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Global Style Creates California Cool in This San Francisco Home

05.02.24 | By
Global Style Creates California Cool in This San Francisco Home

Beyond the utility of shelter, home serves as a backdrop for life while providing a safe place to collect memories, many of which are often stored in the house’s quirks and expressed through interior design. SkB Architects embraces this notion of immersion into memory with their solution for a San Francisco Residence that seamlessly stitches global inspirations into a storied structure with a through-line of California cool.

Modern house designed by SkB Architects with expansive glass doors open to a patio furnished with a sofa and chairs, overlooking a garden and distant hills.

Luxurious living room designed by SkB Architects with modern decor, large windows, and potted plants, opening onto an outdoor patio area.

Modern dining room designed by SkB Architects featuring a long wooden table with chairs, ornate wall art, large pendant lights, and indoor plants.

Elegant bar area designed by SkB Architects with a mirrored backsplash, patterned tiles, wooden stools, and shelves displaying bottles and glasses.

Originally built in 1907, the architecture echoed a material ethos typical of the Bay Area from the past, which harkened to vibrant red forests through unpainted, brown wood tiles. But its expansive fenestration and under-appreciated, traditional floor plan had been muddied by haphazard interventions throughout its time. “The location and historical nature of the home were appealing to us,” says Shannon Gaffney, Architect and Founding Partner of SkB Architects. “A home rejuvenation was necessary to infuse new life, as prior renovations aimed for a ‘modern’ interior, ultimately rendering the dwelling sleek yet devoid of soul.”

Modern kitchen interior designed by SkB Architects, featuring wooden cabinets, white marble countertops, and stylish pendant lights over a breakfast bar with stools.

Modern kitchen interior designed by SkB Architects with wooden cabinets, a large black island with marble countertop, pendant lights, and a view to the outdoors through glass doors.

Modern living room designed by SkB Architects, featuring a plush white sofa, patterned armchair, and large windows overlooking trees with wooden walls and a ceiling.

Modern living room designed by SkB Architects, with stylish furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a plant, seamlessly connecting to an outdoor patio.

The thoughtfully updated home boasts an 8,500-square-foot main house comprising four bedrooms, a primary living space, kitchen, breakfast nook, den, office, outdoor dining area, and bathing spaces, as well as another 1,000-square-foot cottage. The existing architecture maximizes expansive vistas to connect the indoors and outdoors while each room emanates a distinct getaway capturing the essence of places from the family’s decorated passports. Depending on where guests venture, spatial experiences vary from the serenity of Bali, the tranquility of Thailand, or the chicness of a California bar. Each vignette, so to speak, fosters a sense of connection and cultivates coziness despite the incredible scale of the footprint overall.

Modern rustic living room designed by SkB Architects, featuring exposed wooden beams, stylish furniture, circle chandeliers, and a plant beside a large window.

A cozy living room designed by SkB Architects with a beige sofa, round chairs, wooden walls, an assortment of plants, and a hanging light fixture.

Modern living room designed by SkB Architects, featuring a beamed ceiling, large-cushioned sectional sofa, pendant lights, and lush indoor plants near shaded windows.

Modern dining room designed by SkB Architects with a wooden table, blue and beige chairs, and three pendant lights, overlooking a garden through large windows.

The contemporized structure integrates moderate to robust casework, task and ambient lighting, and new furniture, to accommodate a variety of lifestyle needs from work to play. Walls awash in sun-kissed hues contribute to an interplay of material finishes and nuanced cool-to-warm wood tones from the primary dwelling to the cottage – one lighthearted while the other moody. “We kept an existing limestone polished floor but worked to warm it up, boosting and highlighting some of the cool quirks and characteristics of the old home,” Gaffney adds. “Things like the diamond-shaped divided light windows with leaded glass were exaggerated features that paired well with varying woods, some sunny and refined, others more rustic.” The solution also bucks trends that often embrace the openness with reckless abandon, and to the architecture’s detriment. “We preserved the intimacy of each space by retaining all walls, allowing for the creation of unique charm and personality in every corner. By leaving the individual rooms as they were, rather than following the current trend of open floor plans, we were able to craft an intriguing sequence of rooms.”

Modern dining room designed by SkB Architects, featuring a curved booth, wooden table, blue chairs, pendant lights, and large windows with yellow flowers on the sill.

Cozy bedroom designed by SkB Architects with a white bed, wooden ceiling, hanging wicker lamps, and a desk by the window, conveying a calm, natural aesthetic.

A modern bedroom designed by SkB Architects with a wooden ceiling, large windows with blinds, a desk with a chair, and a plant hanging in a basket.

A stylish bedroom designed by SkB Architects with white bedding, featuring a balcony with outdoor seating, large windows, and tasteful decor.

Design informed by logic and history prevails over what could have been decor by kitsch and clutter, effectively transforming this San Francisco residence into an evolving, living gallery. “We wanted to bring an uplifting and light attitude to the design while avoiding an overly thematic jumble of rooms. We aimed to create an assemblage of personalities, colors, textures, and pieces inspired by places around the world.”

Modern bedroom designed by SkB Architects featuring a large bed, wooden headboard, framed art above the bed, and a dresser. Large windows with curtains provide ample natural light.

Modern entryway designed by SkB Architects featuring a black door, a yellow stool, black console table, framed pictures, and plants beside a sunny window.

Modern bedroom designed by SkB Architects, featuring a minimalist aesthetic with a large bed adorned in gray bedding, wooden walls, and a framed black-and-white beach photograph.

Modern kitchen interior designed by SkB Architects featuring a wooden dining table, chairs, light wood paneling, and elegant overhead lighting.

Outdoor seating area designed by SkB Architects with two wicker chairs facing a cushioned bench under a pergola, surrounded by lush greenery and stone steps, with a building in the background.

Outdoor dining area designed by SkB Architects with wooden tables, chairs under a pergola with hanging lights and sheer curtains, surrounded by lush greenery.

To see more of SkB Architects portfolio, visit skbarchitects.com.

Photography by Andrew Giammarco.
Production by Karine Monie.

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, New York-based writer Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. When not writing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design.