Style Icon: San Francisco’s Billy Gaylord

Billy Gaylord’s apartment in the Chambord. Architectural Digest | May/June 1972

Herb Caen described designer William "Billy" Gaylord as a style icon. When Gaylord passed away in 1986, Dianne Feinstein recalled his love of life and mischievous humor. She was one of his pallbearers, along with Willie Brown, Boz Skaggs, Bill Blass, and Calvin Klein. From Mesquite, Texas, Gaylord moved to San Francisco in 1968. A few years later, at the age of twenty-five, Architectural Digest published his brilliantly pale Nob Hill apartment. Gaylord said of the timeless design, "My apartment could be 1930 or 2001. I designed the furniture and used really unusual antiques. Not just a French or an English chair. Instead, I found the 18th-century African throne chairs for the living room."

The 1,200-foot apartment in the historic Beaux Arts Chambord building launched the young designer's career. At the time, pre-AIDS epidemic,  San Francisco abounded with design talent, including Michael Taylor, John Dickinson, and Tony Hail. But even among a jaded audience, Gaylord's interiors stood out. He managed to design and complete the apartment in a few weeks, effortlessly juxtaposing antiques and art against a backdrop of inexpensive materials. In the oval living room, white vertically quilted freight fabric covered the walls to muffle the sounds of Sacramento Street traffic.

Gaylord’s Russian Hill Home, Architectural Digest | May/June 1977

Gaylord went on to design for many wealthy and influential clients worldwide. His projects included the then-Mayor Feinstein's Presidio Terrace mansion, her City Hall Offices, the Iranian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Sherman House, the Victorian Baroque residence in Cow Hollow turned luxury hotel. He died of Lymphoma before completing Caen's apartment in the Brocklebank building. The bon vivant wore fine European clothing and drove a Rolls Royce, which was in danger of repossession.

Architectural Digest | November/December 1975

Sadly, the colorful character has become a historical footnote, but Gary Van Acker of Van Acker Construction has fond memories of Gaylord. Van Acker moved to San Francisco from Wisconsin in the 70s as a young man. He met Gaylord and worked on his projects, which exposed him to high-end residential construction along with the designer's aesthetics, one-of-a-kind personality, and showy lifestyle. Van Acker regards these experiences as essential to understanding how design and construction intersect. It also influenced his later professional relationships with architects and designers. He cannot help but be amused when remembering Gaylord and those fun and exciting times.