Honorable Mention: Macondray

This was a local ownership/design-build renovation that took place over three months from concept to open doors in the charming neighborhood of Russian Hill in San Francisco. We are a small family/friend run business that have lived and worked in the neighborhood for almost 10 years and knew just what Polk street needed… A bold, bright, fresh design with great cocktails and New England inspired bar food. Coming as a former designer of Puccini Group, this was a fun project to be part of and have ownership over. The design aesthetic is both feminine and masculine giving the neighborhood a welcoming space to enjoy that is filled with plants. The name and design inspiration was pulled from the famous Macondray Lane, a public walking path in the heart of Russian Hill that allows passerby’s to escape the city for a breath of fresh air in a lush green walkway, which is also the extension of the tenants “back” yards. Each tenant has their own space to add plants to the overgrown hill and dress the plot up with their own unique taste. We fell in love with this idea and wanted to create a space that also removes you from the city while you spend time in the space and bring in that fresh lush feeling. From the clean white wall paneling to the custom green wallpaper and rusted metal surfaces to all the plants that were provided by our friends and neighbors as welcoming gifts, this space really is an extension of our home and is perfect mixture of feminine and masculine. It’s mom, pop, and “uncle” shop where many nights you’ll see our six month old baby greeting guests with a big smile. We even found a street sign with his name hanging over what is considered the best seat in the house! We’ve had such a warm welcome to the neighborhood by the surrounding businesses and people that live on the blocks nearby and are now attracting guests from all over the city.

The space is long and narrow, but has a very tall 17′ high ceiling giving us the opportunity to get creative and make the guest lookup. We directed their eyes to the ornate bronze ceiling and the rusted metal shelf that lines the south wall and then filled it with a combination of plants that drip over the edge and stand tall. On the opposite wall we created a large back bar lit up that showcases a limited selection fine liquors, handpicked accessories and again.. plants! We also created an open window in the back that highlights the DJ booth upstairs. The front of the building already had great bones and large windows allowing a lot of natural light during the day and a view of the neighbors buildings across the street and city lights at night. The back hallway is lined with vibrant parrot wallpaper as an ode to the San Francisco parrots that we hear flying throughout the neighborhood everyday. Last, but not least the bathrooms were hand-painted by myself and a group of artistic friends pulling colors seen throughout the space with pops of bright corals, pinks and metallics. Overall this was a great heartfelt project and are so happy that it has been so well received.