Pacific Heights Redux
The Spirit of San Francisco
Reincarnated in a 1904 Italianate Mansion
Architectural Digest – February 1993 issue (pages 132 and 133)
Mural of Porto Fino
A restoration of a refurbished San Francisco house, it was built before 1906 in a style some refer to as “Robber Baroni”. The designers wanted to restore its older, more San Franciscan flavor. It was a large-scale project including an architect, interior designers and a host of craftsmen and artisans.
When the owner bought the house, it came with an ashram and an ascetic religious community. Formerly a decorators’ showcase, the sparse furniture and religious paintings of the residents were arranged against a hodgepodge of wall treatments and colors. Elaborately carved paneling in the first-floor rooms had been stained different shades, including a grim black.
“I had the mural in the kitchen painted because it’s the wall I look at when I’m cooking,” says the owner. “Now in one direction I can see the San Francisco Bay, and in the other I can see Portofino.“