Nan Chisholm Rosenblatt

Nan Chisholm Rosenblatt died September 29 at the age of 92. The daughter of William Cogswell and Francis MacDonald Chisholm, she was born in Brockton, Massachusetts and soon moved to North Adams, where she lived until the age of four. Her family then moved to Westfield, Massachusetts where Nan attended public elementary school followed by The MacDuffie School. Upon graduating, she attended Tufts University for two years and graduated from Connecticut College in New London.

During her time in Connecticut, Nan was set up on a blind date where she met Norm Rosenblatt, who attended Yale University in New Haven. The two fell in love and were married in 1955. Nan and Norm settled in Norm’s hometown of Salt Lake City and started a family. In addition to raising four children, Nan was very active in the Junior League of Salt Lake City, the B’Nai Israel Sisterhood and various arts organizations.

In the spring of 1973, Nan and Norm moved the family to San Francisco to start a new chapter. Very soon after settling in, Nan started her own interior design firm, catering to residential clients. In 1977, Nan and Norm opened a boutique bed and breakfast inn on Washington Square, beginning the addition of commercial properties to Nan’s decorating portfolio. Over the ensuing two decades, they opened three more properties; the Inn at Union Square, The Garden Court in Palo Alto and finally the Vineyard Creek Hotel in Santa Rosa (which was bought by Hyatt Hotels).

During this time, Nan became good friends with hotelier Bill Kimpton, who was just starting out his business of turning old buildings into boutique hotels. Nan did the interior design for all of Kimpton’s San Francisco properties, including guest rooms, public spaces and restaurants (most notably Masa’s). This partnership led to numerous other hotel design jobs around the United States.

In 1977, Nan sought to make a difference for the school two of her children had attended, University High School in conjunction with the school’s parent association started the San Francisco Decorator Showcase. This annual fundraiser still brings together the Bay Area’s top design talents, each taking a room of an empty San Francisco mansion, and creating a showcase toured by hundreds. The inaugural year raised $26,000 for the school’s financial aid program, and now generates over $1 million annually.

In 2006 Nan and Norm moved into the Brocklebank building on Nob Hill where they lived until 2024. There they solidified their place and many friendships by instituting the ‘First Wednesdays Club’ an event open to all in the building.

Nan will be long remembered for her love of downhill skiing and sailing and her flair for entertaining and floral arranging skills. She was an accomplished watercolorist and an avid needlepoint designer and creator.

In her final months, Nan took great company in her two devoted caregivers, Coleen Castillo and Amie Coenen.

Nan was predeceased by her husband of 69 years, Norman, who died August of 2024. She is survived by her four children Darcey (David), Josh (Kate), Brooke (Marc) and Eli (Amanda), as well as seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.