Name: Brian H. Andriola
Location: San Francisco, CA
Size: 800 s.f.
Years lived in: 1 year
Upon first glance, it isn't hard to understand how Brian Andriola has made quite a successful career for himself as a prop stylist. Brian's home is a culmination of beautiful furniture, art, and accessories accumulated over many years. The provenance and character of each piece is more important than whether it "goes" with the decor, and the result is a whimsical and welcoming home.
After 15 years in New York building an impressive career in the decorative arts, Brian packed up and moved across the country to the Bay Area. With 400 boxes meticulously packed and some key pieces of furniture, all of his belongings made it intact. He has since unpacked and styled himself quite a romantic home. Fueled with a love for the antique, the odd, and the interesting, Brian's home is a veritable cabinet of curiosities. In spite of the multitudes of interesting objects to take in, he manages to maintain a light sense of calm and serenity that makes this a home we would move into in a heartbeat. Take a look at his website, full of images of his stylings, and you'll understand more about how his eye and knack for arranging has created such a graceful space.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My style: Palette and texture driven. Old store. Cabinet of Curiosity.
Inspiration: It's always evolving and in motion, much like life. When I find something beautiful I am not worried about if it belongs. It will always find its place in my home. Usefulness is important, but beauty reigns. I do my best to keep like things together, in fact it's a mantra and a good philosophy for collectors. What I've got going on may not work for many, but the one thing we all have in common is that our home is an expression of individuality. My home is also where I get to live out some of my decorating whims, test ideas, try new things.
Favorite Element: The light, the open floor plan, the classic detailing and the view!
Biggest Challenge: The challenge is always how to maximize the space to get the best use out of it. With the obvious tendency to bring home more than there is room for, there is a constant amount of letting go that needs to happen as well. I inherited the colors. Green in the main space and a strange almost fleshy neutral in the bedroom. My color sense was more greys, cooler. So instead of fight with it I ended up working with the colors that were there which set up a new challenge.
What Friends Say: My friends are either freaked out, intrigued or totally get it.
Biggest Embarrassment: OMG. Piles. You have no idea.
Proudest DIY: Covering my over-loved Billy Baldwin sofa with a washed down giant cotton tarp from the hardware store. One day it will be reupholstered, but for the meantime I liked this $59 solution. Also, the "city" on the very top shelf of the built in shelves is made from the assembly of pulp packing material found in boxes. This was such an odd and very high shelf that I wanted something up there, but didnt know what. I liked the shapes this bi-product made when all together. Lastly the packing and moving of everything I loved and getting it across the country without a single broken piece. 400 boxes and pieces of furniture. Everything survived because of excellent packing.
Biggest Indulgence: The Gustavian desk (1771-1792). I love the lines, the patina and the functionality. Its built incredibly well and hasnt been touched in 200+ years. Although it was expensive it was a very good price for what it was, making it irresistable in the end.
Best advice: If you love it than make it happen, inspiration is everywhere, dont try to hard, live casually, everything is precious but nothing is too precious either. Allow yourself to love something and not know why, academia is only for enhancing your knowledge of things, but value is subjective. Listen to the stories objects tell, enrich your home with layers.
Dream source: The dream source is the unexpected. Some of my favorite things I've found in the oddest places. The best stores and showrooms are amazing sources and incredibly inspiring, but attainable beauty is everywhere. My favorite circle of sources are antique co-ops, flea markets, outlets, hardware stores, estate sales, salvage yards, cool shops, weird garage sales, online dealers, auctions, general stores, thrift stores, furniture showrooms, etc.
Inspiration: See above dream sources!
Resources:
On top of the Gustavian desk: a charcoal and pencil of Pan created by my grandmother Grace Purpura. The bullseye mirror above and industrial lamp sit next to a piece of log found on the street in NYC. I saw this odd beautiful shape in the trash pile one snowy night on the walk from the subway to my apartment. Its been with me ever since. The Thonet chair was a $10 find.
On the bedside: the yellow lamp was a $6 find at a church sale in Los Angeles, and the painting behind is by a NY artist from the mid 1900's
In the alcove: Made from a storm window, th glass cabinet holds my cisollection of early American blown glass. The two chairs were first spotted at an estate sale for $400 but where eventually found again at the flea market for $80. I loved them the first time and was so happy to see them again the second time at a much more affordable price. The clock case on the left was the first and only piece of furniture ever purchased from the famous action house Christies in NY at an anual Americana auction. So primitive and humble, its almost modern.
In the hall off of the bedroom: The painting of circles was by me and the still life was found in the trash room of my apartment in NY. Love the combination of old and new.
In the bedroom: This giant painting above the bed is by a Pasadena artist by way of Sweden. It was painted in the 1930s in Santa Monica. Its huge and heavy and faces west. I try to collect pieces that are distinctive to an area (the smaller one being the West Coast, probably Northern California). The large clay pot is actually a primitive, possibly Mexican pottery that was used for holding water.
Off of the kitchen: This is an old store mirror found for $20 in the basement of a shop in
Pennsylvania, its amazing, super thick glass and just the right amount of flaking. It sits on whats now referred to as the Matthew table named after a friend who was with me when I found it. The table is metal with Queen Anne style legs and was used for holding two square galvanized wash tubs.
(Thanks, Brian!)
Images: Brian H. Andriola
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Love.
I love the look and feel of this place -- like an airy old farm house. Clever use of mirrors too!
It's kinda perfect.
love this place. Laura has it right....like an airy old farmhouse.
wow. impressive layering!
A perfect balance of relaxing and interesting--a very difficult combination. Love your home.
Beautiful place, elegant and inviting! Where did you find the coffee table in your living room?
I like it!
I don't take up that much room. Can I move in?
If not, can you give me the living room paint color?
Brian, I love your home--every corner is tranquil and interesting! Your homes reads just like your "best advice" :)
dcirene-- haa I just read your comment after posting mine...we're on the same plane :)
love. love. love. This is one of those perfectly balanced homes that makes you want to curl up on the couch and ask a million questions about all the beautiful and interesting things in it. Every little piece tells a story. Ultimately, makes me want to know Brian!
This is just so appealing and lovely. I am SO jealous of those beautiful bergere chairs in the living room.
where did you get the Greek head pillow in the living room?Love it.
I LOVE this place. It's comfortable and relaxing and stylish, all at the same time. Very, very nice!
It's that flawed perfection that is so hard to do. Sort of a less polished Erin Martin and then taken to another level. A causal intellectualism that both assumes and guarantees that a visitor will 'get' you and wish to get to know you better at the same time. Bravo!
I wish I could afford you. You are just a few counties away from my current project. **sighs** in my next life >; )
the above comments have said it all. just adding another "love it"
So in love. I would ask if I could move in too, but it appears too many before me have called dibs so, I'll just stare at the pictures for a couple more hours.
That huge farm table is brilliant.
Gorgeous and so calm and comfortable. BUT I'm wondering about your big farm table...how do you sit at it when the skirt comes all the way down to the chair seats?
i bet i take up less space than creative license plus i don't smoke, am quiet, & will clean. a really special & gorgeous space.
why can't i pull this off? i love it. adore it. want it.
So very inviting. It's the kind of place I would love to come and stay in for a week. By myself. Make a pot of tea, wander from room to room, browse the shelves, choose a book to curl up with on one of the armchairs and watch the rain come down.
The dining table. Oh my. I would place it in my (dream) kitchen as a work table. It's the stuff of dreams. *sigh*
wow!
serene!
The Matthew Table. This is fantastic. I love how it is pushed up against the window with the plant on the urn.
i dont know what your friends are freaked out about!! your place is gorgeous!
Thank you everyone so so much for all the kind words!
Its an honor to participate and share my world.
To answer the two questions so far. Table skirt height. Yeah, its an issue, I debated my options and decided its best to sit side saddle for now. No saws, no wheels just yet, its too old and amazing to alter. The wall color question. Honestly dont know, it was here when I moved in. I would call it a toned down electric melon surprise.....it was hard to get used to but a happy balance to the grayer days of SF. I embraced it like a vitamin D supplement and realized its really quite nice.
Remember, beauty is everywhere!
Keep it going! xo Brian
Are you freakin' kidding me? Amazing.
There's a lot of amazing stuff here... but also a lot of things that you'd probably wander past in the thrift store without giving them a second glance. Brian's genius is in seeing their potential, and in his context they look fantastic.
That bold blue rug in the bedroom, for example, would look hideous in most interiors, but here with the neutral floor and the canary yellow lamp it looks ravishing.
Really great eye. Thrifted but not cheap. I love it!! Very Ralph Lauren.
The farm table is heaven! Pass the bread & cheese.
Perfection, as only "loved" objects can convey.
Brian,
I love your place even more now that I know you started out with a wall color you didn't even like!!! I always say there's a way to make any color work if you know how to compliment it. What you did with "toned down electric melon surprise" is genius. Genius! I'll make note of that: creams, browns, beiges, blacks. Lots of neutrals, and you knew not to stray.
Toned Down Electric Melon Surprise...... Love it.
Love your place! Thanks for sharing your lovely home.
I'm overly excited by how serene it is. Chock full of comfort and quirky details, but so ethereal and perfect.
The increasing number of advertisements on Apartment Therapy are making it less enjoyable to the point of being unwatchable especially when covering the article that I am trying to read.
There is a point of diminishing returns; and readers like me are already looking elsewhere for quality content.
Really beautiful and tremendously cool too.
Thanks for sharing.
brilliant. the most successful accessorizing i've seen on AT, and many other design blogs for that matter. i love, love, LOVE you for literally pulling pieces off the street and making them work. your home is stunning and totally unpretentious at the same time. and that paint color in the living room, perfection.
I love this! Everything works together so perfectly and it looks effortless. I especially like that you can pull off the loose linen slipcover on the sofa. I love the look but it never looks right in my house.
Weeping.
It's really beautiful & serene and creative and it makes my house look decorated by a cheap hooker.
Your home is just wonderful & love the images on your website! Very inspirational!
love the big table...i wish i could have one that large!
soothing place to live i am sure!
WOW!! Absolutely perfect. I will be putting this in my file for future reference. The long harvest table with the bookshelves behind it is my absolute favorite. It's perfect. Thank you for sharing!
wow. now this is a well put together house! it is serene, but it has plenty of quirks, too. that brass skull is to die for!
thanks so much for sharing your beautiful home.
Toned Down Electric Melon Surprise should be a band name.
First, Brian, I love your place.
Second, Brian, a request: do you have any tips on prepping a painter's tarp for use as a slipcover? Can I just buy any brand at the hardware store and wash it with loads of fabric softener? Because it looks grand, you know.
Third, Brian, that old store mirror happens to be the one for which I've been searching for decades. I can't imagine how it wound up in your home, but I have a solution:As we both live in San Francisco, we should immediately become BFFs so you can invite me over for coffee and I can steal it.
When I see photo's of a house like this it confirms why I must continue to look at House Tours and learn! Whatever that "thing" is that people like Brian are born with, I marvel at it.
Where is the bed from? I can't seem to find a simple upholstered bed w/ a footboard that doesn't either have buttons or something else going on to junk it up.
Now to go back and look again...
so much to love! - but geeze get a better desk chair - that can't possibly be comfortable!
Such great depth and texture. Awesome.
...where home and heaven meet.
excellent mix! elegant, grown up, yet funky enough to make it personal. (looks like) it feels like home...and thats what it's all about.
A subtle colour palette spiced up with the yellow lamp from LA and the violet tone of the orchids.
Thanks for sharing your home!
Emilie from Amsterdam
Beautiful.
You have created a gorgeous home, filled with interesting items. I'd love to wander round and look all the curiosities.
Gorgeous - want to wander around and marvel. Wish you could 'design' my 'set'.
yes and yes.
i love your apartment, brian!
Magic!
But what about the rug in the living room-- where did you (or would you) find such a treasure?
One amazing still life after another. I'd love to just wander around drinking tea and dropping scone crumbs. (I'd sweep up later)
The one thing that bothered me was that very heavy framed painting over the bed. In San Francisco! I tried to hang something like it over my bed, but the friends who had come to help me wouldn't allow it. I'm new to earthquake territory, but I'll listen to their advice
Beautifully curated. Thank you for sharing here. Just lovely.
xoox,
-maria
Absolutely lovely, and enhanced by the writing style in the survey. It all fits. Bravo!