Noe Valley Residence

THE BRIEF

The homeowners, two young entrepreneurs with one small child and another on the way, were looking for more space in their San Francisco Spanish Revival style row house. They wanted to repurpose their semi basement from an unused media room to a spacious primary suite - but it needed a complete overhaul. The original layout was a strange maze of closets which led to a tiny, dark bathroom. We set out to create a floor plan that maximized the space as well as the natural light and to incorporate special architectural elements, colors and details to blend seamlessly with the traditional architecture of the existing home.

 

With approval from a structural engineer, we reconfigured the space to create a natural flow from the bedroom to the bathroom and closet. We echoed the arches from a beautiful bank of windows elsewhere in the house by creating an arched doorway to the bathroom and one over the custom desk. (We actually stole space from an exterior closet to create the built in desk zone!) Then we incorporated the traditional decorative moulding details from the rest of the house and sourced lighting fixtures that felt classic yet fresh. Despite being painted black, our custom designed cabinetry made the space feel larger while providing ample storage. 

 

In the bathroom, we designed a custom double vanity up on legs, like a piece of furniture. Being able to see the herringbone floor tile run underneath made the room feel much larger. We love how the vanity creates a lovely viewpoint through the arched doorway.