Some homebuyers seek out properties that are move-in ready; others love the challenge that comes with a major renovation. Julie and Kevin Seidel were in the latter camp in 2012 when they discovered a tire warehouse turned storage facility in San Francisco’s SoMa district.

They were living in the village-like neighborhood of Glen Park and looking to shake up their lives. Julie was transitioning out of a career in business development and aching to engage a more artistic skill set. “We saw it as a way to stretch ourselves,” she recalls. Her husband, a creative director and musician, felt similarly energized by the building’s potential.

Luckily, the Seidels knew just the person for the job: Michael Kao, founder of MAK Studio. They had met Kao when Julie was pregnant with their son, Kai, more than 15 years ago, and the SoMa renovation was their third project with the designer.

Kao added two stories to the building but brought daylight in with a slender atrium, well-placed windows, and pockets of outdoor space throughout. A monumental metal staircase anchors the entire home vertically, giving it an industrial but surprisingly inviting feel.

“It’s been an interesting study in how to work in an urban condition,” says Kao. “We wanted what you might experience in a warehouse with scaffolding and crazy volumes, rather than a traditional house with a grand stair.”

Unexpected shifts in brightness and scale create a sense of discovery as you move through the home. An intimate ground-floor entry leads to a spacious gallery where the family holds exhibitions of work by local artists and designers. Kevin’s soundproof music studio, which opens to the atrium, also sits on this floor.

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Black-mirrored walls along the staircase accentuate the transition from the more experimental ground floor to the communal second level. Upstairs, the sense of constriction gives way to a combined living area and kitchen, both awash in light thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows. Exposed black joists, original I-beams, and the staircase’s metal screen evoke the building’s industrial roots.

The two paintings (Untitled) are by Robert Stone, a local San Francisco painter who exposes shadows, texture, and light with simple shapes and muted colors," describes Julie." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Brad Knipstein" photoUserId=""/>focuses on pop culture iconography with a bold use of color, all the while leveraging simple children’s tools and materials of glue and glitter," says Julie." layout="wide" credit="Photo by Brad Knipstein" photoUserId=""/>

Bedrooms are on the third floor, and the fourth level holds a lounge and a huge deck and garden. Kai’s bedroom and the master suite also have access to private terraces that, along with the rooftop garden, create a staggered southern facade. “They cascade and make the property feel larger and more one with the city,” says Julie.

The house is a balancing act. Serene garden environments are knitted with the urban landscape, and community-oriented spaces branch off into areas for creativity and solitude.

The dynamism of these contrasting attributes echoes the family’s search for change and growth. “I wanted our son to understand that things don’t have to be so static,” says Julie, “that life can be really interesting when it’s on the move.”

Project Credits:

Architecture: MAK Studio Architects

Engineering: SEMCO Engineering

Sound engineering: Charles Salter

Cabinetry: HC Cabinet

Custom Staircase: Wyatt Studio