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Buisson, who came to the United States two decades ago, is a personal shopper at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco and does interior design work on the side. A dining room he decorated with zebra skin and a custom-made topiary of his dog Winston, of all things, was featured in the Summit League’s “Homes for the Holidays” tour last Christmas.
His love of collecting started with his father.
When Buisson was a boy, he and his father would spend weekends at Paris flea markets and antique shops, searching for
“just that magical piece that turns you on.”
It was there he learned “the patience of finding something that makes your heart beat.”
His father would often collect small things, silver and china.
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“The biggest piece he ever bought was an 18th-century Aubusson tapestry. My mom just freaked out,” Buisson said. “My dad had to justify every purchase, either hide it or bring it out for a birthday.”
In summers, they would often visit his grandparents in the village of Le Breuil. He remembers two things about the farmhouse in particular:a huge fireplace in the kitchen along with a “gigantic dining room table,” as well as the handmade, white linen sheets in the bedroom that were so cold “it would take us hours to get in bed.”
And every Christmas, the family would travel to his mother’s homeland of Marrakech, where he absorbed the spicy aromas and the colorful textiles. “It’s the most phenomenal, magical place I’ve ever been to,” he said.
And now the home he shares with his partner is filled with the influences of his youth, inside and out.
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The front walkway is lined with potted citrus trees, giving you the feeling of approaching a French “orangerie.” Inside, a 19th-century, hand-painted French vaisselier for storing and displaying china sits in the living room — a find from friend Darin Geise who owns the Coup d’Etat showroom across from the Design Center in San Francisco. Atop a leather ottoman is a bright green tray and a Moroccan lantern. Louis XVI chairs are covered in charcoal grey Pierre Frey toile. French doors lead you to a deck that looks like the courtyard of a boutique hotel, with topiaries and Moroccan-tiled wrought-iron tables. On an end table in a guest room is a collection of miniature porcelain busts he collected from the Alameda Point Antiques Faire. In his room, he keeps a collection of antique boxes. His sister, who owns an antique shop in the seventh arrondissement of Paris called “Fauve,” sends him a tiny box for every birthday.
And in an ode to his grandparents, on his bed he keeps French linen sheets. But unlike the farmhouse in France, in his masterbedroom, he has a fireplace to keep them warm.
(Thierry Buisson can be reached at thierryinteriors@gmail.com or 408-828-1685.)
Here’s the complete slideshow:
This beautiful home has been remodeled four times, but it looks like it’s always been just the way it is, situated so perfectly on a Saratoga hilltop. From the living room, you look out upon tree tops. From the dining room behind it, floor-to-ceiling windows look on the lovely — and level — back lawn. And the kitchen area opens to a charming courtyard.
What started as a simple ranch house built in 1954 has been transformed over the past 20 years by the Kenny family into a French Chateuu in the country manor style. And Linda Floyd of 
The dining room was spectacular for the tour, as Sharon Watts of Peony created an astonishing table display.
David Stonesifer of David Stonesifer Interior Design and Decoration appointed the family room, including a couple of oil paintings he created himself.
Upstairs, the daughter’s bedroom was decorated by Wahlberg Designs, The Duke & The Duchess of Morgan Hill. 
Inside, you will see vintage decor, from wrought iron garden chairs to sparkling chandeliers; sterling silver pieces to crystal compotes. (Not Too Shabby is where my Lookiloos partner, Desiree, and I fought over a set of ultra-cool 
An open house is set for this weekend, 11-4 on both Saturday and Sunday. Mention Lookiloos and enjoy 10 percent off of items in the new store! In the short term, Not Too Shabby-ette will only be open on weekends, but once Vikki is up and running, expect full hours.
When Nora Sandoval first stepped into this house in 1997, lockers lined the entry way, desks were scattered through the living room and baby cribs lined the library. Surely this wasn’t a house for sale, she thought. In fact, though, it was a home for some 16 teenaged unwed mothers run by the Volunteers of America. 
For years after they moved in, people would leave bags of baby clothes and diapers on their front porch. When the mailman left soap samples, he would stuff 20 through the mail slot. ![4846046619_2c3670ecb4_b[1]](http://www.lookiloos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/4846046619_2c3670ecb4_b1-550x368.jpg "4846046619_2c3670ecb4_b[1]")
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A lit candle left on her daughter’s bedroom desk had destroyed nearly the entire house. With the help of architect Phoebe Bressack of Bressack and Wasserman Architects in Los Altos, ) ![4846048825_18d2cd225d_b[1]](http://www.lookiloos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/4846048825_18d2cd225d_b1-237x350.jpg "4846048825_18d2cd225d_b[1]")
The stair railing also saw an upgrade, from what Betsy affectionately called “barnyard chic” to an elegant iron railing with a leaf motif modeled after the magnolia tree outside the window. The couple enjoyed weekends at garage sales and antique shops to replace their furnishings and collected Mexican pottery and other crafts from one of their favorite destinations: San Miguel de Allende.
“I wanted the challenge to do it as inexpensively as I could,” said Marx, who loves nothing better than finding a cast-off sofa here or discarded end table there. “They’re little orphans. I like giving them a home.”
The last time the house had a makeover was in the early 1990s, a few years after Peters bought it. As was the style at the time, she decorated with a palette of black, white and chrome, including white marble flooring in the living and dining rooms. But over the years, the space had grown tired and cold. And Peters had little time to pay attention to it. She made brief attempts at repainting the interior, but when her artwork came down, including her collection of Asian masks, she never put it back up. In her entry hall, all she had was a plant.
With that, Peters cleared out the entire living, dining and family rooms of furniture, handed Marx the key to the front door, and took off for three weeks.
Marx mined Peters’ garage for lost treasures, pulling out her old trunk and a collection of masks. She hung Peters’ prints and some Chinese silk panels she had bought at auction and arranged everything just so. For finishing touches, she displayed martini glasses on the bar and filled a glass vase in the kitchen with fortune cookies.
considered myself the fretwork girl. I so adored the geometric, intersecting lines of the Asian style, whether on the back of a chair or along a balcony railing, that I made a file of fretwork photos just to gaze at longingly. Trendy interior designer Kelly Whearstler was making wallpaper with the motif. Surely, Desiree must have known my inner obsession! And now, with one grand purchase, she would luxuriate in … well … what should have been mine, mine, all mine?
them. But would I be breaking some friendship code by adorning my backyard with the same spectacular chairs? I flashed back to an episode of I Love Lucy, where Lucy and Ethel fell in love with the same dress to wear to their “show,” and each promised the other that neither would buy it. Well, they both did, and while singing “Friendship” in the identical dresses on stage, they began plucking each other’s dresses apart! Well, call me Ethel to Desiree’s Lucy.
The gauntlet has been thrown–a challenge. Well, this girl never backs down from a challenge. Slightly competitive–you betcha! (Please no Sarah Palin references). It’s a family trait I’ve passed down for better or worse. Just ask any kid of mine.
were in their fort-building phase and demolished those old, nylon folding lawn chairs. I wanted something substantial, something that could really take a beating and still look fabulous when not in use as the corners of a castle. What really drew me to these particular chairs was the high wing back shape as well as that fretwork. But I wasn’t wild about the color — a muddy bronze. And they needed cushions. I consider myself a crafty type, so to complement the wrought iron fence in my backyard, I pulled out a can of gloss black spray paint and went for it. I first considered sewing my own cushions, top and bottom, with fabric I purchased years ago from 
fabric, fluffed them up a bit, and now admire the whole set from my kitchen window. At the end of the day, I think we both did pretty darn well. Don’t you? Please leave a comment and let us know your opinion.
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