suzie mckig of twig & fig describes her home in north berkeley, california as “euro-village style.” really, i think she’s spot on with that description. you feel like you’re off gallivanting in europe, rather than in the hills of berkley. it probably helps too that her place is a 2-story spanish style home, built in 1926, and all the stones were laid by italian masons who did most of the stone work in the bay area. and of course, i’m always drawn to all the great pieces inspired by their travels. {thanks suzie and serge! click here to check out twig & fig on facebook} -anne
Local artist/legend David Lance Goines gave us these beautiful posters from the chez panisse commemorative. The walls through the downstairs were painted by suzie with lime wash (lime powder mixed with pure pigment); saffron then mango. unlike doing faux finishes (which are trying to simulate lime wash), natural lime wash is so much more lovely to use than toxic paint and ages with amazing character.
Iin the foyer, we made the coat rack from an old plank of railroad tie & hooks from anthro. the light we made from a candle shade. serge pimped a modern carbon fiber bike to be more my euro-village style.
Kim Austin (Austin Press) gifted us with these beautiful art photographs from her collection.
CLICK HERE for the rest of Twig & Fig’s sneak peek after the jump!
We have arched openings throughout the downstairs–it’s so graceful. Our dining room was painted with distemper, a more reactive variation on lime powder painting. The magic happens when you add the 2nd coat. you have to wait ‘til it dries to see what effect will happen–kind of mysterious!
The colorful hand-painted cabinet is from Tibet, from the 40s. I picked it up at an antique fair.
the dining table is from Indonesia.
I love this chest of drawers. We found this in a local vintage shop called “mixed pickles.”
The vaulted ceilings in 2 (of three) bedrooms made us fall in love. We placed the desk at the west-facing window so our guests (and we!) would have a view of SF and the golden gate bridge.
On a trip a few years ago to disneyland we had our silhouette portraits cut by hand. The artist was lightening fast with those scissors
We love the eastern morning light that pours into our upstairs bathroom in the morning!
This is our bedroom…simple and cozy. the 1920s sconces are so pretty. We covered the shades with yuzen paper for some color.
We built this monster 16ft deck last year for entertaining California style. The center is a fire pit with ipe wood and antique gold rock it’s fun to dangle your feet when sitting at the hand-poured and acid-etched cement table
51 Comments
I’m in love with your green dresser. <3
The stone wall on that deck reminds me a bit of Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. Very cool!
Lovely light in the house, but that deck? OMG.
Um, does the jaw of anyone else drop when you see that back patio? Never seen anything like it — I love it!
-Milan
And to think I live in the same town with such a gem in it…
What an amazing place! I love the lime wash (gonna have to find out more about that). Love all the colors. and that porch is awesome.
Love the light and colors all through the house. Beautiful!
What a beautiful, special home! Though it has a European feel, as soon as I saw the first picture I knew it was located in northern California – just something about that wonderful place!
Whoa!
oooh, love this home!!! thanks so much for sharing!
Simply Lovely! I feel like I’m in Under the Tuscan SUn.
Your deck is amazing! Love the spiral approach.
Lovely house. And oh my goodness, that deck!
Simply lovely in every way. Tough that green dresser knocked my socks off!
i really like the doorknob on the small cupboard in the bathroom.
I really love the coverlet on the bed – where did Suzie get it?
Also – how did Suzie manage to get plaster to stick to sheet rock? mesh?
the wall colors/treatments are BEAUTIFUL!
that is the BEST deck EVER <3
your deck is so cool!!!!!!
wow, what a wonderful place. the vaulted ceilings are to die for.
thanks you guys for all the fun comments! :)
Lara: we got the coverlet at anthro about a year ago (i think they still have that design). for the LIME WASH, you only need to prep the walls with a special primer–the lime wash has a thin consistency which is really easy to work with ; )
here’s where we got our lime wash:
in the US http://www.sydneyharbourpaints.com/ (in australia: http://www.porterspaints.com) check out the Venetian Plaster, too. We used that in our shop–lots of work, but amazing results.
Wow, the deck just leaves me speechless. Fantastic house!
honestly, the best deck i’ve ever seen in my life! amazing.
your deck is so awesome!
Where did you find the window shade featured in the close-up picture of the green dresser? I love it.
prudence: the bamboo shade is from this cute shop on college ave. in oakland: http://www.murasaki-oakland.com
i would LOVE to see a full image of the bicycle… :)
holy crap, that deck is amazing!
I also love the lime wash walls.
Suzie, I’m curious about your sconces in the entryway that you made. Any project tips for doing something similar?
I wish I could make our place look cute :( Thus is the life of a young newlywed I guess
That deck is the coolest thing I have ever seen!
the colors are so warm and inviting. beautiful!
Love love love love it!! That back deck is incredible. I love all the pretty soft colours throughout the house and all the light :-D
What a stunning deck!
beautiful colors – great space!!
Thanks so much for the superb pix/sources/color ref’s. I’m trying to unite contemporary & antique furn. in our 1930′s home. This particular Sneak Peak relates directly to what I’m trying to do.
I just LOVE IT!!!
I love the bicycle! Can you show us a full picture as well as how you attached the baskets to the back? I think they’re Longaberger, and I would love to do the same with my bike. WAY cuter than metal.
For Mary, KVV, Jen & all the ones who liked the deck.
Thanks for all the nice comments! I had a good time doing these things for Suzie :-)
Mary & Jen: Suzie will post a few pics of the whole bicycle with the baskets on her facebook page soon. http://tinyurl.com/yfd4slz
Feel free to email me too if you want – I’d be happy to tell you where we found and how we did things. serge@twigandfig.com
Cheers!
Beatutiful house and decorating. I love the bedding in the master. Where is from?
Love the Brooks saddle on the modern bike! I have one on my racing bike, which always makes people laugh.
if you mentioned this, please forgive me, but what color is on your kitchen walls?
this is one of my favorite sneak peaks in a long time. And I’m thinking lime wash is the answer to the wood paneling in my dining room. thanks for the link!
Really beautiful light in these images. Did you photograph these yourself? Such a great job!
That deck!!! I’ve never seen anything like it. Its so… grand.
Its love <3
twigs and scraps: anthro ;)
issy: saffron lime wash base, mango brushed atop (be sure to get their super wide brush, and instructions)
maryam: thank you so much (blush)! photography is a new passion that’s stolen my heart ;)
hannah & other deck fans: you’ve given us a new found pride in our deck, thank you.
bicycle shots are up on our facebook page now http://tinyurl.com/yfd4slz
kvv: sconce tips: we found the basis housing/sconce ready-made at a local import shop (indian), lined it with chiyogami paper, then wired it with a basic light socket.
so pretty! i love your bedroom and oval framed silhouette portraits. every room is so light and fresh.
Charlotte gave us a tour of your lovely home…I had no idea. She is so inspired by the creativity of your home and so am I. That bike is to die for!
i just saw this amazing little sneak peek, and i have never commented before, but i MUST know the name of the antho coverlet. It’s not on the website and I am hoping to see it somewhere else online (ebay perhaps?). Please let me know- thanks!
such a roomy, but still cozy house. beautiful. the green dresser you bought as mixed pickles is identical to one that i had growing up. it was painted yellow, which was very cute. but as the paint wore away so much that it was looking more junky than charming, my parents had it stripped and refinished. the wood underneath is brilliant!
Wow – you end the post with that amazing deck! More pictures of that pleeeez?!
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