Before & After: It Started as a Remodel. Now Their Rebuilt Home “Feels Like You’re in a Terrarium”

When the pandemic began in 2020, architect Kevin Short and designer Katie Heller started looking for projects at home. They both turned to the garden: She started sketching out a landscape plan, while he, intent on improving his construction skills, built a shed. They didn’t know it at the time, but these first steps would grow into a whole-house overhaul, which they just completed last year.

The couple found their home the previous fall, just before leaving for their wedding and honeymoon in Mexico. They had been living in a loft in the Mission District that they revamped themselves, but they planned to eventually start a family, so they knew they would need more than 700 square feet and a single bedroom.

While they weren’t actively looking at the time, Kevin, who founded Tiny Monster Design, jokes that "Redfin is my social media website"—and this Victorian in the Bernal Heights neighborhood was too good to pass up. By the time they returned, the loft was sold, and the Victorian was theirs. "We just monkey-branched from one property to the other one," says Kevin. "The timing was nuts," adds Katie. "It was a wild month, but it was fun to come back and just start afresh."

Before: Front Facade 

After: Front Facade 

Kevin says that when they moved in, the Victorian was in rough shape with "patchwork framing, and flimsy developer upgrades coming apart." While they were developing plans for a renovation, he met with a contractor who asked for a crowbar and did a soil test on a dirt patch beneath the house, revealing that they would need to lift the house up and rebuild the foundation. From that point on, the project essentially became a rebuild.

"At that point, I realized this is not just finishes and fixtures," says Kevin. "This is a full-on structural project."

Before: Kitchen 

After: Kitchen & Dining Room 

In 2021, the couple moved out for a year and a half during heavy construction—although Kevin returned to make the garden shed his new office, which he calls the Casita, and he acted as general contractor for the remodel. "I was in the Casita running the job and getting permits and design and all that. In the afternoon, I was out there building with all the guys. Weekends and nights, Katie would come over and help, too," says Kevin. 

"Our thing was, we don’t know if we have enough money to do this, so let’s just hire a builder who can build the exterior and the structure, and get this thing weathertight," he explains. "Worst-case scenario, we were going to move into an unfinished house and just kind of figure it out."

Before: Kitchen 

After: Kitchen 

Fortunately, they were able to complete the remodel, and overhaul all 1,800 square feet across the three floors. Their goal for the new layout was to connect the interior with the backyard garden, which Katie started planting as soon as possible, and to create a formal entry, add more closets, and make the rooms more multifunctional. "Pre-pandemic, we might have been a lot more inclined to do the open floor plan and all of that, but it was so clear at that point that rooms mattered," says Katie.

After: Playroom 

Now, the focal point of the ground floor is the living room, tucked beneath tall metal sash windows that overlook the garden. "When you’re sitting in that space, you feel like you’re in a terrarium," says Kevin. "That whole garden just comes inside the house and becomes part of that experience of sitting in that little corner."

It’s perfect for Katie, who calls herself an "indoor cat." "I’m just very pale; I like to be indoors," says Katie. "So, it’s nice to be inside but feel like you’re outside."

After: Bedroom 

On the second floor, the kitchen is now oriented to overlook the yard and have access to a deck, while around the corner, a round window six feet in diameter anchors the built-in dining area. "That’s a fan favorite," says Kevin, who used the window to break up the squares on the rear facade. The third floor is now occupied by the couple’s primary suite and personal retreat at the top of the house.

Before: Top-Floor Bedroom

After: Top-Floor Bedroom 

Throughout the home, Kevin completed much of the cabinetry and built-ins—he installed the kitchen and built the dining banquette and all of the storage in the primary bedroom. "I was doing so much DIY that it became a lifestyle," says Kevin. "It was the only thing I could talk about."

Now, with the project wrapped up, the couple are getting a lot more downtime, especially in the garden, which they programmed with a dining area, a firepit, and "porch" under the deck.

The "Northern Californian palm garden," as Katie calls it, was inspired by the garden in Mexico where they married, and since 2020, it has grown as large and lush as she’d hoped. "It’s exciting to live in a figment of your imagination in real life," she says. 

Before: Lower-Level Hallway 

After: Living Room 

Before: Downstairs Kitchen 

After: Downstairs Kitchen 

Before: Downstairs Bathroom 

After: Downstairs Bathroom 

Before: Rear Facade 

After: Rear Facade 

Before: Backyard 

After: Backyard 

Before: Shed 

After: Shed 

More Before & After stories:

A Gloomy San Francisco Garage Is Retooled as a Charming English Cottage

A Choppy San Francisco Home Finds Its Flow After a Mullet Renovation

They Gave Their Jumbled San Francisco Home a Timeless Makeover

Project Credits:

Architecture: Tiny Monster Design / @tinymonster.design

Builder: BYU Construction Inc.

Structural Engineer: Ashley & Vance Engineering

Landscape, Lighting, and Interior Design: Tiny Monster Design

Cabinetry Design: Reform + Ikea

Interior Finishing: Marco Pop

Metal Work: Mission Iron Works

Update on 10/22/25: Kitchen photo caption updated to reflect that the home is divided into two units, in keeping with the arrangement of the existing property.