Set between phases of a long-running Pacific Heights renovation, the redesign of a Gulfstream G-550 became an unexpected extension of a familiar brief: translate a richly layered home into a calmer, more distilled experience high up in the air. 

“He asked if we did jets,” East Bay interior designer Mead Quinn recalls. “I said yes, and then figured out what that meant.”

Partnering with an aviation design firm that served as both collaborator and “safety gatekeeper,” Quinn’s team worked within tight constraints — fireproofing, weight limits, and spatial precision. “You can’t just design freely,” she says. “Every decision has to pass through performance.”

Materials were selected for both luxury and compliance: wool and cashmere blends that met fire-retardant standards, softening the cabin without excess weight.

The clients — frequent international travelers with five children and dogs in tow — wanted “a home in the sky,” but quieter. Unlike their eclectic, art-filled residence, the jet leans neutral.

“Travel is stressful,” Quinn notes. “He defintely wanted calm.”

Details were obsessively tuned, from cup holder dimensions to custom blankets and drawer-fit cutlery. Even glassware was tested against turbulence and storage. “It’s design at a micro scale,” she says. “Everything has to work beautifully — and stay put.”

Completed in just ten months, Quinn’s  project is like many of her interior designs, suitably restrained and deeply personal: a study in how luxury adapts when space, safety, and, in this case, even jetlag converge.

Photos by Lisa Romerein