Vivienne, Kevin, and Garrett have been friends since the early 1990s. When they bought a house together in San Francisco in 2020, they hired AT6 to re-envision the spaces to fit their current lives. Here, Vivienne tells their client story.
The Beginnings…
We all met in college in New York, and have been close ever since, even though we didn’t live in the same city for many years. Kevin and I started renting this house in May 2003, and from the moment we stepped onto this property, it felt special. We initially signed a 6-month rental agreement, and never left! Yes, it’s a fantastic location—one block from the center of the Castro—but there are other factors. It’s on a really lovely street that’s amazingly quiet for its location. It has a very large backyard with a huge redwood tree. Our downstairs unit is on the garden level but it somehow gets good light. And, honestly, it just has a really good vibe.
Garrett moved to San Francisco in 2010. We are like family, and started talking about buying a house with two units in the city. We had a hard time finding one—it seemed that every property with two units had a big, amazing place for the main owner (which was going to be Garrett) and then a tiny secondary unit. After a long search and not finding anything that would be a good fit, we stopped looking. Then, in 2020, our landlord said they were going to sell the house Kevin and I were living in. The three of us looked at one another and said, should we try to buy it? It was unanimous. We had had a great relationship with our landladies for 17 years, so it worked out really well.
A catwalk dramatically crosses over the kitchen, leading to a roof deck.
The Search for an Architect
Garrett wanted to remodel the upstairs unit before moving in, and Kevin and I had lived there long enough to know what worked and didn’t for us downstairs, so we started looking for an architect. We all loved the idea of design build, but to be thorough, we also talked to at least one architect who did not do construction in-house.
We found AT6 while doing research, and liked that they were listed as a top design build firm in the Bay Area. When we met Jason, we all found him to be very relatable and professional, and we loved his portfolio. He has a down-to-earth personality, is honest and straightforward, and we felt like we could talk about anything with him.
Making it (All of) Ours
Our house is a flat-front Italianate Victorian, but inside we had different visions for our spaces. Garrett wanted a clean, modern look; he loves open floorplans and vaulted ceilings. I am more of a modern-classic type. I wanted crown moldings and a look that fit with the style of the street view.
Jason seamlessly gave us each what we were hoping for, and found creative ways to work within the space we had. Downstairs, the deep garage got too narrow to park in, so he reclaimed that space and doubled the size of our kitchen, adding a pantry. The bathroom was formerly accessed from the kitchen and is now totally separate and private, accessed from a new hallway. More storage had always been a wish-list item for us, and he was able to add a generous space in the back of our unit.
Upstairs Jason envisioned a complete change. The second floor now has a large living/dining/kitchen space, with the addition of a pantry next to the much-larger kitchen, and two bedrooms. By removing most of the third floor, he created a double-height space that provided the open feeling Garrett was seeking. A catwalk dramatically crosses over the kitchen, leading to a roof deck.
Garrett’s master bedroom and bath are built into the third floor with creative use of dormers and skylights in the roof for headroom and lots of natural light. A particularly cool feature up there is a skylight in the shower that illuminates the shower while creating extra headroom.
With a Little Help From Our Friends at AT6
We had the usual construction surprises, especially when you’re talking about old houses. There was foundation work we hadn’t counted on and quite a bit of structural retrofitting. At one point, the City said we were taking down too much of the house (we weren’t). Each time something came up, AT6 knew what to do, communicated with us about the issues, and took care of it. It was very helpful to know that they would resolve whatever came up so we didn’t have to.
When we met Jason, we all found him to be very relatable and professional, and we loved his portfolio.
It was surprising how many decisions we needed to make throughout the process. In hindsight, it seems predictable, but we were amazed at the number of decisions that came up every week—all the finishes, big and small design decisions, and occasional changes. We were grateful to be able to come to the job site whenever we wanted, to see the progress and look at how one decision or another might affect the outcome. AT6 walked us through every step of the way and gave us plenty of information so we knew what our decisions would mean. They never made us feel picky or spoiled because we wanted one thing or another. And they were able to finish the project in a year, which, given the problems we had with the City and other delays, felt great.
The House We Wanted
The final result is exactly what we had hoped for—a total home run. AT6 even managed the exterior painting at the unchanged front façade; we went with a bright Caribbean color palette that we love. We love the whole house, inside and out. The front brightens the neighborhood and the back is modern and cool. Kevin works in a cottage in the back, and they even painted that so that it looks like-new.
Whenever someone walks into our house for the first time their eyes get a little wide and they’re full of compliments. Kevin and I love our large kitchen and the living room built-ins. As a designer, I’m so happy to be proud of my house.
Garrett was hoping to have a place to cook and entertain friends and watch movies, and he has exactly that space. None of us could be any happier.
