Before they purchased their home, interior designer Kari McIntosh and her husband lived in a San Francisco high-rise surrounded by construction, traffic and no outdoor space.

Seeking what McIntosh calls an "easier lifestyle" for their young son, they found this historic gem in a charming suburban neighborhood whose hallmark is wide streets and roundabouts where carriages once turned at the end of the block. McIntosh loves older homes and planned a historically sensitive remodel that would retain the character of the Art Deco-era home.

Functionally, the home needed more storage and durable finishes to withstand life with a little one, plus a reconfiguration of the kitchen and bathrooms. A tight six-month deadline kept the project in check. Outside, the landscape received a refresh with new plantings and hardscaping for the driveway and walkway, and a new built-in seating area for the front courtyard.

With a timeline firmly in place, McIntosh let the interior architecture tell her where to start: Original hand-painted beams with a geometric and floral pattern in burnt orange and green inspired the color palette. The home's original wood floors were retained and the plaster walls received a new coat of paint.

McIntosh, whose mother owned an antiques store, is a collector at heart. Much of the furniture throughout her home is part of a collection she's amassed over decades of travel and flea market shopping. In working with antiques, she suggests, "you have to pick pieces that you love, that speak to you. It helps to have a balance of new and old, to edit with your eye and not pile too many pieces into a room." And, she says, "it's always great to refinish."

That's what she did with two sofas from the family's previous apartment: They were the appropriate scale for the new living room, so she had them re-covered in a durable navy velvet.

McIntosh concentrated on the remodel first and later brought in the family's existing furniture and decor to see what fit and what needed to be purchased to fill in the gaps. The two slipper chairs were purchased 10 years ago from Room and Board, and their dark orange embroidery worked well with the burnt orange detail in the beams. —Jess McBride, Houzz

House at a Glance

Who lives here: Interior designer Kari McIntosh, her husband and their 4-year-old son

Location: San Mateo, California

Size: 2,900 square feet (269.4 square meters)

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