In the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California, this warm and inviting, light-filled home was designed by John Maniscalco Architecture. The residence was originally constructed in 1949 for a prominent San Francisco family by architects Campbell and Wong. The design of the home was very forward-thinking for its time, with an open floor plan and a seamless indoor-outdoor connection to a central courtyard. However, there were some issues that needed to be addressed in the renovation process, such as increasing natural light and capturing views into the 1500 acres of open wooded parklands behind the home. The original design had a poor configuration of living spaces on the ground level and a north facing orientation which deprived the home of its full potential. The main goal was to design a modern home for a family of four, showcasing warm and welcoming interiors with an organic feeling, inspired by the site. Additional openness was created in the interiors, while the natural beauty outside was maximized through expansive windows incorporated into the design. There is a new feeling of a country house within an urban environment. The major design change was re-arranging the footprint to bring the main living spaces onto the upper level, allowing for more opportunities to bring in natural light and maximize views.
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