Come dinnertime, the family gathers at the walnut Parsons-style dining table built by Luis, a TV-commercial director. “The kids are always running in and out,” says Kristen. A rear family room - the former sun room - opens to the backyard, where a large trampoline beckons. The main floor is the true hub of the home. A flat-screen TV, surround-sound music system and a popcorn machine are all part of Kristen and Luis’ strategy to encourage the girls to bring friends home rather than take off to parts unknown. A low-slung sectional from Restoration Hardware was made for lounging.
Peter Prato / Special to The ChronicleĪ third floor was added for the kids (the youngest Peña, Emmi, was born just before the family moved out for the remodel) and includes two bedrooms plus a shared play area, originally intended to corral toys and stage tea parties.īut now that Sadie is 14 and Emmi is 12, their mother has strategically updated the room to function as a “teen hangout.” Cosmic Desert wallpaper by Justina Blakeney for Hygge & West keeps the space youthful with a quirky palm-tree motif, but adds sophistication with a black background and gold trim. Emme Pe�a in her bedroom in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018. “They told us it would be a year, but we moved back in eight months later,” says Kristen, who derived such joy from her remodel that it sparked a career pivot from fashion to interiors - she launched her design studio, K Interiors, in 2013.Īnd despite constraints levied by a relatively narrow canvas, a hallmark of many Victorians, the new and improved house - thoroughly modern on the inside and tastefully ornamented like a pretty wedding-cake topper on the outside - ticked all their boxes. Unlike many construction jobs, this one ran like clockwork.
And a slow but steady parade of banana slugs regularly infiltrated the laundry room.Īrmed with this knowledge, they hired San Francisco architect Cass Calder Smith to help them plot a down-to-the-studs makeover that would create a workable floor plan for a modern family while honoring the footprint of the historically significant home. The sunroom was so poorly insulated it rarely felt inviting. The only bathroom, for example, was within the master suite (though there was a toilet strangely located in the middle of the garage on a pedestal). Rather than invest in short-term fixes, the family took up residence in the fixer-upper for one year, getting very familiar with its peculiarities. For the stylish young couple and their then-2-year-old daughter, Sadie, the family-friendly neighborhood was a perfect fit, though the charming old house had many flaws. More than a decade ago, Kristen and Luis Peña purchased their 1895 Victorian in Noe Valley. Peter Prato / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less Peter Prato / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 8 of8 Details of artifacts Kristen Pe�a, an interior designer, has brought back from her travels to her home in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018.
Peter Prato / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 7 of8 Details of artifacts Kristen Pe�a, an interior designer, has brought back from her travels to her home in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018.
Peter Prato / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 6 of8 Kristen Pe�a, right, with her assistant reviewing samples in her home office in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018. Peter Prato / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 5 of8 A view looking toward the dining and living room, facing south, in the home of Kristen and Luis Pe�a in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018. Peter Prato / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 4 of8 A view of the kitchen looking toward the living room, facing south, in the home of Kristen and Luis Pe�a in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018. Peter Prato / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 3 of8 A view of the family room and back yard of the home of Kristen and Luis Pe�a in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018. Peter Prato / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of8 Kristen Pe�a lounges in her living room in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018. 1 of8 The Pe�a family, Emme, Kristen, Sadie, and Luis, at home in Noe Valley, San Francisco, on March 24th, 2018.