The Journey Home

As she listened to her client discussing her most recent trip, designer Samantha Lyman knew her latest project would teach her lessons that would last forever. Just returned from her yearly pilgrimage to an ashram in India, the homeowner talked about vastu shastra, an ancient Hindu design philosophy similar to feng shui. With this spiritual tradition in mind, Lyman considered the balance of elements in the three-story, 5,500-square-foot Georgian brick house in Pacific Heights. The result: a serene juxtaposition of styles and pieces. “She’ll find something in her travels, or a grandchild might create a piece for her,” says Lyman, the principal of SL:ID Studio, based in Ross. “In her home, a very expensive piece will be sitting right next to a handmade item. She truly sees the beauty in imperfection.”

The client, a woman with grown children, moved to San Francisco from Petaluma in 2007 to be closer to her family. Accompanying her on the move, as they have on many of her travels, were her two dogs, Maharaja and Mahareeni. “She likes to live fluidly and easily but graciously,” Lyman said. “She’s just very cool and very dignified.”




After seeing the designer’s work in the home of a close friend, the client knew Lyman was just the person to redesign her own place. The homeowner had only one request: Do not make the home too serious. Lyman, a fashion editor turned designer, readily agreed. “What I loved most was that the client was very clear about what she liked and what she didn’t like,” she says. “She was willing to be decisive, but she also gave me free rein to propose creative solutions.”

Starting from the center of the house and working outward, Lyman tackled the kitchen first. What was once a large eat-in kitchen was transformed into two separate spaces, with the addition of a butler’s pantry for storage that also includes a nook for Maharaja and Mahareeni to curl up in. In the pantry, wall-to-wall shelving and large clear jars afford organization at a glance. “The homeowner wanted to have everything at her fingertips, as opposed to having to dig through deep, dark cupboards,” says Lyman. To center the space, Lyman traded in the old kitchen table for an island with bar stools.



The reorganization of the kitchen inspired the look of the master bathroom—Lyman’s favorite room. The designer implemented new storage and kept the space clean in the same manner of the pantry downstairs with redesigned vanities and simple details, such as a recessed panel featuring the same traditional molding as the kitchen cabinetry. The focal point of the bathroom is the cast-iron, zinc-finished freestanding tub from Waterworks and the poetry-engraved Alison Berger pendant. In keeping with vastu shastra’s principles of symmetry and balance, it was important for the light fixture to be aligned with the bathtub. “The light throws the poems on the walls and speaks of escaping to the sea and the beauty of water,” says Lyman. “It’s about the ritual of cleansing.”

In the master bedroom, a 19th-century Italian empire commode reflects the client’s many journeys, with its beautifully aged surface covered with an array of objects including family photos, a diminutive bouquet and an antique Chinese saddle. The adjoining sunroom echoes the fresh plants and flowers seen in the foyer in addition to a curious gem—an otherwise ordinary dress form, outfitted with a child’s tutu. “It was a lighthearted reference to the beauty of the female form,” says Lyman.



Back downstairs, the living room contains one of the most important pieces in the home: A large painting, Polly in Her Garden, is representative of Chinese artist Hung Liu’s depictions of feminine power and independence—themes close to the homeowner’s heart. Lotus-printed sheer drapery panels mirror the flowers in the artwork and filter the sunlight that streams over the grand piano (the homeowner is also an accomplished pianist).

The living room—with its three-legged John Saladino coffee table and whitewashed wooden elephant side tables from a Broadway production of Cleopatra—represents the ideal balance of the homeowner’s sense of humor with the designer’s sense of style. “She will place a piece next to something completely different and to her it makes perfect sense,” says Lyman.