Robinhood

The house sits on the highest-elevated residential street in San Francisco and was originally designed by John Bolles, who went on to design Candlestick Park among other notable buildings.

The goals were simple - modernize the house, open it up and give better access to the outdoors while giving the home a Wabi-Sabi feel. The kitchen was an odd L-shaped space and cut off from the rest of the house - making it part of the public spaces of the house was paramount. The rear deck was also oddly designed, as the only portion on the same level with the house was directly off the kitchen. The main deck was half a level down and there was no access from the living room. Resolving these issues was the crux of the design challenge.

Handcrafted wood details, an amorphous-shaped island with a hand-troweled concrete counter and a simplicity of detail throughout make this house comfortable yet modern. Custom designed soaking tubs, a tatami room and the clean wood details work together to give the house a modern, warm feel without feeling too over-designed.