In a San Francisco neighborhood lined with quintessential Victorians, one house stands as an ode to the city’s more recent past. The 1938 Streamline Moderne dwelling is well known among locals, who hike up the steep hill where it’s perched to sit on the corner and take in the bay views. “I used to do this, too!” recalls homeowner David Howard, who purchased the abode with his husband, An Ly. “I lived two blocks down the hill, and this house always reminded me of Miami—it just looked so cool. I admired it for 20 years.” Even so, when David noticed a for sale sign in front of the residence and told An he wanted to buy it, his husband didn’t believe he was serious.
David was, indeed, very serious about the idea, and soon persuaded his partner to feel the same. The home had been renovated, but David and An knew they could make it just a little more them. “It was a bit sterile,” David says. “We needed it to be warmer and friendlier.” As self-described “design purists,” they also wanted to bring authenticity back to the interiors. To achieve that goal, they brought on designer Viona Seshadri and general contractor Gearoid Murphy, both of whom knew the house well and were eager to see inside.
Home Details
Interior Design
Viona Seshadri, Viona Seshadri Interiors
Home Builder
Gearoid Murphy and Francisco Legorreta, Barker O’Donoghue
Styling
Though the name of the original architect is lost to time, the abode’s striking curves and horizontal lines are emblematic of a streamlined style so distinctive that Seshadri describes the structure as “almost a breath of fresh air next to its Victorian neighbors.” Continues the designer, “It’s a very glamorous house with a cinematic quality. We wanted to bring that wow factor back without being too Machine Age.” This is a family residence, after all, and it needed to accommodate home offices, dogs, kids’ playdates and parties with equal aplomb.
While the home was in solid shape, it did require some architectural tweaks. Working alongside general contractor Francisco Legorreta, Murphy opened the floor plan on the main level, connecting the kitchen and living spaces, and added a roof deck on top of the dwelling. All the resulting features are in line with the original “ocean liner” spirit of the house, such as the clean-lined curved stair rail and balusters by architect-turned-metalsmith Mark Nicholson.
Starting in the kitchen, Seshadri mimicked the home’s curved structure with a capsule-shaped range hood and a central island with rounded edges. In new, Art Deco-esque features, like the island pendants and counter stools, the designer mixed wood and metal finishes, giving the space a contemporary edge. “Together, the different elements add visual interest,” she says.
Pill-shaped Apparatus pendants at the kitchen island and counter stools by Skylar Morgan mimic the curves of the ceiling and custom hood. Just beyond in the breakfast nook is a pendant light by J. Adams & Co.
A San Francisco home was given a sensitive update by interior designer Viona Seshadri. Above the living room fireplace, an installation of brass leaves by Kirk Maxson presides over a Warren Platner for Knoll armchair.
Playing to the homeowners’ oversize, plant-like sculpture, Seshadri outfitted the living room with a pair of 1930s Jindřich Halabala armchairs upholstered in Tibetan lambswool. The drapery is made with Holland & Sherry fabric.
A woodcut engraved after a Pablo Picasso drawing and a sculpture by Brandon Reese flank a door leading from the kitchen out to a small terrace. The marble throughout the space is from IRG, and the range is by Wolf.
The dining room was designed around the multipiece artwork by Seiko Tachibana. Velvet-covered RH chairs surround the Jason Miller for De La Espada table from The Future Perfect. The chandelier is by Studio Van den Akker.
Pill-shaped Apparatus pendants at the kitchen island and counter stools by Skylar Morgan mimic the curves of the ceiling and custom hood. Just beyond in the breakfast nook is a pendant light by J. Adams & Co.
Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe transforms the guest bedroom into a dark and cozy retreat. The throw pillows are from Anthem’s San Francisco boutique.
A corner of the guest bedroom doubles as a home office, so Seshadri inset a marble slab in the cabinetry to serve as a work surface. The swivel chair is by Charlotte Perriand for Cassina.
Inspired by the couple’s bonsai sculpture, the designer used color and texture to riff off a garden theme in the living room. From the olive-green sofas to the vintage cinnamon-brown Tibetanwool-upholstered chairs, the earthy palette lays the groundwork for pieces such as Kirk Maxson’s patinated brass leaf sculpture above the black marble fireplace. “The artist completed the installation with David, which makes it a nice memory,” Seshadri notes. In the adjacent dining room, the designer opted for “curved but subtle” pieces to let the artwork shine.
While the main floor and rooftop are designed for entertaining, the lower level is the family’s retreat. “This house is our safe place,” David says. “We wanted a cocooned feeling here.” To that end, Seshadri created a cozy family room with a pillow-laden, plush sectional perfect for curling up and watching television—or the sunset, since even the lower level has spectacular views. Those vistas inspired the designer to accent the space with a Karina Bania painting whose “color, light and movement” relate to the landscape just outside the windows.
The primary bedroom lacked the curvilinear architectural features found elsewhere in the house, so Seshadri played with finishes and furnishings to distinguish the space. She inset the existing cabinetry with a gold-speckled black cork wallcovering that sparkles like city lights at night and chose a rug she describes as having a “strong Art Deco vibe” to make the space jive with the rest of the dwelling.
“We integrated everything they needed while respecting the dynamic architecture—it’s all about mixing and balancing,” Seshadri says. “It really was a labor of love,” adds David, looking at the view he now enjoys from inside the residence. “At every moment, we just thought about what would feel right for the house.”