she is a vital asset to our Studio team, helping guide projects from beginning to end.
Pride Month Profile: Interior Designer William Haines
June is Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community, and COUPAR profiles the "King of Hollywood Regency," William "Billy" Haines (1900 – 1973). Haines was an accidental interior designer. The Virginia native came to Hollywood via New York City, where he lived openly as a gay man in bohemian Greenwich Village, working as a model.
Eastern Aesthetics: The Art of Imperfection
Wabi Sabi, the ancient Japanese philosophy of using organic materials with natural imperfections and embracing authenticity, originated in the 15th century. Wabi translates to living with humility and simplicity while being unified with nature, while sabi refers to accepting the lifecycle of anything, even with all its flaws.
Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Isamu Noguchi
Artist, furnishings designer and landscape architect, Isamu Noguchi (1904 to 1988) straddled Western and Eastern cultures; born in Los Angeles to an American mother and a Japanese father. His father, Yone Noguchi, was an acclaimed poet who settled in the bohemian San Francisco Bay Area for seven years. He eventually traveled to New York City and met editor and writer Léonie Gilmour.
Take 10 With COUPAR’S Paige Bellante
Senior Lead Designer Paige Bellante has been with COUPAR for over three years and nimbly transferred her skills in visual merchandising to interior design. The Northern California native worked for companies such as Anthropologie and Nordstrom for eight years.
A Standard to Inspire: The San Francisco Decorator Showcase
The 44th San Francisco Decorator Showcase opens to the public on April 29th. While Sea Cliff is the address for this Spanish Revival estate, Pacific Heights was home to the first Showcase.
Celebrating Women's History Month: Interior Decorator Elsie de Wolfe
Photographer Cecil Beaton captured Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl (1865-1950), wearing her "Apollo of Versailles" velvet cape in her Paris apartment during the late 1930s. Elsa Schiaparelli designed the one-of-a-kind couture piece for de Wolfe to reference her taste for eighteenth-century fashion and the spectacular. It also celebrates the Apollo Fountain and its proximity to the interior decorator and socialite's home, Villa Trianon, in the Parc de Versailles.
Celebrating Black History Month: The Art of Aaron Douglas
Aaron Douglas (1899-1979), a significant African American figure in the Harlem Renaissance, was a Renaissance man, painter, illustrator, visual arts educator, and philosopher. New York's Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s was the focus of black intellectual and cultural activity.
Pantone Color of the Year: Viva Magenta
Pantone has announced its color of the year for 2023: Viva Magenta. This vibrant, bold hue possesses an undeniably strong energy.
Take 10 With Vistage Chair Walter Paulsen
Where do CEOs and business owners go when they need to make better decisions, strengthen their teams and grow their businesses? For Krista Coupar, it is her monthly Vistage Group meetings. The global organization has an outstanding 60-year-plus track record in executive coaching.
Pillow Talk: René Gregorius and the Renaissance Bed
René Gregorius and Stephanie Pineo, aficionados of early antique furnishings, craftsmanship, and design, opened their Los Angeles business Gregorius/Pineo in 1984 at the back of a North La Cienega Blvd storefront. They later moved to an elegant showroom at 651-653 North La Cienega Blvd. Interior Design Hall of Fame honoree Melvin Dwork told Architectural Digest almost ten years later, "Gregorius/Pineo is one of the best places out there."
COUPAR Holiday Celebration: Truffle Shuffle
Each holiday season, the COUPAR team finds a unique way to get in the spirit and celebrate with one another. In recent years, we’ve lunched at Spruce and indulged in curated spa gift baskets. For 2022, we switched it up and embarked on a virtual cooking adventure with the help of a company called Truffle Shuffle
Take 10 With Collector Suzanna Allen
With the success of this year's San Francisco Fall Show, COUPAR predicts antiques are back after a long hiatus. While during the eighties, nineties, and early 21st century, the one percent couldn't get enough of the rarest, most esoteric furnishings and objets d'art, the Great Recession plunged us into a gray world of visual austerity. But now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain problems, buying off the floor is an excellent solution for interior designers.
COUPAR Out and About
In 2022, COUPAR celebrated the continuous return to normalcy through various industry events. From Showroom Happy Hours to the San Francisco Fall Show, the team has enjoyed seeing familiar faces again and connecting with new ones.
History of the Industrial Center Building: Marinship
COUPAR's client Rebecca Katz Art located in Sausalito's landmark Industrial Center Building (ICB), will participate in the Winter Open Studios. Before the massive 107,000 square feet structure was an artists' community, it was home to WWII shipbuilders.
Hispanic Architecture in the San Francisco Bay Area
As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we acknowledge how early Spanish and Mexican occupations defined San Francisco's built landscape. The Bay Area's Mediterranean climate and abundance of adobe material adapted well to Spanish colonial architecture.
Book Signing Jubilee: The San Francisco Fall Show
COUPAR is proud to be the sponsor of the Book Signing Jubilee at The San Francisco Fall Show. With publications from over twenty experts in architecture, design, and the decorative arts, it will be hard to make a selection. One of the many books we are excited to peruse is Michael S. Smith – Designing History: The Extraordinary Art & Style of the Obama White House.