The House at blue hour
San Francisco
The Estate
One Victorian, and the land where a second house used to stand. That is the whole reason the garden is the size it is, and why the greenhouse goes up instead of out.
The grounds
- Grand Entry HallArrive. Breathe. Belong.
- The Original StaircaseNinety years of other people's decisions.
- Great RoomThe heart of the house.
- Chef's KitchenMade for togetherness.
- Dining RoomThursday, every week.
- Breakfast NookBefore anyone else is awake enough to want one.
- Glass-Enclosed Wine RoomCool, lit, and Jules' favourite argument.
- Creative StudioWhere ideas come to life.
- The Vertical GreenhouseThe signature of The House.
- Photography GardenBeauty in every frame.
- Flower GardensThe reason the house smells like it does.
- Dining TerraceThursday, and the long light through the doors.
- Outdoor KitchenWhere the cooking goes in August.
- The SpaThe conversations that only happen in water.
- Fire Pit LoungeWhere the evening ends up.
- Walking PathsFurther than a city garden has any right to be.
- The Coach HouseTwo carriage bays, a joiner's shop, and a household above.
- The Sunken TerraceDug out rather than built up.
- The LoggiaThe Great Room, with one wall missing.
- The Food ForestFour layers, and nobody planted the top one.
The floor plan
Where things happen
The audience learns this house the way a guest would — gradually, by spending time in it.
Main floor
Grand Entry Hall
Open to everyoneGrand Entry Hall
Arrive. Breathe. Belong.
Jules has been matching replacement tile from a yard in Sonoma. Four pieces in, nobody can tell which four.
The Original Staircase
Open to everyoneThe Original Staircase
Ninety years of other people's decisions.
Walkable again. Still do not put weight on the second baluster — Jules will know.
Great Room
Open to everyoneGreat Room
The heart of the house.
Genevieve has claimed the library corner and the chair that goes with it. Nobody has contested this.
Chef's Kitchen
Open to everyoneChef's Kitchen
Made for togetherness.
Two crates of tomatoes on the island, left there by Aspen. This is not a suggestion, it is a volume problem.
Dining Room
Open to everyoneDining Room
Thursday, every week.
Closed on Tuesdays this month while the rug is out being cleaned.
Breakfast Nook
Open to everyoneBreakfast Nook
Before anyone else is awake enough to want one.
Aria is here most mornings from six. She likes the company.
Glass-Enclosed Wine Room
Requires a House PassGlass-Enclosed Wine Room
Cool, lit, and Jules' favourite argument.
Private estate rooms open with a House Pass, in a later season.
Creative Studio
Open to everyoneCreative Studio
Where ideas come to life.
Ember's frames from Tuesday night are hanging to dry along the back wall.
Mudroom
Open to everyoneMudroom
Where the garden gets left at the door.
Aspen's third pair of secateurs is in here somewhere.
Powder Room
Open to everyonePowder Room
The smallest argument in the house.
The wallpaper stays. This has been decided repeatedly.
Laundry Room
Open to everyoneLaundry Room
Linen, mostly.
The grey linen is on its fourth wash and going soft.
The grounds
The Vertical Greenhouse
Open to everyoneThe Vertical Greenhouse
The signature of The House.
Being reglazed a panel at a time. The upper tiers have lost humidity, the orchids are wintering on the ground tier, and tier four is standing empty — which means no propagation space until it is finished.
Photography Garden
Open to everyonePhotography Garden
Beauty in every frame.
Skylar stops at the third bend most mornings. Ember works the same path at night and they have agreed not to discuss it.
Flower Gardens
Open to everyoneFlower Gardens
The reason the house smells like it does.
Everything is two weeks early and Aspen is not fighting it.
Dining Terrace
Open to everyoneDining Terrace
Thursday, and the long light through the doors.
The pear tree by the steps is finally producing. Nobody is to touch the pears — it is the one fruit tree on the property that is not the Food Forest's, and that is the whole point of it.
Outdoor Kitchen
Open to everyoneOutdoor Kitchen
Where the cooking goes in August.
Most of Thursday's cooking happens out here now. It is the only place on the property where anything is cooked outdoors.
The Spa
Open to everyoneThe Spa
The conversations that only happen in water.
Lit and warm most evenings, whether or not anyone gets in. It seats all six of them at once, which nothing else outdoors does.
Fire Pit Lounge
Open to everyoneFire Pit Lounge
Where the evening ends up.
Lit most evenings around nine, whether or not anyone planned it. Nothing is ever cooked on it.
Walking Paths
Open to everyoneWalking Paths
Further than a city garden has any right to be.
Genevieve walks them when a sentence will not come.
The Coach House
Open to everyoneThe Coach House
Two carriage bays, a joiner's shop, and a household above.
The replacement entry tile is stacked along the back wall, and there is more clamped timber in the south bay than there is room for.
The Sunken Terrace
Open to everyoneThe Sunken Terrace
Dug out rather than built up.
The doors stay folded back until October. Skylar works out down here looking at the retaining wall, which was the entire point of not putting mirrors up.
The Loggia
Open to everyoneThe Loggia
The Great Room, with one wall missing.
The doors have been folded back since May. In the last hour of light the loggia and the great room read as one room forty feet deep, and nobody has worked out how to photograph it properly yet.
The Food Forest
Open to everyoneThe Food Forest
Four layers, and nobody planted the top one.
The figs came in all at once again — nothing for weeks, then forty pounds in nine days. Aria has been preserving since Tuesday.
Lower level
Home Gym
Open to everyoneHome Gym
Before the run, or instead of it.
Skylar is in here most mornings before the sun comes round. The doors stay folded back until October.
Wellness Area
Open to everyoneWellness Area
Body. Mind. Balance.
Currently hosting eleven displaced orchids.
Sauna & Cold Plunge
Requires a House PassSauna & Cold Plunge
Ten minutes hot, ninety seconds unpleasant.
Private estate rooms open with a House Pass, in a later season.
Second floor
The upper two floors are where the residents actually live. Skylar, Aspen, Ember and Genevieve are on the second, alongside the one guest room that is never keyed; Jules and Aria are under the roof on the third. Those are suites, not house rooms, and each one opens with its resident's key.
Meet the people who live up there