Name: Matthew: Owner - Merchant Brand Management, Yoko: Creative Director - simple white home, their 3-year-old daughter Juliette and Jack Russell Terrier brothers Bullet and Magnet
Location: Glen Park, San Francisco
Size: 1,800 square feet
Type: 3 br 2 ba Mission style single-family house
Years lived in: owned for 1 year, 3 months
When Yoko and Matthew set out to find a single family house in a good neighborhood, they discovered this one in Glen Park and went for it. Through extensive (and we mean extensive!) renovations, they've made it their own...
Says Yoko: "The condition of the house was uninhabitable - no one had lived there for 35 years... no walls, no floor and no electric, totally abandoned but had a nice feel to it and its structure was solid - which we were looking for."
Not only did the family bring the house up to livable conditions, they opened up connections between indoors and out, created free flow between the living spaces, and added tons of style. After designing the renovation themselves, they spent 8 months on the renovations and oversaw the work themselves. With a smart and efficient layout, lots of thought and hard work, the results are 360* from what they started with. The house is now an up-to-date, relaxing and cheerful family home for two adults, one adorable daughter, and a couple of pups.
AT Survey:
Our style: Scandinavian style meets California sun. Simple, natural, functional and cozy yet luxurious. The house is the white canvas for our family life – simple white home!
Inspiration: We fall in love with the original condition of this house - it was abandoned over 35 years, no floor, no walls, a big hole on the ceiling and handmade brick walls in the backyard built by former owner’s grandfather… but we could see through everything and saw a great potential.
Focused on reusing the original elements and made it more functional by re-arranging the layout, eliminating wasted space and creating extra spaces to accommodate our life style.
We don’t like stuffy elements and avoided expensive décor. Having a 3 year old and two jacks helped us to simplify our thought process.
Yet, we insist on real quality goods for everything – we spent a lot of time researching who makes the best and why, a lot of flea market finds.
Favorite Element: Open layout for kitchen, dining and living room with an easy access to outdoor living space. Breakfast table and original white plaster fireplace flanked by soft grey walls in the master bedroom.
Biggest Challenge: Renovate the entire house with really tight budget. Instead of shopping at the stores, we went to salvage yard and flea market.
Convincing our contractor to do something he’s never done-i.e. creating bar counter with a massive slab of natural stone and construction lumber.
Finding the right materials, fixtures and colours for the house to create an environment of being a white canvas for our life.
What Friends Say: Very cozy and inviting, a place with a sense of whimsy. A lot of light and good flow of air throughout the house. Despite of having a 3 years old and two dogs, the house is always tidy.
Biggest Embarrassment: No embarrassment – we don’t take the house too seriously, we had too much fun renovating this house. If we got somewhere imperfect, we like that. There is one more place to work on and have fun.
Proudest DIY: Design and decorate a whole house without any help.
Wine rack – Yoko borrowed the contractor’s power tools – power sew and nail gun and built custom size wine rack for the bar
Biggest Indulgence: Professional kitchen, Catherine Memmi dining table, crystallized marble master bathroom with skylight, Breakfront from the covenant filled with our favorite antique items
Best advice: Develop your own sense of place that reflects this moment of your life. Do not live in someone else’s environment.
Dream source: Traveling around the world and learn from their lifestyle and a lot of boutique hotel visits (we love Riva Lofts Florence!)
Resources of Note (furnishings, hardware, appliances & materials):
Kitchen:
- Appliances: Viking stove and refrigerator and Asko dishwasher
- Countertop: marble
- Kitchen cabinet: natural maple from Craftmaid
- Faucet: Grohe
Living Room:
Dining Room:
Master Bedroom:
Master Bathroom:
Bar:
- Bar counter: natural stone from salvage yard in Berkeley (Urban Ore)
- Bar chairs: restaurant supply store in San Francisco
- countertop: Marble
- Built-in shelves, base of the bar counter: 1”x12” and 4”x6” construction lumber and stained
- Cupboard: flea market in San Francisco
- Chair and bench: Pottery Barn
- Floor lamp: salvage yard in Berkeley (Urban Ore)
Flooring:
- Oak wood, stained in Hazel
Windows:
(Thanks, Yoko and Matthew!)
Images: Yoko
• HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE Check out past house tours here
• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form.
I love modern. I love this. It's so rare to see older and/or antique pieces so expertly mixed into a modern decor. Kudos! They have managed to create a space that is both airy, open and bright, yet warm, homey and inviting. EXCELLENT JOB!
view jeffnyc's profile
Nice friendly looking home. Pretty daughter too.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
It's absolutely beautiful! Renovating must have been a nightmare. But with the time, creativity, and vision to do it I'm sure it was also a lot of fun!
view cassielynn's profile
I am impressed! I thought the white would be too minimalist, too cool for me, but it's balanced nicely with the warm woods and natural materials. Makes me want to slap some white paint up on my walls! Very lovely home.
view nickety's profile
What a delightful and inspiring home!
How wonderful that they were able to see beyond the grime and abandoned state to get where they are now.
view bepsf's profile
It's nice to see an all-white home because you can actually see white being used as a color in all of its various shades. I admire the whites but emotionally sort of toggle between being soothed by the simplicity and feeling anxiety because of the possibility of mussing it. Of course, that's just me and response to color is such a personal thing. Very well done either way.
view 1GH's profile
Interesting that it is called the "White" House Tour. I came away with much more of a sense of gray ~ and beautifully done, I might add.
Am wondering if it’s Valspar paint in Filtered Shade? Tis a color I fell in love with when I saw it in Amy Shutt’s bedroom, and which Anna @ D16 went on to use so well in her own home: http://www.doorsixteen.com/2009/01/27/inside-the-closet
If the paint shade is already given, forgive me: couldn't see it, but then 4am insomnia makes for a certain lack of clarity.
And yes ~ Juliette is a beautiful wee girl!
view JoJenks's profile
Love the outdoors/back yard.
view SeanG's profile
What a lovely home. The kitchen and master bedroom are especially beautiful. So serene.
I love your JRTs, having them myself one is 18 yrs. old I find they do not smell and easy to keep clean.
However, I am surprised they have not dug up your vegetable boxed garden?? That would of been a play box for mine.
And yes your daughter is beautiful too I also love the color of her room.
Thanks for sharing.
view LoriSF's profile
I like the bedroom wall color and the mirror above the fireplace. The window frames are nice also. The daughter's room looks great. The white linens are inviting but I could use some color in other locations. The magazine boxes seem oppressive over the couch. I couldn't have a couch that costs more than my car, nor a 5k stove when a $900 one works fine.
view most's profile
yes, please tell us the paint color in the bedroom!
beautiful home.
view nov9's profile
Stunning. Please share all of your paint colors.
view cole242's profile
we are very happy to hear your comments. thank you very much!
The colours we used for this house are;
Bedroom - Silver Queen (KM3819-1)
Kitchen, Dining, Living, Hallway - Snowflake Confetti (KM3817-1)
Trim, Ceiling, Doors - Apple White (OW206-1)
Juliette's room - Pink Peace (KM3747-1)
Bar/Lounge - Glen Abbey (KM3957-2)
all from Kelly Moore
YMJ
view YMJ's profile
I fear my home will never look this grown up. Very pretty. Thanks for the paint colors.
view Auburn's profile
Where did you get the Master Bedroom bedding? I love it.
view Maggie Mae's profile
love the colors and the light in your home - yum! also, your daughter is adorable!
thanks for sharing
view formosagirl's profile
It's very sophiticated and serene. But it's a shame that the kitchen and bathroom were too far gone to be salvaged - that cream and claret tilework in the original kitchen was so evocative! Sadly 'evocative' doesn't get the dinner cooked.
Also this made me grin:
"With a smart and efficient layout, lots of thought and hard work, the results are 360* from what they started with."
Regina, you might want to edit that.
view Blandwagon's profile
Very well laid out and well done although not my style with mostly white for the color scheme.
However, I think both the bathroom and kitchen could've been salvaged since they looked largely intact in so far as the tile is concerned and interesting that the upper cabinets were missing but just about everything else remains of the kitchen and the tile looked to be in excellent shape, that is unless the plaster underneath was in terrible shape, which after 35 years of empty existence may have taken its toll on pretty much everything.
I'm surprised the house had not be vandalized much, if at all in the intervening years.
view ciddyguy's profile
Bedding for the master bedroom is from simple white home.
Regarding the kitchen and bathroom, there were some holes on the roof and all the existed plaster wall was damaged. Plus, we needed to update insulation for energy efficiency.
Despite of our full intention of salvage things, there was not much opportunity but we did saved the fireplace.
Our neighbors told us in one point, there was a racoon and skunk family that lived in this house for a while.
view YMJ's profile
Lovely, tasteful home. You have successfully blended modern and traditional design. But please get rid of the wicker place mats. You're much to classy for those! ;°)
view La Vesigondine's profile
This is a great place. Wonderful job, I hope you enjoy every moment. I would love to know your source for the kitchen marble counters if possible. Thanks!
view wormy's profile
We would love to share our source. We purchased the marble at Liberty Home Builder Supply on Cesar Chavez.
Great selection and price : ) Just keep going back until your find the one you love. They get shipments quite often.
Good luck!
view YMJ's profile
A really comfortable and inviting space where white is made cozy with accents of dark wood, chrome, and hints of (ie. subtler, more sophisticated use of deep/bright) color. Especially like the contrast of clean white walls with rustic wood planks in the lounge/bar area.
Refreshing upping-of-the-ante on SF house tours and great alternative to the kitsch factor which so heavily surfs the ATSF site in particular!
view reb's profile
The best part of this amazing home is that delicious little noodle of a toddler.
view medusa12120's profile
I love the fireplace in the bedroom! so cozy...
beautiful home with fresh, white all around...
Laura
www.brightboldbeautiful.blogspot.com
view laura trevey's profile
Really great job!!!!! So refreshing and light yet you managed to keep plenty of the old character.
May you all live happily ever after in your lovely house!!!
view EAM's profile
I love this home. It is white but not too white and still has personal flare.
view milly6's profile
that must have been a lot of work... and fun! your home looks absolutely beautiful, comfortable, functional yet light and airy! and i wish i had a bedroom like your daughter's when i was her age. thanks for sharing!
view n.zbik's profile
awww.......I liked the old stove.
view scoobydubious's profile
Beautiful home. Just one thing. I have a three year old and can't imagine having that much white furniture! She must be not only adorable, but disciplined as well!
view devo13's profile
My dream is to have white marble counters, but I am worried about staining. Part of me says, if they stain, thats part of the charm... the other part might cry! Do you have any issues and is it hard to maintain?
view ChrisP's profile
What a lovely & inviting home!
I love the projector screen instead of a flatscreen tv. It's nice to be able to watch movies, but I never think a tv should be the focus of a room as it so often becomes.
And what a sweet daughter you have!
I'm especially curious about the graduated white bowls that i see in your bar/lounge area as well as the antique wooden cabinet. May I ask where you found these?
view anniabroad's profile
What is that wonderful color in their bedroom?
Kelly
http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com
view k51279's profile
Very very nice.
A Jack named Bullet is a scary thought!
view hippyvieja's profile
Marble counters - we sealed the surface as we installed them and maintain with marble polish cream (once in 3 months) so far no stains. they don't like citrus or any kinds of acid, for other stains such as red wine, it comes off pretty easily.
Graduated White Bowls - we purchased them from the wholesale company called Roost. They distribute to many local retail shops such as Perch in Glen Park, The Gardener in Ferry Building etc...
Antique Wooden Cabinet - we found it from Alameda Flea Market. It is from England and we love the round top.
Colour for the Bedroom - Silver Queen (KM3819-1) from Kelly Moore
Hope this helps!
view YMJ's profile
Very fresh and lovely. I love the color of the master bedroom and the set-up of the dining table is both earthy and clean. My only concern is the shelving above the couch in the family room...is that safe for living in an area prone to earthquakes? Being from Northern California, I know that while you may not suffer tons of damage in small tremor, it doesn't take too much for something to simply fall down. Other than that, beautiful home!
view a.shaw's profile
Beautiful place, but I was DYING to see the crystallized marble and pebble tile in the master bath!
view whitepeacock's profile
Wonderful!
The only decoration that I would insist on moving are the three Graces; the sculpture is so lovely that I'd want to look at it more, and some places in a home often become blind spots, which might happen to where they are located now, if this was my home.
view luftskibet's profile
White on white gets tired quick. Trust me, I know.
view Greggery_Peccary's profile
I love your daughter's room! It is very peaceful. Is the wall color pink or lavender? I am looking for a nice lavender color for my daughter's walls. Thanks!
view bobbihuffman's profile