It Took More Than a Decade for This San Francisco Home to Feel Complete
Photo by Jonathan Mitchell
Architect John Kleman and his partner, studio director Georgianna Salz-Kleman, spent years looking for a home in San Francisco before finding the perfect fixer-upper in the neighborhood of Glen Park. Built in 1949, the two-story home sits on a coveted corner lot at the base of one of the city’s tallest paved peaks. The area offers unobstructed views and access to numerous open spaces, and it has cultivated a community where neighbors stick around for a lifetime.
"The original owner had been unable to maintain it for decades," Georgianna remembers. This was in 2010, so the market wasn’t what it is now—but real estate still wasn’t cheap. "To sweeten our purchase offer, we said we’d take the house as-is and clean it out ourselves."
The couple bought the home knowing they would need to work on it, and this kicker put the cherry on top of that plan. "The clean-out required three truckloads of removed furniture, materials, and debris," John says. Once it was cleared of discarded belongings, they focused on the decaying fence, falling deck, and masonry chimney between the kitchen and living area that was too heavy for the wood floor.
