Waller

2021
San Francisco, ca
4,000 sq. ft.

This gut-remodel of a 1909 Victorian home in San Francisco’s recently designated Duboce Park Historic District was a masterclass in client collaboration. The new homeowners requested something that's become our specialty: connecting inviting, modern interior spaces with the California climate. We decided to give the south-facing rear of the house exterior decking, opting for balconies on all upper levels. The resulting layout required only minor changes to the building envelope, with a 75 square foot, single-story addition that extended the kitchen/dining area and a simple dormer setback capturing 600 square feet of attic space — without affecting the historic front facade. When we were through, all 4 levels boasted access to the outdoors.

How it all started

The house was extremely run-down, aching for a new foundation and a face-lift that would bring it into this century. The new owners were eager to become dedicated stewards of the property and see our proposed renovations through.

Victorian style purple house with lit windows, stairs leading to white front door, and garage below.
Old wooden house with dark shingles, stairs to the entrance, two parked cars, and trees on both sides.
Modern three-story blue house with large windows, wooden porch, and outdoor staircase in evening light.
Back of a light-colored house with wooden stairs and balconies, surrounded by greenery and flowers.

Pull back the curtain

Solving the maze
Watercolor floor plan showing entry, living room, dining room, kitchen, deck, and bathroom layout.

Solving the maze

A meandering ground-level floorplan and underutilization of light and outdoor space presented a formidable, but familiar, challenge.

Adding without taking away
Watercolor floor plan with labeled areas: entry, living room, dining room, kitchen, deck, pantry, and coat closet.

Adding without taking away

An addition to the kitchen/dining space massively improved the flow of the home's first floor, while balconies rising above it brought more of the outside in without detracting from the iconic facade that we had plans to restore.

Overcrowding
Watercolor floor plan showing four bedrooms, a bathroom, stairs, and a hallway.

Overcrowding

With four bedrooms sharing a single bath and two stairwells bisecting it, this floorplan was being stretched thin, with little consideration for flow or comfort.

Form equal to function
Watercolor floor plan with three bedrooms, laundry, dressing room, balcony, and north compass.

Form equal to function

Thanks to a new, dedicated master suite, consolidated stairwell, and the added laundry and bathroom spaces, this level of the house gained function, breathing room, and privacy.

Stepping up our game
3D cutaway view of a multi-level house with stairs, washing machines, and windows.

Stepping up our game

The stairwell functioned as the backbone of the living space, but it needed some TLC in the form of a new railing and vertical reconfiguration that made it code-compliant. The attic, with added skylights and ease of accessibility, naturally became a more prominent part of the home.

Fleshed out
Three-story house with balconies, large windows, and a wooden deck at the rear entrance.

Fleshed out

The massing model of the finished design helped the owners better envision changes to be made, especially elements like the deck and balconies. This approach better defines expectations and often leads to more enthusiastic approval.

How it came together

Top-down view of a wooden staircase with black metal railings and hanging light bulbs.

Our priority became the stairwell at the center of the house. We reconfigured and refurbished it, creating a custom decorative railing and extending the steps to reach the new attic space. With the addition of operable skylights, sunlight spills dramatically through three levels of the structure, all the way down to the re-worked formal entryway.

Modern staircase with wooden steps, black metal railing, a patterned ceiling, and hallway leading to glass doors.
Interior stairway with light wood steps, black metal railing with circular designs, and geometric wallpaper.
Modern staircase with black metal railing, wooden floor, blue accent wall, and hanging light bulbs.
Compact kitchen nook with blue glass cabinets, light wood lower cabinets, marble countertop, and geometric tile backsplash.
Close-up of modern kitchen cabinets with light wood, blue drawers, marble countertop, and hexagonal tile backsplash.
Modern bathroom with geometric beige tiles, glass shower enclosure, toilet, and a frosted window.
Modern kitchen with blue lower cabinets, natural wood upper cabinets, stainless stove, and hex tile backsplash.
Modern kitchen with light wood floors, blue and wood cabinets, geometric wallpaper and large windows.

Although the new interior space is fully modern, we preserved the notions of the original house with eye-catching details like painted decorative casings and nods to its former geometric wallpaper; Fireclay tile in the bathrooms and hexagonal stone in the kitchen continue this theme. We worked with SF Planning to discover and refurbish beautiful features in the house's facade, crafting missing components from authentic materials. The process was long and exhaustive, but we'd say the results speak for themselves.

Modern bathroom with a marble countertop, wooden cabinets, glass shower, and open door to hallway.
Modern bathroom vanity with blue cabinets, marble countertop, dual sinks, and large mirror with vertical lights.

The way our client put it

Eliza and Stuart are both amazing with their attention to detail and aesthetic vision. We really love how the house turned out. They also have an easy manner and made the process that would have been very stressful go smoothly.

Sunlit modern hallway with wood cabinets, large windows, artwork, and two small dogs standing inside.

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Modern two-story house with wood siding upper level, gray lower level, and a garage on the right.

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