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MDa Studios

@mdastudios

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Our goal is to bring warmth to modern design.

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Let’s hang out for a day, shall we? Join me for a day in the life.

You guys have been asking for more behind-the-scenes peeks at what it’s like to run an interior design firm in San Francisco, so here’s an average-ish day in my life as the founder and principal designer of Spearman Spaces. Let’s go!

5:30 AM

I usually wake up around 5:30 to get a head start on emails, social media, or a workout.

I’m an inbox-zero person, meaning anything that doesn’t need action gets archived or deleted, and anything that does stays until it’s handled.

One productivity trick that stuck with me early on is “touch it once.” Instead of reading an email, thinking about replying, rereading it, and thinking about it again, deal with it when you can. Reply, delegate, schedule it, or file it. Not every email can be resolved immediately but that’s the goal.

Around 7, I get the kids up, make breakfast and lunches, and get everyone ready for school. My husband or mother-in-law usually handles drop-off, but a few days a month the school organizes a bike train, where a group of parents bikes the kids to school together.

One of the things I love about San Francisco is how neighborhood- and school-specific communities make this big city feel surprisingly small.

7:45 AM

My workouts are usually weightlifting with my personal trainer. I played competitive volleyball from a young age, so I know my way around a gym. The problem was actually getting myself there.

About seven years ago, I hired a trainer whose main job, as far as I’m concerned, is to collect my money whether I show up or not. Apparently, financial consequences are my preferred form of motivation.

He’s genuinely one of the best trainers I’ve worked with and was even part of my COVID bubble, coming to work out in my garage.

Which brings me to a question: did COVID actually happen? It feels like a blur. Why does it feel like the world collectively moved on without an apology? Anyway, that’s a rant for another day.

I’m not actually working out this morning, though.

On mornings when I don’t hit the gym, I try to get a walk in. After gaining (a lot of) weight during both pregnancies (hello, butter), I started paying attenti

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The warmth of a custom home often comes from the details—the way natural light enters a space, how materials meet, how a door, window, or finish is executed.
At DMC, we work with architects, designers, and homeowners throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area to build highly considered custom homes with a hands-on approach to construction.

Architect: @mdastudios
Photography: @marikoreed clean lines yellow entry door polished concrete floors entryway to home sunshine coming through windows reflecting onto the yellow door

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Kitchen(s) of the Week: 16 Favorite Indoor/Outdoor Spaces from the Remodelista Archives

Consider it an upgrade from the window above the sink: kitchens that open fully to the outdoors, letting in summer breezes while you cook and encouraging dinners that spill onto the lawn in good weather (and back inside when the evening gets chilly).

Head to Remodelista for 16 of our favorites. Link in our bio.

✍ Words by @anniepquigs
📸 Photography credits tagged in images.

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Situated in the heart of northern California’s Wine Country, this modern barn by San Francisco-based Malcolm Davis Architecture is a perfect addition to its surroundings. ⁠
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Inspired by the rustic barns that dot the countryside, the Wine Country Barn joins a family’s existing main house as a standalone entertainment barn and guest house, a step above the intended extension initially planned by the clients. ⁠
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The studio collaborated closely with landscape designers Lucas & Lucas, who seamlessly integrated the barn into the lush surroundings. ⁠
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— PLAIN Magazine⁠
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Photography: @joefletcherphoto⁠
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#lucasandlucas #lucasandlucaslandscapearchitecture #landscapearchitecture #landscapedesign #gardendesign #healdsburggardens #architecturalgardens #barn #winecountrybard

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We had so much fun capturing @bravodancecomp ! 🙌 Find your videos & photography at SameDayProductions.com ✨️

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#dancephotography
#dancelife #dancevideo #dancephoto #dancephotographer

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Thankful for the clients and collaborators we work with. Adding the finishing touches to this special project with a custom piece with the one and only @galanterjones
#ittakesavillage❤️ #landscapearchitecture #teamwork

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Perched above the San Francisco Bay, this hillside residence by MDA Studio reimagines a modest ranch house as a light-filled “tree house.”
Strategic openings, interior windows, and layered circulation draw daylight deep into the home while framing sweeping views of the surrounding landscape.
The result is an architecture that feels both grounded and elevated – quietly woven into the rhythm of the hillside.

Design: @mdastudios
Photography: @marikoreed

#thelivingdigest #modernarchitecture #californiadesign #hillsidehouse #architecturelovers

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Our shared goal for this new party barn was to knit the new elements of the property seamlessly into the existing surroundings. Set under the canopy of an existing walnut tree, and clad in locally-harvested cedar siding, the barn is in direct dialogue with its surroundings, connected to the main house by a spacious courtyard. Generously-proportioned concrete pavers, gravel, decking and a bridge spanning a small stream form a varied and layered journey from the courtyard to the pool. ⁠
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Photography: @joefletcherphoto⁠
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#lucasandlucas #lucasandlucaslandscapearchitecture #landscapearchitecture #landscapedesign #gardendesign #healdsburggardens #architecturalgardens #partybarn #barn #indooroutdoorliving

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Legendary architect Malcolm Davis of @mdastudios in San Francisco designed this clean-lined oceanfront home where two cedar-clad volumes are bridged by corrugated steel to form an eye-catching entry. Inspired by the simplicity of the iconic 1960s Sea Ranch community in Sonoma County, Davis poetically blended the daily interplay of changing light with mindful indoor and exterior sequences, creating a magical living experience.
Head to the link in our bio to take a look inside!
Photo: @joefletcherphoto
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#aspiredesignandhome #seekingthesublime

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Good design ages well. Twenty years after first shaping this San Francisco hillside home, the architects at @mdastudios were invited back to refresh it—and found that its original ideas still held strong. The one-story ranch had always been about light, flow, and big Bay Area views. The update simply builds on that foundation, expanding the home for family life today without losing its easy, timeless feel.

The refresh adds space and sunlight, not spectacle. A new multi-level layout opens sightlines from the Golden Gate to Mount Diablo, while a “daylight spine” pulls natural light deep into the home. Thoughtful choices, like preserving a mature redwood and designing flexible rooms that evolve with the family, show how architecture can grow gracefully over time. It’s a reminder that the best homes don’t chase trends. They’re designed to adapt, endure, and feel just as good decades later.

Take the full tour at Sunset.com.

Design: MDa Studios
Photos: Mariko Reed Photography @marikoreed

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We are thrilled to announce that five of our talented clients, across three different states, made the 2025 @forbes “America’s Best-In-State Residential Architects” list.

Kudos to @studio_schicketanz, @mdastudios and @swattpartners (California), @strang_design (Florida) and @sparanomooneyarchitecture (Utah). ✨

Photography @joefletcherphoto, @jasonliske, @kris_tamburello. #forbestoparchitects

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