“I was doing so much DIY that it became a lifestyle,” says San Francisco architect Kevin Short. “It was the only thing I could talk about.”
When the pandemic began in 2020, architect Kevin Short and designer Katie Heller started looking for projects at home. They both turned to the garden: She started sketching out a landscape plan, while he, intent on improving his construction skills, built a shed. They didn’t know it at the time, but these first steps would grow into a whole-house overhaul, which they just completed last year.
The couple found their home the previous fall, just before leaving for their wedding and honeymoon in Mexico. They had been living in a loft in the Mission District that they revamped themselves, but they planned to eventually start a family, so they knew they would need more than 700 square feet and a single bedroom.
While they weren’t actively looking at the time, Kevin, who founded Tiny Monster Design, jokes that “Redfin is my social media website”—and this Victorian in the Bernal Heights neighborhood was too good to pass up. By the time they returned, the loft was sold, and the Victorian was theirs. “We just monkey-branched from one property to the other one,” says Kevin. “The timing was nuts,” adds Katie. “It was a wild month, but it was fun to come back and just start afresh.”
Before: Front Facade
Before: In 2020, architect Kevin Short, founder of Tiny Monster Design, and designer Katie Heller bought this 1908 Victorian home in the Bernal Heights neighborhood. They commenced a remodel the following year.
Courtesy of Tiny Monster Design
After: Front Facade
Kevin kept the Victorian details on the upper portion of the building, painted Benjamin Moore Mayonnaise. He signaled rebuilt areas with vertical siding on the lower level, painted Benjamin Moore Space Black. The metal planters, fabricated by Mission Iron Works, lead up to the entry.
Photo: Kevin Short
Kevin says that when they moved in, the Victorian was in rough shape with “patchwork framing, and flimsy developer upgrades coming apart.” While they were developing plans for a renovation, he met with a contractor who asked for a crowbar and did a soil test on a dirt patch beneath the house, revealing that they would need to lift the house up and rebuild the foundation. From that point on, the project essentially became a rebuild.
“At that point, I realized this is not just finishes and fixtures,” says Kevin. “This is a full-on structural project.”
Before: Kitchen
Before: The home is divided up into two units. The couple wanted to expand the second-floor kitchen and connect it to the rear deck.
Courtesy of Tiny Monster Design
See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: It Started as a Remodel. Now Their Rebuilt Home “Feels Like You’re in a Terrarium”
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