Inside Mark D. Sikes’s Historic Renovation of Blair House

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Design Within Reach Turned a San Francisco Warehouse Into a Certified-Cool Flagship—And AD PRO Directory Members Got a First Look Inside

On Wednesday, AD’s Mayer Rus welcomed Bay Area AD PRO Directory members for an exclusive tour of DWR’s new San Francisco flagship.

Although showrooms change addresses as a matter of rote, there is nothing formulaic about the recently opened Design Within Reach flagship in San Francisco. Late last month, the MillerKnoll-owned modern furnishings powerhouse moved from its Kansas Street location to a 1920s-era warehouse embedded more deeply in the Potrero Hill district. With the new digs, the company is piloting a more experiential approach to retail environments. On Wednesday evening, Bay Area members of the AD PRO Directory and special guests were treated to an exclusive tour through the new DWR San Francisco Studio.

The trade guests were welcomed to the 15,000-square-foot space by AD West Coast Editor Mayer Rus, MillerKnoll President of Global Retail Debbie Propst, and DWR VP of Product Design and Brand Creative Omar Nobil. The industrial space—formerly home to California Caster & Hand Truck Company—represents Nobil’s first full build-out since he joined the company in October 2022. More than 60 AD PRO Directory members—designers Michael Hilal, Noz Nozawa, and Chloe Redmond Warner among them—as well as Amy Astley, AD global editorial director and editor in chief of AD US, were in attendance for the first look.

“There was a lot of sensitivity given to the historic woodwork, but also a distinctly contemporary vision that complements the furniture,” architect Tyler Velten, a partner of Oakland-based AD PRO Directory firm Ike Baker Velten, says of the gut renovation. Adds Velten’s colleague and fellow IBV namesake Carl Baker, “I felt a generosity of space given to viewing items; there wasn’t just a lot of product shoved into a store.”

AD100 designer Lauren Geremia, who also attended the event, remarked that the sheer expanse of the studio was as welcome as its creative direction. “The size of the store feels unusual, and I think it will be helpful for people embarking on big projects that want to educate themselves,” says the principal designer of San Francisco–based Geremia Design. “That’s rare in the city; I usually have to go to Los Angeles to test a product and its alternatives in three dimensions.”

For its evening with AD, DWR further outfitted the space with refreshments from local establishments—Hog Island oysters topped with a vinegary mignonette sauce and a squeeze of lemon, a fresh loaf from Tartine Bakery with a decadent board of sea-salted cultured butter, ginger scallion spread with Thai basil, and seasonal veggies from the Heart of the City Farmers Market. Sips were bubbly and tinged with citrus, like the Pisco Punch, a lemony-pineapple concoction coined in San Francisco in the 1870s. Meanwhile, floral artist Tyson Lee of Mister Lee Designs used native florals and greenery to create figurative arrangements, each on display within organic vases by Sin Ceramics, Muuto, and 101 Copenhagen ApS—all available through DWR online.

In addition to versatile style and comfortable proportions, the showroom embodies a commitment to teaching visitors about modern design: Approximately 2,000 square feet of the interior is allotted to two rotating display areas, dubbed the Gallery and the Case Study Apartment. The Gallery’s inaugural show is a showcase of work by French architect Jean Prouvé, curated by Vitra, that includes historical text, material samples, and a reading room. And for the first Case Study Apartment, USM combined configurations of its iconic Haller Collection furniture system with selections from the DWR inventory.

San Francisco–based designer Susan Work sensed an educational quality beyond the rotating exhibits. The cofounder of AD PRO Directory firm Homework explains, “The decision to show classics that we all know and love in different configurations or upholsteries was mind-blowing to me, and something I can share with clients.” Thinking back to her own time as a part-time sales associate for DWR in Manhattan—a job she held while studying at Parsons—Work adds, “DWR is such a gem of a brand, in part because it keeps reinventing itself.”

The new San Francisco location also includes DWR’s first mounting of Maharam Digital Projects and its second permanent shop-in-shop for the Danish kitchen and cabinetry company Reform, which is celebrating its decade anniversary this year.

Reform sections will soon appear at DWR studios in New York and La Jolla, and other features currently unique to Potrero Hill could very well roll out nationwide. Yet certain flourishes are inimitably site-specific, such as a vinyl collection curated by Haight Street institution Amoeba Music and publications chosen from William Stout Architectural Books and City Lights. Velten comments that the local shoutouts had an “effortlessness that makes it compelling to come back to. I can imagine our younger colleagues and design students treating this space as an extension of the other cool stuff that’s happening nearby.” A reason to return, indeed.

—Alison Levasseur, Global Interiors and Garden Director, AD

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Inside Blair House: The President’s Guesthouse Receives a Refined Refresh

AD100 interior designer Mark D. Sikes was tasked with updating the historic home in Washington, D.C.

From the Archive: Blair House, October 1988

The last historic restoration of the president's guest house in Washington, D.C.

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Mark D. Sikes’s Manual for Success

The AD100 interior designer shares an inside look at the well-oiled machine that powers the world of Mark D. Sikes—design studio, fashion label, product lines, and books included