Location: San Francisco
Scope: Whole House Remodel
Design: building Lab
Year: 2017

Home's front facade showcasing a sleek box architecture with large windows, a glazed entry door, and a drive-under garage. — Home’s front facade showcasing a sleek box architecture with large windows, a glazed entry door, and a drive-under garage.

The dining area features a wooden dining set and large picture windows that capture amazing city views.

A study with glass railings and huge windows greets guests on the second level.

The upper level consists of an open living space.

Eat-in kitchen with a wooden dining set, white cabinetry, and a peninsula bar perfect for casual meals.

The outdoor space is made even warmer by a custom fire pit and strings of lights.

Glass railings provide the study with views of the lower-level living space.

A linear skylight illuminates the primary bath that's clad in pale grey hexagonal porcelain tiles. — A linear skylight illuminates the primary bath that’s clad in pale grey hexagonal porcelain tiles.

The pale grey hexagonal porcelain tiles are echoed in the walk-in shower.

This bathroom features a floating vanity and a tub and shower combo brightened by aluminum framed windows.

The modern staircase is the home's star feature as it blurs the boundaries between work, play, and relaxation. — The modern staircase is the home’s star feature as it blurs the boundaries between work, play, and relaxation.

Overhead view of the outdoor space surrounded by wood-paneled fences.

The custom fire pit mirrors the built-in bench and fence to maintain the cohesive look of the outdoor space.

For a creative and tech savvy couple (he works at Facebook and she is an independent artist) looking for a home in the City, high on their list was the wish to have a spacious in-home studio where they could engage in a variety of digital and analog works.

When they spotted this four-story house in Bernal Heights, they saw the potential in the barely finished basement. But the access to this level was so tortuous that they rarely went down there during the first year after they moved in.

So, when building Lab’s designers suggested flipping all the stairs to the opposite direction to improve the flow, our clients jumped at the chance of radically transforming the building. The result is an open interior with distinct and yet connected spaces spreading through all four floors.

Tailor made for a young professional couple’s lifestyle, the house serves multiple functions as dwelling, work stations, artist studio, as well as entertaining venue. Elegant sets of stairs become the star feature that seems to enable the burring of the boundaries between work, play, and relaxation.

A visitor enters through a somewhat dark entry foyer, passes a guest room/study and a guest bath on the left, and arrives at the threshold where one can either stroll into the great room, turn to go up to the second level bedroom floor, or down to the mezzanine and garden level. The living, dining, and kitchen areas in the open room form an arc which is paralleled by the panoramic view of the city outside.

Upstairs, an oversized custom pivot door leads to a small foyer that accesses the master bedroom on one side, and the master bath on the other. With walls and floor completely clad in pale grey hexagonal porcelain tiles and bathed in natural light, the luminous master bath is a study in less is more.

Downstairs from the main level, a mezzanine floor is suspended to the joists above with a steel rod, with glass railings and a custom built work top running along its entire length. When working from home, our clients do their digital projects at this level, overlooking the dramatic space below with a two-story wall of glass.

The lowest level is where our lady client does her physical studio art. She has her tools, books, and samples strewn all over the concrete floor. 10′ high NanaWall® folding glass doors open up the entire space to the outdoor patio.

Simple planting and seating, a custom fire pit, and strings of lights complete the picture for easy al fresco entertaining. Looking back up, the suspended floor above with the minimalist glass railings seems to have a dialog with the sleek dark wood stairs gracefully flowing down to earth.