The Architect Is In: Saving the Hippie Soul of a Victorian House - Remodelista
This week, architect Casper Mork-Ulnes and designer Alexa Mork-Ulnes of SF firm Mork Ulnes Architects tell us about preserving the sixties vibe of their Haight-Ashbury Victorian while modernizing it for their family. Photography by Bruce Damonte. A Victorian house that had been run as a hippie boarding house for over 30 years in Haight-Ashbury might not be everyone’s idea of the perfect first home. Over the next seven years, the project became a labor of love for the couple as they renovated and modernized the 2,600-square-foot two-level flat in phases as they could afford it. The couple streamlined the kitchen for efficiency while adding windows to allow in more light. An Axor Starck 2-Spray Semi-Pro Kitchen Faucet by Hansgrohe adds a sculptural utility to the setup. The dining room retains its Victorian character while offering views through to the modernized kitchen (where a rolling library ladder provides access to storage). The original double-height living room was cluttered with thick beams and a bridge that zigzagged across the space. The couple streamlined the room and added skylights over the stair and the bridge to bring in more natural light. The modern detailing of the new sculptural wood stair that leads to the attic complements the couple’s Florence Knoll sofa and Eames rocking chair. With functionality and code compliance in mind, the couple reluctantly replaced the existing solid wood spiral stair, which had been suspended from ceiling with black steel rods. Wanting to make something equally interesting in the same spirit, they recycled the floorboards from the attic by laminating them together to create a solid butcher block-like stair. In the master bedroom suite on the attic level, a bathroom and closet are enclosed by a wall of wood panels that run horizontally to maintain the spatial quality of the attic. To keep the wood on the wall from yellowing, the couple finished it with lye and white oil, a traditional Scandinavian treatment. A large window overlooks St. Ignatius Cathedral and offers a partial view of the Golden Gate Bridge; the window has operable frosted lower panes that provide privacy and obstruct views of a neighbor’s roof and ventilation. The ingenious wood headboard, designed by Yvonne Mouser, incorporates built-in storage while also providing structural reinforcement: “The two sloped parts of the headboard... ...on either side of the bed reinforce the wall framing that was sagging as a result of some rather unorthodox hippie construction techniques,” Casper says. A glass sliding door and partition enclose the master bedroom without compromising the view through the attic space. A bridge made of blackened steel and reclaimed floorboards (from the old attic) connects a children’s bedroom to the master bedroom. Many of the original Victorian rail turnings were missing, and the couple went to a local wood turner to have them recreated. In the master bathroom, the limestone walls of the shower are layered on top of the existing pre-distressed brick chimney. Above L: Before the couple started working on the house, it had a hand-done stucco exterior. A colored glass pendant and stained glass panel were part of the hippie decor in the kitchen. The dining room was used as a small sitting room. A trumpet made into a light fixture is another 1960s-era intervention. The living room originally had a solid wood spiral stair and a large wall mural. The attic before the couple converted it into their master bedroom suite. The communal shower, which was entered via saloon doors, had a graphic stained glass window (look carefully on the left) next to a stained glass window salvaged from a church. Bay Area architect Douglas Burnham of Envelope A+D tells us why he painted his Victorian the perfect shade of black in Expert Advice: How to Mix a Color.