Malcolm Davis, principal of his namesake firm based in San Francisco, is as much a storyteller as he is an architect. When it comes to discussing the mechanics of his work—from drawings to construction and furnishings—he’s much more poetic than pragmatic.

“I’m always trying to create that certain thing an owner is looking for,” Davis says while describing the home of tech executives Brian Jackson and Thomas Ranese. “For this project, it wasn’t a teardown, and there was something compelling about the house itself. It was my job to weave together what the clients wanted with the storyline of the existing structure. In order for it to make sense, it had to have a consistent narrative.”

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

Brian and Thomas had been house hunting in the Bay Area for three years before they put an offer on this address near Dolores Park. It was built in the 1870s, and in the intervening decades, innumerable people had made their mark on it. Past renovations created a confusing floor plan—the dining room opened to a powder room, giving the table a clear view of the toilet, and the back deck was needlessly complicated by several flights of stairs. The owners and Davis wanted to build a unified ground floor, which would flow effortlessly outside.

“The patio had great southern exposure, but it was so small—and there were so many stairs that it was almost useless,” Davis says. “Our biggest challenge was to create an indoor/outdoor living space where neither area was very big—but they could borrow square footage from each other.”

After: Patio

But much like a good story, that was only one facet of the narrative. Davis and the owners also aimed to give the entire home a classic aesthetic with some bright hints of personality, striking a balance between the owners’ wish for a calm escape and Davis’s hope to honor history. Their shared goal was to tell a story that wouldn’t go out of style.

“I love to make beautiful backgrounds, because I think people’s lives are the things that make a home interesting,” Davis says. “Instead of making the architecture louder and the interiors quirky, we wanted it to feel restful. Otherwise, I think all guests can do when they visit is talk about that one unusual thing in your home.”

Before: Patio Entrance

The firm smoothed the deck into one main gathering space and reworked the living room, dining room, and kitchen into three distinct but interwoven spaces.

At that point, Davis focused on thoughtful details—he chose to install white board and batten in the living room and kitchen as a nod to “something that might be in an old Victorian,” and he selected a bluish black paint to give the dining room a twist of character.

The board and batten continues into the master bedroom, and the master bathroom is finished in penny tiles with a custom concrete sink. The oversized shower has a skylight that exposes the home’s original beams. “Again, that detail tells the story of what the building once was,” Davis notes.

After: Patio Entrance

Perhaps the most of-the-moment decision he made for the home can be found in the L-shaped glass door separating the kitchen from the deck. Thanks to a hidden steel beam, the glass disappears completely into the wall, streaming light and fresh air into the space. “It’s the most modern feature of the property, for sure,” Davis says. “But we kept the lines simple, so that it still fits in with the other classic touches in the house.”

Before: Living and Dining Rooms

After: Living and Dining Rooms

Shop the Look

The goal of the renovation was to make timeless design decisions—and it seems as though the owners and Davis have succeeded. The project was completed in 2014, and their choices hold up well to current tastes and past sensibilities.

Davis is optimistic that the home will continue to pull this trick off for years to come, because he’s felt good about its story ever since the chapter ended. “We pared the home down to what it was before all of those other previous projects,” he says. “We took a holistic look at the house, and returned it to a storyline that makes sense and feels good for the building.”

After: Powder Room and Upstairs Master Suite

More from Malcolm Davis Architecture:

A Sea Ranch Retreat Delivers Scandinavian Style to the California Coast

A Tree House–Like Midcentury Home Peeks Above the Forest Canopy

Project Details:

Architect of Record: Malcolm Davis Architecture / @malcolmdavisarchitecture

Builder: Vonnegut Thoreau Construction

Structural Engineer: Double-D Engineering

Landscape Design: Daniel Nolan Design

Interior Design: Sara Arntz, Malcolm Davis Architecture

Cabinetry Design: WC Ferrell Cabinetry, Inc.

Furnishings: Will Wick

Photography: Paul Dyer

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Before & After: A Jumbled San Francisco Home Gets a Timeless Makeover