This 1950s home, located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, was purchased two-years prior by a family that wanted to be in the thick of things but also desired it to be a calming oasis from all of the commotion. Their 1,950 square-foot home was dark, needed an update, and most importantly was lacking spacial functionality for their expanding family. Working with Malcolm Davis Architecture on the new 420 square-foot addition as well as Jeff King & Company, the contractor on the project, they were able to transform their multi-level home into a calming and private space for the family.

The husband, an audiophile and sound engineer, was particularly concerned about ensuring that both the noise from the street as well as between floors within the home didn’t travel. “We used sound-rated sheetrock, resilient channels, and isolators in the street-side walls and in the ceilings between levels,” Malcolm explained. “Additionally, we included a comprehensive ventilation system to allow the house to be ventilated without opening the windows directly onto the nearby streets.” This ensured that despite being in the thick of things in an urban metropolis, the family could feel as though their home was secluded from what was happening just outside.

Originally, the home was dark and had a layout that didn’t work for it: the living area, especially, was not a place that the family enjoyed congregating because of the lack of natural light on the ground floor. Malcolm and his team reconfigured the home’s use to better suit their clients’ needs. “We moved all of the family bedrooms to the lower level, which worked really well,” Malcolm said. “The upper floor has more light and by adding a deck at the upper level with a stair to the garden below, the main living spaces get a good sense of indoor-outdoor living.”

In fact, it’s these series of decks that make this home such a rarity in San Francisco. Thanks to its Mission location where there tends to be plenty of sunshine, even when the rest of the city is covered in fog, these outdoor spaces can be enjoyed regularly by parents and children alike. “A large avocado tree defines the southern edge of the property,” Malcolm said. “We created a new trio of programmatic spaces off the kitchen – a sheltered deck, the family room, and a carefully oriented breakfast room – with the home’s outdoor canopy on full display, it provides a lush green bucolic backdrop and a visual break from the built environment.”

As for the interior aesthetics of the home, Malcolm Davis Architecture worked with the homeowners who selected the furnishings from Norden Living. “They have a sharp eye for detail and took it as a fun on-going project of theirs to fill their home with furniture that meshes with their lifestyle and personal taste,” he said.