Tour the Midcentury San Fran Home That Launched This Designer's Business

Karen Nepacena didn't intend to launch her Destination Eichler business until she and her husband, John Shum, were inspired to renovate their own midcentury modern home in the San Francisco Bay area. But it's not just any midcentury dwelling. The home is one of 11,000 designed by Joseph Eichler between 1949 and 1966, mostly found in California, and distinguished by floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor spaces.

After visiting a renovated Eichler home, Nepacena and Shum realized they wanted to restore their home's original modern feel, and started a blog to document the process. This involved researching midcentury modern design details, studying architecture books and checking out original Eichler homes. "Once we started incorporating these details into our home renovation and sharing them on our design blog, other homeowners began contacting us for guidance on their own midcentury modern homes and business snowballed from there!" Nepacena says.

Since buying the four-bedroom, two-bath, 1,663-square-foot home in 2013, the couple have fully renovated the kitchen, dining room and family room. They partially updated the bathroom used by their two boys, Sebastian and Miles, although their own bathroom's renovation remains on hold. "We still have a long list of projects we’d like to complete some day, from renovating closet spaces to removing the wall texture to have smooth walls," Nepacena says.

"The outdoor atrium is one of our absolute favorite spaces in our home, and the primary reason for choosing this particular Eichler floor plan," says Nepacena. (Architects A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmonds designed the plan.) "Our house may be small in square footage, but having this additional space makes it feel bigger and acts as an additional space to both work and relax," she adds. Plus, "Living in California, we are fortunate to enjoy mild weather most of the year, so we take advantage of our 'outside room' nearly all year long."

"We can’t see out to the front street, so we have a lot of privacy, which we like," Nepacena says of the courtyard area. As for the furniture, she notes the mix of new and vintage items. You'd never guess, but one of the Acapulco chairs is a vintage find from Craigslist that her husband restrung, while the matching one is a new purchase.