Robinhood

Located on San Francisco’s highest residential street, the house was originally designed by John Bolles, who later designed Candlestick Park and other notable buildings. The renovation sought to bring a more open, contemporary sensibility to the home while introducing the warmth, natural textures and quiet simplicity of wabi-sabi.

The central challenge was to connect spaces that felt unnecessarily separated. An awkward L-shaped kitchen was isolated from the main living areas, limiting its role in the daily life of the house. The rear deck presented a similar problem: only a small section outside the kitchen aligned with the interior floor level, while the main deck sat half a level below, with no direct access from the living room. Reworking these relationships became the foundation of the design - opening the kitchen to the shared living spaces and creating a more generous, intuitive connection to the outdoors.

Handcrafted woodwork and a restrained approach to detailing bring warmth and intimacy to the modern interior. A sculptural, organically shaped island anchors the kitchen, its hand-troweled concrete countertop expressing the subtle irregularities of its making. Custom-designed soaking tubs and a tatami room extend this emphasis on tactile materials and quiet rituals. Together, these elements create a home that feels calm, personal and comfortable, with a sense of refinement rooted in craftsmanship.