Ali Frye Interiors Transforms This Modern Sea Cliff Home

By Michael McCarthy By Michael McCarthy | May 22, 2024 | Home & Real Estate, Feature,

History meets a modern aesthetic in a refreshed Sea Cliff home.

A burlwood coffee table from CB2 and wallcovering from Phillip Jeffries set the elegant tone designer Ali Frye wanted to create in the living room.

THE PROJECT

Tampering with historic architecture can be tricky. So, a couple with three children under 8 knew they needed a steady design hand when redesigning their 2,788-square-foot Sea Cliff property built in 1916 in one of SF’s most historic neighborhoods.

The design team used the shelving in the dining room (formerly a library) for dishes and decorative items—storage sits underneath.

THE TEAM

The couple selected Ali Frye, founder of Ali Frye Interiors (alifryeinteriors.com), to tackle the project. “My natural aesthetic is traditional, with a focus on styles that have worked over long periods,” she says. “Where I differentiate myself is my flair for eclectic modernity. I believe it’s a mix of styles that creates the personality in the home. I strive to create a space where we have new custom upholstery, inherited family heirlooms and fun, colorful art—a mix of these items helps a house develop my clients’ true essence. That’s what creates a home.”

THE GOALS

Frye says the home was in solid shape, but its aesthetic didn’t match her clients’ tastes. Besides, the couple wanted to take advantage of the natural light on their corner lot. “The geography of this home, blocks from both China and Baker Beach, set the tone for this house,” says Frye. “I pulled in lots of blues and greens to play off what we saw outside the window. The home’s exterior is traditional, so I wanted to honor that and achieve a slightly modern feel for this young family.”

Frye says the family room, with sofas from Crate & Barrel, is the happiest space in the world, as it hosts plenty of games nights and mayhem. Photographed by Eric Rorer Photography
Frye says the family room, with sofas from Crate & Barrel, is the happiest space in the world, as it hosts plenty of games nights and mayhem.

The homeowners wanted spaces that would serve their busy lifestyle (mess and chaos included) while also anchoring evenings and afternoons of hosting friends for cocktail parties and holiday soirees. Frye says this is a lifestyle she identifies with: “I currently live it. I also have three young children and am well-versed in this arena. I’m all too familiar with chocolate-covered mouths on a sofa cushion or popcorn squished into a button-tufted ottoman.”

LIVING AND DINING ROOMS

Because this is the largest room in the house—and the couple didn’t want a traditional dining room—Frye and her team transformed the space into a living-dining area. They also needed to carve out a dining room large enough to accommodate gatherings for the holidays and parties.

The alluring bar doubles as a storage space for kids’ sports equipment.

The home’s previous owners used the room as a library, so Frye transformed the bookshelves to display china and drinkware. She used the lower storage area to house platters and a printer since the homeowners find themselves sitting frequently at the table doing work.

“I love the windows in this room; they’re visually interesting with the repetition of the windows,” says Frye. “With this in mind, I chose a soft green Phillip Jeffries (phillipjeffries.com) grasscloth wallcovering that enhances the green just outside the windows and pairs nicely with the existing fireplace surround.”

The design team replastered the fireplace bright white and curated pieces like a burlwood dining table from CB2 (cb2.com), lighting from Visual Comfort (visualcomfort.com), custom lampshades in Shumacher (schumacher.com) in tortoiseshell from The Shade Shop (theshadeshop.com) and decorative items from Anyon Atelier (anyondesign.com). The green velvet sofa is from Kathy Kuo Design (kathykuohome.com), and the pillows are from St. Frank Textiles (stfrank.com) and Yves Delorme (yvesdelorme.com).

KITCHEN

The high-traffic area serves as a space for impromptu dinners and quick breakfasts before school. “So, I had a custom built-in banquette made with storage underneath and a cushion upholstered in performance navy blue leather from Moore and Giles (mooreandgiles.com),” says Frye. “I added pillows in Les Touches fabric, as well as a chambray and blue and white gingham to make the space feel informal and casual. I added two chairs from Serena and Lily (serenaandlily.com), two sconces from Visual Comfort and a large Paule Marrot (@paulemarrot) print framed in acrylic.”

The design team reflected the home’s Sea Cliff setting for each room. Photographed by Eric Rorer Photography
The design team reflected the home’s Sea Cliff setting for each room.

FAMILY ROOM

“This feels like the happiest room in the world,” says Frye, who used custom high-gloss paint from Benjamin Moore (benjaminmoore.com) for the walls. “It’s the heartbeat of the house, where the family comes to unwind—whether it's family game night, down time for the parents after a long day or a play space for the kids when they have friends over.” The room features durable pieces like sofas from Crate & Barrel (crateandbarrel.com) and a coffee table from Williams-Sonoma (williams-sonoma.com). Lighting is from Visual Comfort, pillows and ottomans are from The Inside (theinside.com), and the artwork is from St. Frank Textiles.

BAR

Frye says her team relished working this space, which they created by cutting out a hole in the wall leading from the living and dining rooms and moving the laundry to another part of the home. “I wanted something both glamorous and sexy,” says Frye, who framed the space in Cole and Son (cole-and-son.com) black-and-white malachite wallpaper. “I had the green color matched and painted high-gloss upon the cabinetry, ceiling and additional woodwork. You would never know, but this seductive space moonlights as a kids sporting goods storage space as well as the family coat closet.”

HOW THE HOME IS LIVING

“The clients have just been so complimentary of my work and truly happy in the space,” says Frye. “I was able to enhance what this historic house had when the client first saw it and make it into a space that their family is so comfortable in. When I asked them for feedback on their home, they said, ‘We can’t believe we get to live here and feel so lucky to call it home.’ I couldn’t have asked for anything better than that.”

DESIGN DETAILS

HOME TYPE

Single-Family

LOCATION

Sea Cliff

DESIGNER

Ali Frye Interiors

alifryeinteriors.com

RESOURCES

ANYON ATELIER

Decorative Items, living-dining room

anyondesign.com