January 31, 2013

Theresa Fatino Updates The St. Regis San Francisco

Lady Gaga has been known to stop by for a drink. So has model Tyra Banks. The St. Regis San Francisco’s lobby and bar has received an appropriately high-profile renovation from LA-based designer Theresa Fatino.

The 40-story St Regis San Francisco, which opened in 2005 and was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, includes 100 private residences rising 19 floors above the 260-room hotel, positioned adjacent to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in the city’s SOMA district.

For the refurbishment, begun in November 2012, Fatino chose a mix of grey, silver, smoke, blue, champagne and bronze to evoke the San Francisco fog. New furnishings—chairs, sofas, rugs, art installations and lighting fixtures—were for the most part custom designed by Fatino.

Some existing elements were retained, including a zebra-wood bar and a 16-foot-tall fireplace. Two murals by Canadian artist Andrew Morrow frame the bar area.

New seating and rearranged space are key features of the refurbishment, says general manager Toni Knorr. “With this exciting refresh we were able to revisit the lobby floor plan to accommodate more people and carve out intimate spaces for conversation as well,” says Knorr.

In fact, says Fatino, the space is now aimed at both night and daytime use, with 40 tables for two arranged to facilitate casual conversations. “[W]ith the refresh,” she says, “the space has taken on many uses such as a nook for early morning and afternoon meetings or an elegant space for evening cocktails.”

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