Houzz Tour: Bringing Out the Midcentury in San Francisco
Renters give their 1950s apartment loads of personal style with color, pattern and a rediscovered wood floor
Mitchell Parker
February 24, 2014
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
Renters often face challenges. Many of them want to update their apartments or houses to make them feel more personal, but they can’t because, well, you just don’t go knocking down walls or tearing out a kitchen in a place that’s not yours.
But the challenge of personalizing a rental didn’t faze designer Janel Holiday Huff. In the San Francisco apartment she shares with her husband, Jim, she played with color, lighting, carpeting and pattern to create an inviting home that feels like theirs.
But the challenge of personalizing a rental didn’t faze designer Janel Holiday Huff. In the San Francisco apartment she shares with her husband, Jim, she played with color, lighting, carpeting and pattern to create an inviting home that feels like theirs.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: San Francisco
Who lives here: Designer Janel Holiday Huff; her husband, Jim, who runs a Blu Dot showroom; and their 2 Chihuahuas
Size: 1,600 square feet (149 square meters); 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
The Huff home didn’t come together overnight. The couple has lived there for almost seven years, and Janel says it only recently started to mesh.
When they discovered the Mount Davidson neighborhood apartment on Craigslist, it had wall-to-wall “cheap office carpet,” she says, linen-white walls and vertical blinds. Jim, who runs the Blu Dot furniture showroom in San Francisco, pulled up a bit of the carpet to find wood floors. “We immediately asked the owners if we could paint and take out their carpets and finish the floors for them,” Janel says. They said sure.
But the couple hadn’t realized just how long the carpet had been down until they ripped it all out. Janel spent several days on her hands and knees scrubbing the dirty wood with Simple Green and wood oil to condition it. “It was very much worth it,” she says.
Location: San Francisco
Who lives here: Designer Janel Holiday Huff; her husband, Jim, who runs a Blu Dot showroom; and their 2 Chihuahuas
Size: 1,600 square feet (149 square meters); 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
The Huff home didn’t come together overnight. The couple has lived there for almost seven years, and Janel says it only recently started to mesh.
When they discovered the Mount Davidson neighborhood apartment on Craigslist, it had wall-to-wall “cheap office carpet,” she says, linen-white walls and vertical blinds. Jim, who runs the Blu Dot furniture showroom in San Francisco, pulled up a bit of the carpet to find wood floors. “We immediately asked the owners if we could paint and take out their carpets and finish the floors for them,” Janel says. They said sure.
But the couple hadn’t realized just how long the carpet had been down until they ripped it all out. Janel spent several days on her hands and knees scrubbing the dirty wood with Simple Green and wood oil to condition it. “It was very much worth it,” she says.
The Huffs were drawn to the original 1957 wood veneer that still covered the fireplace, bedroom closet doors and a room-dividing built-in bookshelf. “It’s so rare; after 50 years not one person had painted over it or added fake crown molding or other architecturally inappropriate features to it,” Janel says.
Janel chose paint colors first. She picked green for the living room to lend some vibrancy. “We knew we wanted some kind of bright color, because the living room is a happy space where people hang out,” she says. “I’m a huge fan of color. It’s the easiest thing to fix if you don’t like it.”
She kept one wall white to prevent the space from becoming too overwhelming and to avoid creating rooms that were too theme-y. “I didn’t want to be like, ‘Oh, here’s the blue room; here’s the green room,’” Janel says.
The red Up chair by Gaetano Pesce was a Christmas gift from Jim to Janel one year. “I woke up to that like, ‘Whoa, that’s pretty bold.’ But I love it,” she says.
Wall paint: Split Pea, Benjamin Moore
Janel chose paint colors first. She picked green for the living room to lend some vibrancy. “We knew we wanted some kind of bright color, because the living room is a happy space where people hang out,” she says. “I’m a huge fan of color. It’s the easiest thing to fix if you don’t like it.”
She kept one wall white to prevent the space from becoming too overwhelming and to avoid creating rooms that were too theme-y. “I didn’t want to be like, ‘Oh, here’s the blue room; here’s the green room,’” Janel says.
The red Up chair by Gaetano Pesce was a Christmas gift from Jim to Janel one year. “I woke up to that like, ‘Whoa, that’s pretty bold.’ But I love it,” she says.
Wall paint: Split Pea, Benjamin Moore
The couple rubbed the wood with oil and otherwise left it alone.
Deer head: Z Gallerie; skull art: Brandon Smith
Deer head: Z Gallerie; skull art: Brandon Smith
This Eames blackbird was a wedding gift. The “Hey” card is by one of their favorite artists, Ed Ruscha.
The built-in bookcase is original. It divides the living room from the front door, creating a hallway. Most of the books are about design and other commonly interesting things; people can easily pull them out during parties.
Janel had the rug made from a remnant she dug out at a local carpet store.
Sofa: Design Within Reach; table lamp: Akari; side table: Saarinen Tulip Table
Janel had the rug made from a remnant she dug out at a local carpet store.
Sofa: Design Within Reach; table lamp: Akari; side table: Saarinen Tulip Table
Chairs are Jim’s thing. There are six different ones at the dining room table.
Table: Ikea, light: Saucer Lamp, George Nelson; large art: Aron Ives; small art: Jim Frew
Table: Ikea, light: Saucer Lamp, George Nelson; large art: Aron Ives; small art: Jim Frew
Huff, born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, got into design 12 years ago when she moved to Los Angeles and began working for interior designer Lori Erenberg, a former Oingo Boingo accordion player whose colorful, pattern-heavy modern style influenced Huff’s. “It’s having a little bit more fun with design and not being so serious,” Huff says.
Credenza: vintage Jens Risom; lamp: Flos Table Gun Lamp in gold, Philippe Starck; ceramics: Jonathan Adler; paintings: Jim Frew
Credenza: vintage Jens Risom; lamp: Flos Table Gun Lamp in gold, Philippe Starck; ceramics: Jonathan Adler; paintings: Jim Frew
Janel always incorporate flowers into her interior designs. “It’s another element to me, a way to add semblance and texture,” she says.
Coffee table: Noguchi
Coffee table: Noguchi
Trent Watanabe, who used to design surfboards and skateboards, created a silk-screen graphic depicting four little sloths that hangs in a hallway. The hallway, with a David Hicks wallpaper, leads to the main bedroom; it’s illuminated by a rubber-dipped Tobias Wong chandelier. Lulu, one of the Huffs’ two Chihuahuas, sits on the bed.
Wallpaper: Cole & Son
Wallpaper: Cole & Son
The wood-veneer closet cabinets in the main bedroom are original. Janel wanted to have calming colors in the bedroom; she settled on light blue and gray and a patterned wallpaper. “I like pattern everywhere, so I have to draw it back a little bit where it makes the most impact,” Janel says. “I love doing a headboard wallpaper. It’s a great way to put pattern in a room without it going overboard.”
She says that because the floral print pushed the room to the feminine side, she had her husband pick the art piece to go over the bed. It’s a photograph of a BMW car race from the 1960s. “I didn’t want the bedroom to be just mine,” Janel says. “I wanted to bring his personality as well.”
Wallpaper: Suzy Hoodless Design; bed: Blu Dot; rug: Crush, Blu Dot; side tables: Malm, Ikea; lamps: Spun
She says that because the floral print pushed the room to the feminine side, she had her husband pick the art piece to go over the bed. It’s a photograph of a BMW car race from the 1960s. “I didn’t want the bedroom to be just mine,” Janel says. “I wanted to bring his personality as well.”
Wallpaper: Suzy Hoodless Design; bed: Blu Dot; rug: Crush, Blu Dot; side tables: Malm, Ikea; lamps: Spun
David Hicks fabric window treatments also help balance the room. The dresser is a vintage 1960s Stanley piece that Janel sanded and lacquered. She kept the original brass hardware.
The Betty Page photo over the dresser was the first piece of art the couple purchased together.
Dresser: Modulicious, Blu Dot; wall paint: Silver Sateen, Behr; chair: vintage Eames
Dresser: Modulicious, Blu Dot; wall paint: Silver Sateen, Behr; chair: vintage Eames
This is where Janel runs her design business. She says her taste in art and design stems from being raised in Southern California, and she gravitates toward graffiti, decal printing and other “lowbrow artwork,” as she calls it.
Wall paint: Siberian Ice, Spectra Tone; desk: Eames; chair: vintage Eames; rug: Overstock.com; floor lamp: vintage; shelves: Expedit, Ikea
Wall paint: Siberian Ice, Spectra Tone; desk: Eames; chair: vintage Eames; rug: Overstock.com; floor lamp: vintage; shelves: Expedit, Ikea
The quirky ceramic collection on the top shelf is by Jaime Hayon. The trophies belonged to Janel’s grandmother, who won them for raising prized parakeets and other birds in the 1950s.
Chair: vintage Diamond Chair, Bertoia; light fixture: Jonathan Adler
Chair: vintage Diamond Chair, Bertoia; light fixture: Jonathan Adler
Janel keeps an inspiration board in her office.
Janel wanted to display their artwork collected over 10 years but didn’t want it in her face all the time. So the couple turned a guest bedroom into an art and reading room.
Paint: Blue Ridge, Spectra Tone; ceiling light: Vernor Pontan; rug: Angela Adams; sofa: Tim Powers for Asplund/Sweden; red side table: Componibili, Kartel; stainless side table: Cappellini; chairs: Eames LCW and Eames LCM; sconce: David Weeks
Paint: Blue Ridge, Spectra Tone; ceiling light: Vernor Pontan; rug: Angela Adams; sofa: Tim Powers for Asplund/Sweden; red side table: Componibili, Kartel; stainless side table: Cappellini; chairs: Eames LCW and Eames LCM; sconce: David Weeks
Janel calls this “the Chihuahua sunning deck.” Many of the succulents are from her grandmother’s backyard.
“I see a lot of people who don’t want to be home because it has a chaotic feel to it, or the flow isn’t right,” she says. “Your home should complement your schedules, not fight them. Home should be where you feel best. Where you want to be.”
“I see a lot of people who don’t want to be home because it has a chaotic feel to it, or the flow isn’t right,” she says. “Your home should complement your schedules, not fight them. Home should be where you feel best. Where you want to be.”
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