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A designer finds a home for her contemporary sensibility and
her huSband’s love of antiquity in a San Francisco Victorian
No one ever said remodeling a house was easy, but when the owners
have
different design sensibilities, it can be even more of a challenge.
Take San Francisco architect Julie Dowling and her husband,
art historian and private dealer Steven Platzman. “When we
were looking for a house, we wanted a place that met both our
needs,” says Dowling, of the architecture and design firm
Dowling Kimm Studios. “I have a modern aesthetic, and Steven
is a scholar and lover of old things.” What they found
was a three-story Pacific Heights Queen Anne with the essentials
they each required.
“The house was light and airy, with a loftlike feeling that
you don’t normally find in a Victorian,” says Dowling.
But it hadn’t been remodeled since the 1970s and was badly
outdated. Dowling’s first task was to raise the dropped ceilings
to their original 12-foot height to enhance the space’s open
feel. By raising the ceilings she also exposed eight-foot doors,
which had been lowered to six and a half feet. “What was
amazing was that the modern sensibility I was bringing to the table
worked with the original aesthetic of the house,” Dowling
says.
Key to the remodel was accommodating Platzman’s collection
of pre-Columbian art. The vessels had been stored in boxes because
Platzman didn’t want to risk damaging them, so Dowling
designed two-sided vitrines so the vessels could be enjoyed from
two rooms.
The home’s layout was also a challenge because the living
room was set apart from the rest of the house. To integrate the
living spaces, Dowling fabricated floor-to-ceiling bookshelves
in the hall to create definition and a library for Platzman’s
abundance of books. She transformed a pair of rounded bay windows
into reading niches by adding two chairs. “The bays were
what sold us on the house,” Dowling says. “They’re
quirky but magical and were wonderful to work with when decorating
the room.”
The couple loves to cook, so they spend much of their time
in the kitchen. Previous owners had remodeled an outdoor
porch into an enclosed nook; Dowling added a sectional
sofa to style an area for family and friends to lounge
in while she and Stephen work in the kitchen. A U-shaped
counter around a glass-top island serves as a workspace
and table, and integrated cabinets and appliances embody
a lean, minimalist approach. Major appliances, including
the freezer and freezer drawers, are hidden behind ebonized
oak cabinets, while the steel hood and Miele range are
exposed to enhance Dowling’s architectural statement.
As one might expect, art adorns most walls. The dining
room boasts a grid of plein air paintings by Lockwood deForest,
a Han dynasty vessel, and 19th-century Chinese chairs.
Upstairs hangs a collection of old masters as well as early
modern works by Jasper Johns and Joseph Goldyne, among
other paintings. “We tried to
create a dialogue between contemporary and old,” explains
Dowling, who designed the media room to do double duty as a drawing
room for showcasing works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera; she
ensured the design wouldn’t compete with the art by employing
a neutral color palette. Rich textures, like mohair and silk
linen on pillows and throws, add visual interest but can be easily
changed to visually connect a new art piece to its surroundings.
Even the master bath is a repository of design. Dowling
borrowed from her mentor, Michael Graves, when decorating
the space (Graves believes that a bathroom is never just
a bathroom but another setting to display art). Tucked
into deep niches are antique Japanese bowls, which are
impervious to moisture yet embrace the serene spalike aesthetic.
For Dowling and Platzman, their remodeled Victorian is
testimony to integrating two design perspectives without
sacrificing the harmony essential to good style.
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