Photography by Laure Joliet, courtesy of Nicole Hollis.

Above: In the studio’s communal staff kitchen, floors are custom dark gray concrete, and walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White—the same finishes used throughout the rest of the studio.

Above: The kitchen has two handmade backsplashes: a row of hand-glazed, glossy black Moroccan Clé tile and a “bleached metal” steel wall surround—an effect Hollis developed with Oakland’s Chris French Metal “to add depth, interest, and contrast to the space,” she says.

Above: Two white accents—a petite planter and a salt grinder from Hudson Grace—in a sea of black: a budget-friendly dish rack Hollis found on Amazon, Cutting Boards by Blackcreek Mercantile & Trading Co. from March in San Francisco, and a pair of black Rubber-Coated Soap Pumps and black Rubber Cups from CB2.

Above: A custom steel kitchen island with a Calacatta marble top (from CoorItalia) is one of the few non-black surfaces in the room. The requisite microwave (it’s a staff kitchen, after all) is hidden in the cabinet just to the left of the sink.

Above: Direct light reveals how complex the black shades really are, including a Belgian bluestone countertop from Cooritalia. “There is not just one shade of black here, but many,” said Hollis, “as well as a variety of textures. That’s key when you are working with a restrictive palette.”

Above: Glass jars from Fort Standard hold a variety of loose-leaf teas perched over a Viking electric range.

Above: The sink and faucet are both matte black from Blanco. To incentivize plant watering, Hollis stocked the kitchen with a polished brass watering can by Lee West for Carl Auböck from Future Perfect.

Above: The staff sits at a James Perse dining table surrounded by a mix of designer chairs: Panton, Thonet Era, Tolix Marais A, and Eames Eiffel, plus Prouvé Standard and DWR’s Salt Chair (not pictured). Meals are served on Heath Ceramics tableware. The glassware shown is Flaskwareby Adam Reineck and Yvonne Mouser from Front SF. The loft windows look out over a cityscape toward the Twin Peaks hills of San Francisco.

Above: The dramatic wall light above the dining table is from Dimore Studio.

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