Melinda & David’s Unique & Artsy Home Revisited

Name: Melinda Gorham, David Charles, Karson and Amelie the pooch
Location: Glen Park, San Francisco
Size: Not sure, but it’s a good size for San Francisco
Years lived in: Melinda for 5 years, David for a year, rented

Melinda and David invited me into their home for a tryout House Call post. After receiving such a great response, it seemed silly not to take more photographs for a full house tour. Enjoy!

When Melinda moved into her two bedroom Glen Park apartment five years ago, the cream walls and gold fixtures were definite eyesores. Luckily, her amenable landlord gave her free reign to remodel, so the painting, fixture replacing and personalizing began immediately. Now with a new housemate, her fiance David, the home is a loving and colorful collaboration by all members of the household.

As an Art Director by trade and a furniture connoisseur by nature, Melinda’s transformation of the home started long before David entered the story. But once David moved in, they worked hard to make the home into something they could both call their own.

The bright blue walls of the living room invite you in immediately. Decorated with a mix of art, books and plants, the room begs to be used to wind down from a long day. The dining room is an obvious gathering place with the large dining table and bench seating. Their growing toy collection and giant gold piggy bank ensure that dinner parties have countless topics of conversation.

In contrast to the bright and bold shared spaces, the bedrooms are calming and comforting. Melinda and David’s bedroom is a modern cocoon, a room for relaxation and shelter. The walls are simpler, painted in a matte charcoal paint with just a few wall adornments. The white bedding and curtains add peacefulness and harmony to the room. The room of Melinda’s daughter, Karson, is every sophisticated twelve year old’s dream. Described by Karson as “Contemporary Victorian,” the room boasts eggplant walls, a draped bed with a velvet headboard, a chandelier and hot pink bed side lamps.

Since Melinda likes to keep the house neat and tidy, her office is used to store her knickknacks and small collections. The stairway leading in to apartment is a gallery of artists the couple knows from around the world. The graphic D and M that grace the entryway’s window were given to them as a Christmas present by designing friends.

AT Survey:

My/Our style: A mix of Melinda’s refined aesthetic, playful taste and insane eye for detail paired with David’s chaotic Greek Brazilian heritage. We like every room to have a completely different environment and mood, but still want them to ultimately compliment each other in personality and color.

Inspiration: It’s our giant cubby hole. Your home is where you go to feel good at the end of a long day, to feel cozy on the weekends and to get inspired to do great things. It’s one of the only environments that we are in everyday, that we can improve upon and that we can change so our moods are positively affected.

Favorite Element: We LOVE everything. It’s an impossible question to answer.

Biggest Challenge: Transforming the cream walled, generic fixer upper into something that is our own.

What Friends Say: Spending time here is like going on vacation.

Biggest Embarrassment: We really need to paint our art gallery hallway.

Proudest DIY: Creating our art gallery, which is a constant work in progress.

Biggest Indulgence: Our Temperpedic adjustable bed.

Best advice: Only buy and surround yourself with the stuff you love, otherwise you will have a LOT of garage sales.

Dream source: Ebay, Etsy, art shows, SF shops and a few other great online design sources.

Resources:

Living Room: The entertainment console was contracted by a designer on Etsy. The couch is from Therapy and the pillows are from Urban Outfitters. The vintage gray chair is from Ebay and is sitting near an Eames rocker, naturally. Some of the artists of the work featured above the television are Barry McGee, Matt Furie, John Casey, Misprinted Type, Elisa Sassi of Brazil as well as Melinda and Karson.

Dining Room: The table is an IKEA table that Melinda refinished and the bench is from OHIO Design. The art piece on the mantle is by AJ Fosik and the toy collection has slowly been accumulating over the last 5 years with some pieces joining from a recent trip to Japan.

Karson’s Bedroom: Her headboard, jewelry box and iPod amp/speakers are all from Urban Outfitters. Her canopy, dresser, vanity and chandelier are all from IKEA. The ceramic dogs are from her great-grandfather.

David & Melinda’s Bedroom: The dresser is from Room & Board. The collection of 30 golden teeth by Bay Area artist Crystal Morey were a gift to Melinda from David on her 30th birthday. Some of the small accessories about the bedroom are from IKEA.

(Thanks, Melinda and David!)

Images: Jessica Watson