Designer Erica Tanov sees beauty holistically – her designs expand both ready-to-wear and homeware, garnering her a large loyal following. Her home, just like her designs, reflects her boundariless vision, where many styles, textures, and materials come together to reflect her inner world. “My home is full of things I love, from the vintage pieces I collect to artwork by my kids and friends,” she shared. “I find endless inspiration from nature – color palettes, patterns, textures, prints – everything I design begins with what I see and feel in nature.”
Her current home, a 1926 Mediterranean-style house up in the Berkley Hills, wasn’t always the poetic bohemian space that it is today. “We’ve been here for 13 years,” Erica explained. “When we moved in, the foundation had to be redone which was a major undertaking, using up most of our resources, so we’ve done a lot of smaller DIY upgrades over the years.” Many of the fixtures and elements of the home dated back to the ’80s and had to be stripped. The first to go was the fluorescent lighting that was then replaced with antique fixtures that Erica had been collecting over the years. “In our sitting room, we ripped out office cabinetry that had been installed in the 1980s and then left the walls exposed, showing the history of craftsmen’s notations and layers of paint from prior years,” she added. “It revealed the history and beauty of the plaster walls.” In the kitchen, they took out the old upper cabinets and replaced them to display Erica’s collection of serveware.
Her home comprises three separate levels – a basement that they excavated to raise the ceilings that now serves as her musician husband’s studio space; the main floor that has a sitting room/guest room right off the entryway, living and dining room, kitchen, powder room, and breakfast room that they use as a mudroom and pantry; heading up to the third level are the home’s bedrooms for the designer and her husband, as well as their two children. “My favorite part of our home is our master bedroom which has windows on three sides filling the room with natural light and views of the Bay and Golden Gate bridges,” Erica said. But it isn’t just the astounding views that make the designer’s bedroom a standout space. She invested in de Gournay wallpaper that creates an elegant feature in the room: “The nature of its silver-leaf background has caused it to patina over time, giving it a life of its own. It’s like living in an enchanted garden.”
Throughout her home, Erica’s design decisions have been thoughtful and sentimental: “I buy things as I find them, so decorating happens gradually and is often changing – swapping things out when I find something I love even more.” Besides items from her own collection, her home includes several unique pieces. “I adore the chinoiserie credenza that’s in our sitting room, replete with dings, which I found at a salvage yard,” she shared. “It has so much character. My other favorite items are mostly family treasures such as the mid-century china cabinet in our dining room and the floral side table in our sitting room, a piece that I always admired in my grandmother’s entryway.”
Her love of decor with a story has recently led her to partner up with Chairish to curate a personalized sale. “It’s a well-rounded mix of everything I love – mostly vintage and antiques among beautiful modern pieces,” she said. “I’ve included pieces that I’ve designed from my Home Collection as well, such as wallpaper, pillows, throws, and ceramics.” You can shop her sale now!
