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Upside-Down Plan Brings Light Into a Home’s Living Spaces
An architect raises the roof and adds a third-story addition to an Edwardian house in San Francisco
This couple loved their neighborhood in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, but after having two kids, they found the warren of small, dark spaces in their house wasn’t conducive to a homey family life. “One of their children has special needs and it was very important for them to have comfortable living spaces,” architect John Lum says. “When looking at how to expand, I thought, ‘Wow, they have all this yard in the back.’ And I saw the way the attic level lined up with the backyard’s slope and realized we could add a whole floor that would be flush with the yard.” This inspired an upside-down plan, with the bedrooms and bathrooms on the main level and the public spaces on the top level, where there’s plenty of light, views and access to the outdoors.
After: Lum was able to maintain the original style of the exterior while raising the roof a few feet. He kept the gabled front, matched the new windows on the attic level to the existing windows and used the same cove siding. But he added a few modern touches such as cedar accents, a more modern garage door and a brighter color palette. “These little touches indicate that there’s something else happening inside here,” he says.
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Find a local architect
Ground Level
Lum excavated the ground level to create a functional and beautiful entry space. He made room for a two-car garage, as well as a mudroom, a full bathroom and a media room. As the plans evolved, the husband’s enthusiasm for the wine cellar design grew. “What started as a modest wine cellar turned into a spectacular feature,” Lum says. The original plan called for a walled-in space, but the architect took inspiration from another spectacular feature, the staircase, and created a clear glass enclosure.
The clients dismissed the idea of installing an elevator. But because the kitchen is two levels above where they enter with groceries, Lum incorporated a handy dumbwaiter into the design.
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Lum excavated the ground level to create a functional and beautiful entry space. He made room for a two-car garage, as well as a mudroom, a full bathroom and a media room. As the plans evolved, the husband’s enthusiasm for the wine cellar design grew. “What started as a modest wine cellar turned into a spectacular feature,” Lum says. The original plan called for a walled-in space, but the architect took inspiration from another spectacular feature, the staircase, and created a clear glass enclosure.
The clients dismissed the idea of installing an elevator. But because the kitchen is two levels above where they enter with groceries, Lum incorporated a handy dumbwaiter into the design.
Find more wine cellar inspiration
Main Level
The staircase reaches from the ground level to the attic level. Seen here is the main level, which contains the bedrooms and bathrooms, in keeping with the upside-down plan.
“We see staircases as a great event,” Lum says. “San Francisco is so congested in terms of how close together the houses are that it can make interiors dark. Staircases provide an opportunity to get a lot of light into the house.” Glass railings allow the light from the top level to stream into the main level. The stairs have a striking sculptural look.
The flooring is 8-inch engineered European oak planks in a rich walnut color.
Flooring: Muscadelle hardwood, Monarch
The staircase reaches from the ground level to the attic level. Seen here is the main level, which contains the bedrooms and bathrooms, in keeping with the upside-down plan.
“We see staircases as a great event,” Lum says. “San Francisco is so congested in terms of how close together the houses are that it can make interiors dark. Staircases provide an opportunity to get a lot of light into the house.” Glass railings allow the light from the top level to stream into the main level. The stairs have a striking sculptural look.
The flooring is 8-inch engineered European oak planks in a rich walnut color.
Flooring: Muscadelle hardwood, Monarch
The foyer on the main level serves as a home office. “The homeowners never use the front door as an entry, so I thought rather than having some space there that they would never use we could turn it into something that they would,” Lum says. The location offers a bit of quiet away from all the activity on the top floor.
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Before: The homeowners didn’t use their relatively large backyard because the layout and significant slope prevented them from keeping an eye on the kids. But the amount of space and the topography inspired Lum to extend the house into the yard. In addition to excavating on the ground level, off the main level he added the master bedroom and master closet.
These before-and-after sections show how the house relates to the slope.
After: The master closet is at the back of the house. “The wife’s two favorite things are having a mudroom and her dream walk-in closet,” Lum says.
Browse bedroom benches in the Houzz Shop
Browse bedroom benches in the Houzz Shop
“This master bedroom is semisubterranean so we made the most of the light with these large windows,” Lum says. An outdoor shower was on the homeowners’ wish list and the teak fence at the property line provides a nice view (wink wink).
A glass door between the master bathroom’s indoor and outdoor showers offers easy access and views between the two. A gate outside blends into the teak fence when open and closes off the view of the outdoor shower from everywhere except the master suite.
Classic elements such as marble for the walls and a herringbone pattern on the floors nod to the home’s era, but their large-scale proportions make them modern.
Playful fish scale tiles add color and pattern in the kids’ bathroom.
Top Level
It’s easy to see here why the unconventional upside-down plan was a smart idea. The former attic and the addition off it contain the family room, dining room, kitchen and a playroom that doubles as a guest suite. Lum worked with the steep slope of the yard to stack a terrace atop the new master closet for walk-out access. Two sets of French doors allow for ideal indoor-outdoor California living. Additional large windows with transoms fill the comfortable room with light. And a two-sided gas fireplace provides a nice view through it.
It’s easy to see here why the unconventional upside-down plan was a smart idea. The former attic and the addition off it contain the family room, dining room, kitchen and a playroom that doubles as a guest suite. Lum worked with the steep slope of the yard to stack a terrace atop the new master closet for walk-out access. Two sets of French doors allow for ideal indoor-outdoor California living. Additional large windows with transoms fill the comfortable room with light. And a two-sided gas fireplace provides a nice view through it.
The stairs lead down to the outdoor shower off the master bathroom.
There are beautiful views from the top level and the terrace. Look down to the left to see the shower’s privacy gate closed. And look beyond the dining room to see where the staircase is located.
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Shop for outdoor dining furniture
An open floor plan allows the living room, dining room and kitchen to enjoy the light and views. While this space is contemporary, Lum nodded to Edwardian style by using classic proportions and thick trim around the windows and doors.
A large island delineates the kitchen within the open plan, while its elegant marble waterfall counter provides a lovely view from the living room. Deep blue cabinetry anchors the kitchen in the back of the space. Elongated hexagonal backsplash tile is a modern update on subway tile. The cabinets extend all the way to the ceiling; the cabinet in the back right corner conceals the dumbwaiter.
White oak on the recessed china cabinet and island add a light wood finish to the mix. The white oak and the sculptural beauty of the darker Cherner counter stools provide a nice view from the dining area. There’s a wine cooler in the side of the island that faces the china cabinet, making it easy to serve guests while staying out of the cook’s way.
Now the family has a comfortable living space that meets all its needs. There are bright, comfortable spaces for relaxing together. There’s a new mudroom that’s the opposite of “creepy.” The dumbwaiter makes unloading groceries easy. Dad’s thrilled with the wine cellar, Mom can’t get enough of her walk-in closet, and it’s easy to keep an eye on the kids whether they’re playing in the living room or in the backyard.
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Now the family has a comfortable living space that meets all its needs. There are bright, comfortable spaces for relaxing together. There’s a new mudroom that’s the opposite of “creepy.” The dumbwaiter makes unloading groceries easy. Dad’s thrilled with the wine cellar, Mom can’t get enough of her walk-in closet, and it’s easy to keep an eye on the kids whether they’re playing in the living room or in the backyard.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A young family of four
Location: San Francisco
Size: 3,085 square feet (287 square meters), including a basement, four bedrooms and four bathrooms
Architect: John Lum
Contractor: Gelling & Judd
Before: This is the home’s original facade, which Lum describes as “a working-class Edwardian.” The home originally had 971 square feet of living space. It was hard to get in and out of with little ones, as there was no interior staircase from the one-car garage up to the main level. “The garage was super creepy,” Lum says. “It was difficult for them to navigate with strollers and groceries.”
The architect saw potential in the roofline and backyard, and knew he could come up with something that would meet with the approval of San Francisco’s Residential Design Advisory Team, which reviews projects for compliance with residential design guidelines.
As for his clients’ approval, he used Houzz ideabooks to get a sense of their style early on in the process. “I always ask my clients to share photos and to tell us what they like and what they don’t like about them,” he says. “It really helps us zero in on a design they will like.” The couple and the architect worked with interior designer Amanda Teal on the interior design, which combines contemporary finishes inspired by the Edwardian era.