COME to the TABLE

An impressive room is not necessarily an inviting one, but an inviting room is always impressive. Anyone who has stinging memories of being reprimanded as a child for daring to step into the “living room” — an exquisitely set yet eerily lifeless space reserved for some unknown, never-arriving occasion — understands this well.

For this issue, we sought out homes in which design does not impede the living for which they are intended but facilitates it. There is the Inner Richmond residence of a family descended from design royalty Sister Parish, which honors the late virtuoso while letting the next generation’s ingenuity shine through (“Family Tree,” page 52). There’s the Castro District home of a tech-executive bachelor, who fills his off-hours and his rooms with his nearest and dearest at every opportunity (“Share the Love,” page 58). And there is the childhood home of Mariah Nielson — daughter of renowned artist J.B. Blunk — who is the steward of the house and studio her father built in Inverness, where a rotating cast of artists, designers, writers, photographers, old friends and family keep this iconic hive of creativity buzzing (“The Prodigal Daughter,” page 42).

And there was a pleasant-yet-unexpected perk to building an issue on the foundation of “togetherness” — the creation of this issue became something of an extended party in itself. Our day-long shoots typically combined old friends (homeowners, designers and their guests), new collaborators (photographers, editors and writers) and plenty of food and drink, resulting in days that ended in long hugs, exchanged emails and promises to keep in touch.

This issue is about exceptional spaces, made only more so by the beauty of human connectedness that happens within their walls. I invite you to come on in and make yourself at home.