John and his team are passionate about creating beautiful, personal, and comfortable homes that become sanctuaries and retreats for people to recharge from the complexities of our modern world. While we put the utmost care into every creative decision that we make, we also imbue every project with a high level of care and love-It is this energy that sets us apart from most other firms. Our point of view is rooted in classical architecture and design, whether the project is a traditional or more modern home. Each project is a collaboration and reflection of the people who live there where we endeavor to transmute and elevate their dreams to make them real. Quality, comfort, and function are always top of mind along with working within a given budget. We're not interested in trends and frequently look for historical precedents as inspiration in tackling a given design challenge. 

John began his design career at sixteen as a design assistant for Douglas Kohler, A.S.I.D. for one of the oldest design firms in his hometown, in the Midwest. However, he wanted to design houses from as young as age ten or eleven using his family's homes as his laboratories. His mentor was responsible for creating the first Decorator Show houses, which benefitted the Columbus Women’s Board Charities. Eventually, he became a Senior Designer there. He studied Studio Arts, Painting, and French at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. By the time he was thirty, he had completed numerous large projects in Paris, New York, Ohio, and Florida. After settling in the Bay Area, he joined the AD100 firm of Tucker and Marks, where he was one of their Design Principals for five years-Creating several large projects throughout California.  He enjoyed mentoring his talented team and seeing them promoted to higher positions under his tutelage. Mentorship is hugely important to him and he is grateful to be able to pay homage to his very first mentor through the company’s name. 

He is a member of the ICAA and has enjoyed continuing his education through them. In 2017 he completed the Christopher Browne Drawing Course in Rome, which was a plein-air painting and drawing class in the Eternal City. Rome was love at first site! He enjoys mixing with colleagues, where shared interests in art, architecture, antiques, and gardens can be nurtured and grown. Travel has been key in keeping his eye open to beauty and inspiration. It also gives him a chance to practice his French-Paris has long been another one of his great loves. 

Caroline had early signs that she would have a passion for interior design when she selected a dupioni-silk Scalamandre fabric for her childhood bedroom, which her family's designer warned her mother was "too fancy." This proves that a discerning eye starts young! She was raised in Chicago and went to high school on the Monterey Peninsula, followed by college at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. She began her design career over 10 years ago, on a large, whole-house renovation to a home in Ross, California. She is extremely adept at wearing numerous hats.

She meticulously balances the artistic part of developing a design scheme and making nuanced, stylish choices with the business side of developing and managing a project's budget. Her razor-sharp eye has a low tolerance for manufacturing flaws and this is invaluable in the process of putting together all of the components that create a home. She has the highest level of integrity and diplomacy when leading and as part of any project's team, and has an elegant way of mixing with clients of all ages. 

In her downtime, she can be found traveling, gardening, or walking her dog with her husband.