Inside a Bold Home Filled with Contemporary Art

Designer Holly A. Kopman had first worked with her client ⁠— a friend of hers ⁠— in 2010. When the client’s home in Mill Valley, California was due for another update, she turned to Kopman to help her show off an extensive collection of contemporary art that included artists like Louise Bourgeois, Anne Weber, and Todd Hido. To spotlight the artworks without overwhelming them, the designer carefully selected luxurious wallcoverings and rugs in natural hues, and channeled her curator’s eyes into creating sculpturesque vignettes that mixed the client’s art collection with custom furnishings, transforming each corner of the house into its own immersive gallery. Discover the home here.

The size and scale of the client's art collection is visible right from the entryway. On the staircase wall, the graphite drawing is by Colombian artist Gonzalo Fuenmayor; other artists featured include Anne Weber and Barbara Vaughn, both American. The armoire is from Ironies.
Decorated with various objets d'art, the custom entry console was designed by Holly A Kopman Interior Design.
A custom console adorns the entryway from another angle, and the rug is from Tania Johnson Design. Kopman designed the console, which was then finished by Jafe Custom Finishing.
The living room boasts a high-contrast color palette, with bold shades of black serving as an accent — which is particularly visible in the charcoal-black fireplace tile wall from Heath Ceramics and the black-and-white painting by San Francisco-based visual artist Charley Brown. A couch from Holly Hunt looks out over a marble table — also from Holly Hunt — toward the pair of Jiun Ho chairs. Custom sconces look like dramatic scultpures, gesturing downward from the tops of the bookcase and the far wall. The rug is from Stark.
For the home office, Kopman custom designed the desk and hutch — it was fabricated by Tom Sellars and finished by Jafe Custom Finishing. The top of the desk is upholstered in leather. An array of prints creates excitement in the neutral-hued space, from the Carolyn Ray window shades to the Lindsay Cowles wallpaper accenting the ceiling. A suspended lighting fixture from Apparatus Studio imitates the shapes of the pattern on the shades, and a soft wallcovering from Phillip Jeffries anchors its surroundings.
A David Weeks Studio light fixture hovers here over a custom table. The banquettes are covered in custom, zigzag-print fabric from Dedar.
Vibia lighting lines the staircase; the mural against the back wall is from Area Environments. Designed by Holly A. Kopman Interior Design, the stair railing was crafted from cerused oak and inlaid with bronze, silver, and blackend steel — the railing is lit from below, The wallpaper lining the staircase is from Elitis.
Sheer Romo curtains filter abundant natural light into the dining room. A contemporary chandelier from John Pomp is positioned above a circular table with a wrought metal base from Gregorius Pineo. Mid-modern chairs from Michael Taylor surrond the table on top of an antique Moroccan rug.
Kopman custom designed the long buffet pictured above.
Originally, the cherry floors had a bright red tone, and the bright red color was challenging to work around, especially in a cool-toned, contemporary environment, so Kopman stained the cherry to achieve a darker, subtler ebony. She revamped the kitchen with the help of Tim Cahoon, a local builder. Bold, smoke-colored pendants from Lindsey Adelman enhance the contemporary sense of the space, while the diagonal tile in varying shades of gray was sourced from Artistic Tile.
In the family room, contemporary black-and-white elements mix and match with natural materials; for example, the Pavè Log bench from Kreoo is made up of a larch beam paired with a marble base. Kopman custom designed the tiered fireplace. The corner table is from Gregorius Pineo, and the gradiated rug is from Zoe Luyendijk Studio.
A teardrop-shaped Venini chandelier, reconfigured by the designer, is the defining accent of the master bedroom. A natural-hued wallcovering from Phillip Jeffries and a subdued carpet from Stark set a subtle backdrop for the space so that the extravagant artwork, including a depiction of water by Barbara Vaughn above the bed, can take center stage. The bedside tables are from Scala Luxury, and the bed linens and bed frame were custom designed by Kopman.
The photograph to the right here is by Todd Hido.
Gray hues and subtle hints of texture transform the master bath. Creamy Calacatta Gold countertops pair comfortably with sleek Dornbracht faucets, and the walls were painted in custom wax by Caroline Lizarraga for an alligator-style pattern.
An artwork by Eva Schlegel decorates the area above the bathtub. The tile is from Artistic Tile, and Kerr Construction was the contractor.
On the porch, Kopman created a cozy, Moroccan-inspired seating space heaped with layers of throw pillows. The fabric for the pillows was discovered on a sourcing trip to Peru with the client. The half-wall behind the sofa was hand painted by Caroline Lizarraga; the eclectic statuettes and other decorations are vintage. Overhead, the lights are from Tazi Designs.
A "Love" sculpture by Laura Kimpton decorates the far end of the bocce court outside.
The lush, over-grown landscapes were designed by Avant Garden, and the temple was created by Michael Garlington.