Pacific Heights Remodel
The resident, a young banking professional, wanted his home to be a place to entertain friends, which was difficult with the existing layout of intertwined, oddly positioned private and public spaces. Hollis left the 1940s exterior intact but "blew up the upstairs to put in a new kitchen upstairs and move the master suite downstairs."
The kitchen opens up to the dining room, where Hollis played with size and shape. She designed the solid French oak dining table and bench, which were fabricated by B Serota Furniture and Architectural Design, and flanked the table with a Host and Hostess chair from Coup d'Etat San Francisco. She hung two Piet Boon-designed drum pendants over the table and placed a large mirror on the wall to extend the space so that the person sitting on the bench can see the living room fireplace in the reflection.Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
The renovated home, which is entered at a middle level with stairs going up and down, places the private spaces--the master suite, guest room, guest bathroom, workout room/office, steam room, and laundry room--on the lower level, and the public spaces--the kitchen, living room, dining room, family room, and media room, plus a bathroom--on the upper level.
Downstairs, Hollis situated the master bedroom next to the exterior patio with a large sliding door between the two in order to open up the space. The renovation also included adding structural steel supports so that the resident can build a third level in the future and move the master suite to the top floor. "He was really nervous about moving the bedroom to the lower level," Hollis says, "but because of that, we were able to put in an exhibition kitchen and now he's been able to have so many parties, though he worries that the neighbors won't approve a plan if he does ever want to build upward."
The new upper level is a mix of large and intimate public spaces. The kitchen features a main cooking and entertaining area that flows to a built-in bar and out to the living and dining rooms, which work together as a great room. At the other end of the kitchen, there's a small family room for quiet conversation. The media room is connected to the living room with a door that closes for someone to enjoy a movie or read a book without disturbing anyone else in the house.
For the furnishings, the resident knew he wanted a modern aesthetic. "He kept presenting very European, minimal-design advertisements to me," Hollis remembers. "He was born in Japan, his parents are from England, and he was raised in California, but he has a very European sensibility. He knew he wanted something modern but had no idea how to get there." Click the "Slideshow" button at the top right-hand corner of this post to view more photos of the house and read about how Hollis outfitted his home.
Hollis designed the kitchen--which features a Boffi kitchen system and Gaggenau appliances-- as three zones. The first centers around the stainless-steel-and-Zodiac-stone island, which is topped by a custom beaded chandelier by South African company TeamTwo Design. This zone functions as a place for food preparation, cooking, serving, and socializing. The second zone is the clean-up area, and the third is the bar.Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
The wet bar at the end of the kitchen is equipped with a spout for filtered water, ice maker, wine fridge, and over-sink shelving--and is the happy-hour hotspot.Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
The living room and dining room were originally separated by a central fireplace, which Hollis removed to create this great room. She installed a custom eight-foot-long open gas fireplace in the living room (equipped with sensors that automatically turn it off when someone gets too near to the flames).Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
Hollis outfitted the living room with a sofa and lounge chairs from Minotti, a coffee table from Holly Hunt, and custom built-in bookcases (see previous photo) by CHM.Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
At the end of the kitchen opposite the dining room is the family room. It looks back to the kitchen and acts as a breakfast nook on a day-to-day basis and provides an intimate area for smaller, more casual entertaining. Hollis used a black silk and wool shag rug from ABC Carpet to pull together the Casa Milano sofa, and B&B Italia lounge chairs and ottoman.Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
The media room is all about relaxing, whether in the nine-foot-long, extra-deep sofa from Minotti or the lounge chair from B&B Italia.Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
The master suite was relocated from the upper level to the lower level to separate public and private spaces. Hollis designed the custom white-oak bed and suite headboard with built-in bedside tables (fabricated by B Serota Furniture and Architectural Design and upholstered by Kroll Furniture) and opened the room to the backyard garden to extend the space.Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
In the master bathroom, Hollis designed a custom floating oak vanity with two sinks, outfitted with Boffi fixtures.Photo by
Ben Mayorga Photography
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