Clients new to San Francisco, with a love of modern, came to us to design a spacious, light-filled urban sanctuary within the context of their newly-purchased 1890s Victorian.

Minor updates to the historic façade maintain the original sense of privacy, but new visual connections to the outside are enjoyed throughout the thoroughly remodeled interior. A large skylight with exposed beams spans the front living spaces, accentuating new openness where the center hallway formerly enclosed the entry. A family of integral gray materials—counters, fireplace surround, and dual-glazed tile by Heath—articulates the spaces and provides a background for the clients’ personal art and furniture collection.

Through large openings in the rear, the new great room and intimate patio area become one large entertaining, dining and living space, with lighting, power, and heating systems that make the outdoor area usable on even the foggiest San Francisco evenings. A climate-appropriate garden is being created by the landscape-savvy client with the help of Flora Grubb Gardens.