“This home is located in the Dolores Heights neighborhood in San Francisco,” says designer Caitlin Jones. “It’s a dynamic neighborhood, with interesting homes, young families, and absolutely stunning views.”
The homeowners—Caitlin’s clients—are professionals with small children. “They loved that this home was move-in ready with a contemporary and clean aesthetic,” she recalls. “Moving from a condo, they were thrilled to have accessible outdoor space, and they loved how much natural light flows through the home.”
While they loved the contemporary look, they were really focused on warming up the space, and making it feel more friendly and inviting. “They were also focused on making family-friendly choices, including functional storage and easy-to-clean finishes,” Caitlin explains.
The updates start in the entry, which Caitlin says was pretty sterile. “Directly opposite the entry door, is a closet, so we decided to play with scale and use an oversized mirror with a similarly wide bench (by Jacob May), which allows both adjacent doors to open,” she explains.
Guests are greeted by the formal living room, which is more suited to everyday use. “The clients were focused on creating a space they would use and enjoy regularly,” Caitlin shares. “The radius edge kerf doors on the cabinets add visual interest, as well as the ability to have the cabinets go almost wall to wall, despite the window locations. The oversized round table allows for a conversational furniture plan. We layered neutral patterns and rich textures to ensure the space felt dynamic and custom.”
The dining room was designed around a colorful painting by Seattle-based artist Cristina Martinez. A dark green wool Armadillo rug has a grounding effect, while the leather chairs perfectly pick up the color in the art. “We wanted the room to glow, without detracting from the art, and the Roll & Hill chandelier was the perfect fit,” Caitlin says.
The kitchen is open to the family room. Since the house is quite airy overall, they brought in darker pendants by Allied Maker for visual contrast. The family room was clad in white oak built-ins and paneling, and a cozy reading bench is the perfect spot to curl up. Comfort was key in this space, so Caitlin brought in seating via Nickey Kehoe chairs and a sofa from A. Rudin.
The couple has three children, and the oldest two share a bedroom. A built-in bunk made the most of their space, “We added step panels and doors in a blush pink that ties into the rose color chair,” Caitlin says. “While the room is feminine and appropriate for these young girls, it is sophisticated enough to grow with them.”
For the primary bedroom, the couple requested a cozy retreat—and Caitlin delivered with textured Holly Hunt wallpaper and Holland & Sherry window coverings. “This home is a great example of warm modernism,” the designer shares. “Textural and layered fabrics, warm wood tones, and hewn metal finishes are married in our comprehensive approach.”
The clients are so thrilled with the result, they’ve engaged Caitlin’s firm to remodel a couple of bathrooms they never touched, and to add on an additional floor for their office spaces. “Their friends who come over joke that you can’t even tell that kids live there because it performs so well, there’s a place for everything, even the messes!” she says. “The biggest honor is that they say the home ‘feels like them,’ even though they weren’t exactly sure how to describe how they wanted it to feel. That is always our goal when working on a project. I have my perspective and throughlines on projects, my primary objective is to create a space for our clients where they can be most at home.”
