The Sparrow’s Nest

Hidden behind an unassuming 1930s façade in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset, this traditional row house has been quietly transformed. The design reorganizes the interior around a new two-story lightwell courtyard, carved from the heart of the plan to bring natural light deep into the home and create a sense of refuge and calm.

Clad in warm toned wood, the courtyard serves as the spatial and atmospheric anchor of the home, its presence felt throughout. At its center, a young olive tree offers a quiet, living focal point that will grow and evolve with the house over time. Living spaces are arranged to embrace this inward-facing void, balancing openness with privacy and dissolving the boundary between inside and out.

At the rear, the home opens dramatically toward the Pacific Ocean. Large-format glazing and a reconfigured floor plan frame long western views and draw in the coastal light and air, linking the daily rhythms of the home to the horizon beyond. The upper-level living room, kitchen, and dining space take full advantage of this exposure, offering a luminous perch above the rooftops.

Custom millwork, soft-toned finishes, and natural materials throughout reinforce the sense of quiet domesticity. Interior transparency maintains visual connection across levels and spaces, allowing the house to feel both expansive and intimate, sheltered, luminous, and gently attuned to its coastal surroundings.