And the art has such special meaning.
A mansion's worth of art somehow fits in just 900 square-feet.
In the living room of John Mayberry's San Francisco apartment, he and his designer, Antonio Martins, deployed Mayberry's collection of portraits as three-dimensional wallpaper. "Just as I've had an accumulation of years, I've also had an accumulation of objects," says Mayberry. "When I moved here, a lot of furniture had to go, but I kept almost all the art."
One living room wall is dedicated to Mayberry's Japanese sumi-e ink drawings on antique paper. "We buy antique frames at auction, sell the art, and put John's work inside," says Martins. The custom sofa is in a neutral linen, so as not to compete.
Unexpected touches, such as a modern stainless steel mobile and a stone garden seat that Martins gave his client, help the scheme feel fresh.
A small dining room doubles as a library, where more of Mayberry's collection is displayed — including an antique bronze Sukhothai Buddha acquired in Bangkok, a vintage zebra-skin rug from London and a lamp made from an antique Chinese burial urn.
Architectural flat-file cabinets in the bedroom give Mayberry a surface for drawing as well as storage for completed works.
The decor is a mélange from his travels — a French-style bed upholstered in linen, a gilt Thai sculpture and a framed silk Japanese monk's robe.
"After retirement, I started doing Japanese sumi-e ink drawings," says Mayberry.
Designers John Mayberry, left, and Antonio Martins sit in the living room. Read more about the designers' inspiration for the apartment here. For more details, see resources.
This story originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of House Beautiful.
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