Looking to remodel or refresh your living space, indoors or out? It's a daunting task for many, even with the best of taste and ideas. I've several friends in the North Bay who are interior designers and it always amazes me how much they enjoy taking someone else's room or a house or business and transforming it often beyond recognition. It's a skill that comes with years of practice and know-how, contacts and savvy, not to mention a calm and capable demeanor.
A fellow British American friend, Petaluma-based taste maker Alice Chan has long had a fascination with how to help a space express its soul and reflect the personalities of those who inhabit or use it.
"When I look at a space for the first time, I inevitably look through the lens of my multicultural background—from the UK, to California, and Hong Kong," explains Alice. "I’m passionate about taking cues from a building’s external environment, whether that’s a bustling city, a tranquil coastal setting, or a small town."
Alice has lived in historical houses for much of her life and blending history with modernity is at the heart of many of her projects from San Francisco to Petaluma.
"I believe that creating harmony—with our lifestyle, our physical location, and the environment of the space itself—is the key to an end result you’ll love," she says. "Practically speaking, I love ‘interior’ design – by which I mean, how do you design an interior space to be the most in tune with the flow and needs of your life."
Alice has launched into designing for others and is available for new clients currently. If you’d like help bringing your vision to life – reach out to Alice at alice@alicedishes.com.
Click here for Alice's website
Alice grew up with parents who had distinct and definitive design sensibilities. There was always some kind of DIY project going on at home. "Whether my dad was hanging Laura Ashley wallpaper, or my mum was picking out colored cabinets for our kitchen—dark green paneling as I recall—it was impossible not to absorb some of their passion and interest in interiors as I developed my own personal style," she recalls. Fast forward many decades later, and Alice has remodeled a number of her own homes, tweaked interiors and put together seemingly incompatible patterns, colors, and textures.
"And now I want to do this for others. I take my main inspiration from the interior and exterior environments that envelop a space," she says. "If you listen closely, a room will “tell you” what will work best to create a stunning, yet comfortable place to be."
Mention Southern Sonoma Country Life to Alice for a complimentary 45-minute consultation.