San Francisco Home Renovations

Willmer completely redesigned and relandscaped the backyard. "Houses in the early 1900s were built with a strong presence to the street but the back was totally forgotten," she says. Now, Willmer admits, the house is almost more oriented toward the south-facing garden than the street, but it's a space in which she had more design freedom and that the family is able to enjoy to its fullest. Visit the American Institute of Architects San Francisco Chapter website to purchase tickets to the see the Eller's Park Street Residence the Saturday, September 12 home tour (and more homes on the Sunday, September 13 tour) as part of the month-long Architecture and the City Festival. Photo by Ken Gutmaker

Before founding atelier KS in the fall of 2008, Franz and Pare-Mayer both worked for accomplished San Francisco architects: Franz for Cary Bernstein and Pare-Mayer for Craig Steely. The residents of this home contacted Steely to complete the renovation but when he was unable to accept the project, he put them in touch with the husband-wife design team.

The Sub-Zero beverage chiller sits in easy proximity to the lounge area adjacent to the kitchen. Risom lounge chairs were rewoven with cat claw–proof leather strapping after the originals were shredded.

Molteni dining chairs are overseen by “someone’s” ancestral portraits.

The cleaned-up, refined front that was approved by the planning commission would be easily recognized by the house's original inhabitants.

Once a split-level jumble of small, dark rooms, the main floor now offers a clear sight line from the patio straight through the kitchen, dining room, sitting area, and spare room to the street-facing window (with two skylights for added illumination).

The living room is a comfortable melange of pieces Baker grew up with, such as the Robsjohn-Gibbings chaise, and ones he's added, such as the Frank Gehry Power Play club chair.

A spiral staircase descends from the glass deck to the rain garden, which replaced a concrete pad.