One of the best parts about designing interiors in San Francisco: endless options for sourcing. Many creative shops, niche boutiques, and historic galleries are hiding right here in our own city. Each work of art, piece of furniture, or unique object carries a local flavor that only enhances its appeal — and its appeal in a space. Here is Form + Field's list of top shops worth getting off the laptop for!

The holiday season is upon us and to celebrate we’re sharing our first-ever gift guide. What follows are Form + Field approved (i.e. beautiful and functional) gifts that we have personally tried and tested. Go forth and gift well!

Despite being an interior designer, I still get most of my inspiration from architecture, and I'm most impressed with designers who excel at both architecture and interiors. The prolific Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) is probably considered the ultimate architect/interior designer as he custom designed all of his interiors and furnishings in addition to the architecture. Recently, his Hanna House located in Stanford, CA, was reopened to visitors, and I took a Saturday morning last month to take a tour.

Born in Spokane, Washington, Nakashima studied architecture at the University of Washington and MIT. He traveled to France, North Africa, and Japan for several years, and began making furniture for the first time in 1937 for a dormitory project in India. He returned to the United States in 1940, and was interned in 1942 during the Second World War. It was here where he apprenticed with a Japanese carpenter, learned traditional Japanese techniques, and honed his craft.

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies was established in the 1960s by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine. The complex of research buildings is punctuated by multiple 40'x25' light wells that extend to the basement level to bring natural light into the labs. Lining the travertine plaza are offices for the researchers, all with views of the Pacific Ocean. Louis Kahn asked famous Mexican architect Luis Barragan for his input on the plaza, and Barragan told him to add "not one plant or flower, but a single water feature" instead.