Claudia’s own home occupies a co-op in a 1926 Tudor Revival high-rise just off San Francisco’s Union Square.  The apartment had wonderful bones and original architectural character, but years of unsympathetic updates had left it feeling dated.  Sponge-painted walls in shades of taupe, burgundy, and lavender, pink carpeting, linoleum floors, and a mirrored bedroom closet obscured much of its inherent charm.

After stripping away these later additions and restoring the original parquet floors, Claudia introduced a fresh palette of citrus-inflected colors across walls and ceilings, bringing light, warmth, and energy to the compact interior. The home reflects her lifelong love of travel and fascination with design across cultures, countries, periods, and styles.  European and Asian antiques and vintage finds mingle effortlessly with contemporary pieces, art and objects collected on her travels, and custom furnishings of her own design.  Rather than adhering to a single period or aesthetic, each piece was chosen for its beauty, craftsmanship, history, or personal meaning, creating an interior that feels layered, worldly, and collected over time.

With limited square footage, every element also needed to earn its place.  Claudia approached the apartment much like a beautifully appointed hotel suite, making the most of each room through thoughtful furniture placement, carefully considered scale, and pieces that combine beauty with function.  Storage was integrated wherever possible, and furnishings were selected or designed to keep the rooms comfortable, practical, and visually open without sacrificing personality.

The result is a colorful, layered, and distinctly cosmopolitan home that feels collected rather than decorated.  Traditional and modern, European and exotic, refined and playful coexist comfortably within a relatively small footprint, demonstrating that a home does not need grand proportions to feel sophisticated, deeply personal, and rich with discovery.