“I believe good design is not about trends or rules but about creating timeless beauty that enhances one’s daily life,” says San Francisco-based designer Suzanne Tucker. She established her 20-person firm, Tucker & Marks, in 1986, after the death of her mentor, acclaimed California designer Michael Taylor. Tucker worked closely with Taylor for many years, and his influence, along with that of Colefax & Fowler (she worked for two years with a protégé of John Fowler’s in London), give the designer a comfortable, elegant and unique style that is sought by California and international clients alike.

“Michael Taylor was undoubtedly my strongest philosophical influence in that he really demonstrated that design can be a mix of eras and styles, color and form, but the most essential aspect is always scale and proportion.” She also finds inspiration in unlikely things. “I discovered rust on my roses. Not good for the roses, but a wonderful color for plastered walls!” she says. Current projects vary in size and scope, from refinishing a table for one longtime client to designing the interiors of a boutique hotel in Rutherford, California, to several 17,000-square-foot homes. Projects take Tucker from the Bay Area through the California cities of Napa, Carmel and Santa Barbara and beyond, to St. Louis; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Boston. “The traveling road show can go anywhere, as long as the clients are nice and the architecture is good.”

Suzanne Tucker

415-445-6789

uckerandmarkom