Homeware shopping in San Francisco
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Japonesque
Wabi-sabi is not something you smear on sushi but the fine appreciation for organic forms and materials you can experience first-hand at Japonesque. Owner Koichi Hara stocks antique Japanese bamboo baskets and raku ceramics alongside Ruth Rhoten’s molten silver vases and Hiromichi Iwashita’s graphite-coated, chiseled-wood panels that look like bonfire embers.
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Scrap (Scroungers’ Center for Re-Usable Art Parts)
Renew, recycle and rediscover your creativity with post-industrial salvage arts and crafts from SCRAP – you’d be shocked what perfectly good raw materials San Francisco throws out. Take a workshop at SCRAP for inspiration, and make your very own Tupperware lamp, necklace from Barbie parts or Joseph Cornell–inspired diorama. Classes are held in the city; the entrance to SCRAP is at the confluence of Hwy 101 and Hwy 280, south of SoMa.
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Sur la Table
Can’t fathom life without an espresso maker and citrus reamer? You’ll never need to, thanks to these understanding salespeople. For the hippie gourmet, there’s a windowsill grow-light for sprouting, ahem, herbs, and for the young aspiring chef, a cupcake - frosting set. The Ferry Building location features free demos; evening classes at the Maiden Lane store on knife skills, seasonal California cuisine and more cost $79 to $89.
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Britex Fabrics
No reality design show can compare with the four floors of nonstop fashion drama at Britex. First floor: designers bicker over who gets first dibs on caution-orange chiffon. Second floor: glam rockers dig through a velvet goldmine. Third floor: Hollywood stylists squeal ‘To die for!’ over ’60s Lucite buttons. Top floor: fake fur flies and remnants roll as costumers prepare for Burning Man, Halloween and your average SF weekend.
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Alabaster
San Francisco's Victorian social graces may yet be revived by Alabaster's elegant luncheon invitation cards, glass cake pedestals, mother-of-pearl-handled opera glasses, and Fanny the French bulldog, who prefers to say hello from a polite distance. French decanters and moon-faced Fornasetti plates make impressive (read: expensive) gifts, but for vintage scores and botanical prints, head through the Zen garden to the annex.
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Anthropologie
The big sister to co-ed fashion-victim Urban Outfitters, with versatile graphic-print skirts, sensible yet cute cardigans and romantic, vintage-inspired dresses. The house-wares lean a touch too heavily toward precious rustic chic, with the occasional mod splash of color: speckled orange and green bowls, Marie Antoinette-ish Baroque hand-towels and house numbers apparently pried off some unsuspecting cottages in Provence.
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Kamei Restaurant Supply
The human brain was not built to comprehend this broad a selection of ceramics, with three precariously stacked aisles ranging from basic geometric white to spectacular high-end raku platters that would make fried eggs look gourmet. But wait, there’s more: enough industrial steel pots to open 50 restaurants simultaneously, and scouring pads to suit the most discerning dishwashers – all at bargain-basement prices.
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One Half
Bargain hunters and anyone who keeps a cache of gifts for friends that need cheering up will go wild in this shop, brimming with designer overstock at half the retail price. Recent finds include letterpress cards that spell 'thank you' in sign language, elegant eco-bamboo serving platters and messenger bags in traffic-stopping neon colors. No refunds or exchanges, so check your merchandise carefully.
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Limn
Not someplace you're likely to pick up a memento - unless a designer sofa is your idea of a souvenir - but a great place to get ideas from sample room setups with 200 top brands to bring that slick SoMa loft look home. Head down the gravel path to the art gallery and B&B Italia showroom, and check upstairs for killer kitchens and occasional floor samples in the low five-digit range.
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Jonathan Adler
Vases with handlebar mustaches and cookie jars labeled ‘Quaaludes’ may seem like holdovers from a Big Sur bachelor pad c 1974, but they’re the latest snappy interior inspirations from California pop potter (and Top Design judge) Jonathan Adler . Don’t worry whether that leather pig footstool matches your mid-century couch – as Adler says, ‘Minimalism is a bummer.’
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City Discount
Bargains never tasted so sweet: heart-shaped Le Creuset casseroles, frighteningly effective Microplane graters, Brika espresso makers and other specialty gourmet gear, all at 30% to 50% off the prices you’d pay downtown. Hard-to-find appliance replacement parts, parchment paper and cooking tips are all readily available from dedicated foodie counter staff.
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Cliff’s Variety
None of the hardware maestros at Cliff’s will raise an eyebrow if you express a dire need for a 4x4 beam, a jar of rubber nuns, non-toxic silver paint and more cocktail toothpicks than anyone can safely use in a lifetime, though they might angle for an invitation. The window displays at Cliff’s, a community institution since 1936, are a local landmark.
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Ecologique
Draped bamboo-fleece tops go from office weekdays to redwood-forest weekends effortlessly, and reconstructed vintage bags get upgraded from auntie to avant-garde at this green boutique. Helpful staff help you find your size in locally produced designs and provide precise sourcing info, from fair-traded cotton to the photo-biodegradable packaging.
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Peace Industry
Persian carpets usually take credit for grand entrances, but Peace Industry’s cooperative-made Iranian felted wool rugs offer graphic appeal and a deliciously spongy, ticklish texture. Get back to nature with a dewdrop pattern in off-white and brown wool, go arty with Ruth Asawa–inspired orbs, or opt for a single flower underfoot.
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Soko Hardware
Cover all your San Francisco contingencies: window wipes (for fog), duct tape (for earthquakes), paper lanterns (to disguise those awkward Victorian chandeliers) and a rice cooker (because soggy rice is a culinary crime in SF). Ikebana, bonsai, tea ceremony and Zen rock-garden supplies are all here at fair prices.
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Zinc Details
Pacific Heights chic meets Japantown mod at Zinc Details, with orange lacquerware salad-tossers, a Rondo sake dispenser that looks like a Zen garden boulder, and bird-shaped Alessi soy dispensers. If you can’t find what you need here, try up the street at Zinc’s 2410 California St location.
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Lotus Bleu
French whimsy, Vietnamese design and a San Franciscan love of splashy color keeps eyes open wide in this tiny design boutique packed from basement to rafters with linen pillows with psychedelic blooms, French striped canvas totes, and pop-art lacquer breakfast trays.
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ATYS
Tucked away in a courtyard, this design showcase offers version 2.0 of essential household items: a mirrored coat rack, a rechargeable flashlight that turns a wineglass into a lamp, and a zero-emissions solar-powered toy airplane.
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Kenneth Wingard
Upgrade from ho-hum IKEA with mod housewares priced for mass consumption that are positively scrumptious: glossy tangerine bud vases, vintage tiki-fabric cushions and mood-setting, ecofriendly cork-shaded lamps.
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