About
Mary Anne McKernie has transformed over 100 homes and numerous commercial properties by redesigning their color schemes, interior décor, exterior facades or landscaping.
Serenity is both the driver and the outcome of her design work. She highlights a space’s strengths and downplays its shortcomings while finding ways to re-use what a client already owns, curating a mix of disparate furnishings and decor into a cohesive, unified look.
Among the ways Mary Anne economizes on behalf of clients is by…
…creatively repurposing or upcycling items with makeover potential. In Elizabeth Taylor’s former residence (now the luxury resort Casa Kimberly) in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, a bathtub slated for demolition became part of the new bathroom design. In a Sausalito condominium, a 1970s dresser destined for Goodwill was lacquered in vibrant orange to become a show-stopping dining room sideboard. Mary Anne finds a humble grandeur in any well-designed object regardless of value or provenance.
Mary Anne is also a fine artist whose paintings have been acquired by Netflix and shown at numerous juried exhibitions throughout the U.S. Her art is held in private collections domestically as well as in Mexico and Southeast Asia. (You can see Mary Anne’s fine art at mamPAINTINGS.com.)
Partial Project List
Residential Projects
Furnished a 7,000-square foot spec remodel overlooking the Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
Furnished and staged a Spanish-style villa on two acres in San Anselmo
Designed an interior color palette and helped the homeowner select furnishings and finishes for a newly constructed 5,000-square foot green home near the top of Mount Tamalpais, Mill Valley
Furnished and re-designed the landscaping for a 6,700-square foot home in the Dominican area of San Rafael
For an extremely long hallway in a penthouse apartment at the top of San Francisco’s Russian Hill, sourced and had sewn together two matching Persian runners
Designed an interior color palette and helped the homeowner choose finishes for a newly constructed custom Japanese home on the Mendocino coast
Decorated the study at the Marin Designer Showcase house, San Rafael
Commercial Projects
Designed and implemented a low-budget update of a long-established sushi restaurant in the Marina district, San Francisco
Saved client a costly bar remodel being considered at the San Francisco Yacht Club by using color to accomplish the same design objective
Redecorated a penthouse suite of physicians’ offices in a Parnassus Heights medical office building, updating its vintage midcentury 1960s furniture, San Francisco
For a gala and fundraiser to benefit people with autism, transformed the lobby at the historic Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
Designed the interior of and color scheme for Shineforth Hair Salon, Oakland
Consulted with owner/designer of Hacienda San Angel and Casa Kimberly luxury resorts—two of the town’s crown jewels—in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Selected and installed art reproductions throughout the Marina Motel, San Francisco