This home in Noe Valley was designed by San Francisco-based Mark Brand Architects and is a great example of Mid-century inspired modern architecture and interior design that is not over-extravagant, but rather esthetically tasteful and elegant both inside and out – it’s the type of home many of us could imagine living in.
The outside makes use of classic modern rectilinear architecture that is softened with the use of earthy tones and woods for a warm feeling, finished off with grey stonework for the chimney that adds texture and brings out the beauty of the wood.
Inside the home makes use of generous-sized windows throughout, offering wonderful views of the surrounding area for the upper level of the home and much-needed luminosity for the lower level living areas. Land for construction in the extremely popular Noe Valley is at a premium, so homes tend to be tightly packed together, meaning the home loses the light from the sides where typically there are few or no windows. Good window and lighting design, complimented with light color schemes, is required to make sure that living areas in the home are not dark and uninviting – and it is for this reason that the walls of the home are mostly white, to reflect as much natural light as possible.
The kitchen area makes use of natural light through a couple of useful tricks of the trade that I am going to share with you. To bring more light into the kitchen, as it is mostly wooden cabinetry, the design team has chosen a light shade for the granite counter tops to reflect natural light and secondly, which is something I have also done to my own home, they have made excellent use of frosted glass on the side windows to capture additional light. Frosted glass provides an opaque finish that allows light in but obscures the view of something you wouldn’t care to see through a clear glass pane, such as the wall of the next home only a foot or so away. You can also see excellent use of window placement and design in the Master Bedroom en suite bathroom, which has cleverly considered where windows should be to capture essential natural light, while at the same time avoiding views of the encroaching properties around the home.
The home is tastefully designed and furnished throughout, but has two excellent features that I’d like to finish with. The first is the bathroom, with it’s stunning views of the surrounding area and the second is the tiered backyard. I love the way the garden area has been designed with clean lines and a grass lawn, as it provides a very chic and luxurious feel when compared to the contrasting gardens and their abundance of trees. It’s a great example of quality landscaping design, making use of the surrounding gardens heavy trees and foliage as a backdrop to the calm ambience of the client’s manicured oasis.
I love this Mid-century styled home in Noe Valley, and I hope you enjoy it too! Photos are courtesy of Mark Brand Architects.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 11 March, 2010
Noe Valley’s got some phenomenal structures…the homes are cozily close to one another, but they’ve made some lovely modern use of the limited space. Have you seen the San Francisco “Dream” Home that’s being raffled off (Pictures are at sfraffle.com) — it’s got kind of a similar feel to this place, though nothing beats the layout of the above backyard…
Comment by John on March 23, 2010 at 1:19 pm