01 · The House

A 1950s house, kept alive

The house was built in 1950, and most of what made it good is still here: the low rooflines, the long windows, the built-ins, the way the light moves through it in the afternoon. We are not renovating it into a different house. We are slowly returning it to itself, while making room for the way we live now.

Aerial view of Casa Walnut, a low 1950s ranch house on a hillside with the city and bay beyond

What drew us to it

We didn’t fall for a finished house. We fell for the bones, and for the furniture and details that had clearly been here since the beginning. Someone built this place carefully in 1950, and you can still feel it. Living here while we shape it means every decision gets tested by daily life before it becomes permanent.

The rule we keep coming back to: preserve what is special, add thoughtfully, and let the house evolve without losing its original soul.

Closer view of the house's original roofline and garden walls

The house was already a character. Our job is mostly not to interrupt it.

What we're keeping

  • 01The original built-insWalnut shelving in the den, untouched since 1950
  • 02The exposed beamsSanded and oiled, never painted
  • 03The long windowsOriginal frames, new glazing where needed
  • 04The fireplace wallRoman brick, cleaned by hand
  • 05The furniture that came with the houseDocumented piece by piece in the MCM archive