You've Never Seen Paint Used the Way It Is in This Updated San Francisco Victorian
House Beautiful February 15, 2025
Seller
House Beautiful February 15, 2025
Seller
Emilie Munroe’s clients weren’t immediately sold on the idea of painting the ceiling in their piano room and dining room green—emerald and sage, respectively. “I was a huge advocate and think it makes the room,” she says of the emerald. “Ultimately, it came down to [saying], ‘It’s just paint. We can always paint over it.’ And they absolutely loved it once it was installed.” From there, greens became a through line in the design, from the front door to the living room lamps. Together with the family of five’s modern art, it’s unexpected and fun in a grand 1905 Queen Anne home given new life by Munroe, Armour Architecture, and Peter Downey Construction.
Asked what inspired the color palette, Munroe credits her design process: “We don’t present [the client] a board with a layout. We source furnishings and lay out fabrics, wallpapers, finishes, wood samples, and metal [finishes], and together we create piles of our favorites. It’s a very primal response that people have to color and pattern, so I let them be driven to certain elements. Then we take those and build the house. It gives it a very nimble feeling, and it’s a truly collaborative experience.”
A colorful palette refreshed the historical details.
The big question in here was whether or not to paint the natural wood wainscoting and built-in cabinet. “Ultimately I think it’s just a breath of fresh air,” Munroe says. “Painting the wood really opened up the room. It brought a fresh, more contemporary, energized feeling to a room that was a little bit more dark and serious before.” The upper third of the walls is covered in a “salmon-toned” Holland & Sherry wallpaper.
A cork board wall and “mega” island are the stars.
The open floor plan kitchen slash breakfast nook slash family room centers around a gigantic island. At almost six feet wide, it has plenty of work space (“lit by nice big lights” to ensure it’s functional, Munroe adds) and room to sit down and eat together. The beverage fridge built into the side facing the breakfast nook and backyard is key for a smart flow. “It’s completely opposite the main fridge, so you’re not crossing paths and bumping each other,” she says. “The kids can grab something on their way out the door.”
The cork wall serves as an imperfect, ongoing art gallery for the family that adds color and a natural texture. “I had a vision for this breakfast nook with the cork wall,” Munroe says. I absolutely love a cork wall. Like wood, it brings a natural element into the vertical space. It grows with age. Teenagers love them—they can drape twinkly lights from it. It’s just a genuine, joyful, uber-functional moment.”
Subtle paint shifts add to the elegance.
Another one of Munroe’s favorite paint tricks is painting the window sashes charcoal. “People think, Oh, will it be severe? Will it make the room look small? I always say it makes your window into a picture frame. It draws eyes to them and makes them very intentional.” The dark color matches that of the mantle, which got new details and a marble slab. The ceiling is painted a slightly darker hue than the walls, which gives the curved areas added depth. The nook in the turret gives the parents a private relaxation spot.
The colors make this retreat feel even larger.
Tile “wainscoting” references the detail in the rest of the house. Laid vertically, the tiles help elongate the space. Upper walls painted in crisp Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White create a sense of airiness too.
It needed to be feminine but not too girlish.
The desk nook in this daughter’s room overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge.
It doubles as a play room.
With the sofa, twin bunk, and big rug, there’s plenty of room for play dates and hangouts. Munroe replaced the knobs on the clients’ dresser with whimsical ones of “a million little creatures.” Look closely and you’ll see turtles and owls and porcupines and badgers.
Bright green adds grown-up contrast.
It features one of Munroe’s favorite wallpapers.
Munroe had been waiting for a client to say yes to this bold Voutsa wallpaper, which she loves for its playful octopus motif (and cheeky name). “It was an instant yes,” she says. “We are known for being so bold and eclectic and unique. People are either in or out!”
This light, bright space is filled with ”connecting colors.”
Greens and blues from the adjacent dining room and music room appear in details here. “One of our tricks when utilizing a lot of different shades of color to make it grounded is looking from one room to the next and considering how they connect to each other—those connecting colors,” Munroe explains. “The lamps on the back of the sofa relate to the chairs that are in the adjacent room on the dining table, just like the two tables have similar wood.” Keeping the beautiful architecture but adding contemporary elements was another goal. A towering wood mantle was replaced by a sleek new one that plays well with the family’s photography. The sofa has traditional lines but crisp, modern upholstery.
Munroe wanted it to have a throwback lounge feel.
This oval-shaped jewel box off the living room overlooks San Francisco Bay. It’s a traditional space that feels intimate and set apart, the opposite of what you get in an open floor plan. “I liked a little bit of traditional sitting room energy next to the bustling living room,” Munroe says. “It’s elegant but totally livable.” The chairs are a go-to for her because the frame is so simple; they completely transform when you reupholster them. “They can just live a thousand lives—and they’re comfortable.”
An organic gallery wall can grow with the family.
The family wanted their existing art to be the focus when you come inside. To create an arrangement they can add to over time, Munroe kept the spacing between items equal but placed them in an asymmetrical cluster. “It should be alive, it should be nimble—that’s the energy you want to get from the the layout style,” she says. Generally, the center line should be 60 inches off the floor (“most people hang art too high,” she says), and the pieces should be between 3.5 and 4.5 inches apart, depending on the frame depth, the mats, and other factors. “I like to make sure they’re cozy,” she adds. “I don’t like when they feel like they’re strangers at a party.”
Dark colors sharpen the architecture.
To lightly refresh the 1905 home, Munroe had the garage door painted in an off-black and the front door painted in a very dark green.
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