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Inside the Newly Renovated Home of a San Francisco Sophisticate

Photo credit: Christopher Stark
Photo credit: Christopher Stark

From Town & Country

In the light filled living room, a pair of custom sofas covered in Pierre Frey’s Portofino linen are placed back to back. Also in the room, Osborne & Little silk taffeta curtains and Lindsey Adelman’s “Branching Bubbles” chandelier.

For San Francisco mover and shaker Donna Fellows, Bay Area dream team of architect Barbara Chambers of Chambers+Chambers and interior designer Molie Malone were charged with an inspiring commission. “This was to be Donna’s first real urban ‘home of her own,’” says Malone, a Napa Valley native who transitioned from psychotherapist to successful antiquere in 2001 (a comprehensive interior design practice overtook the antiques business about a decade ago. She hasn’t had time to look back.) “Her children were grown and she was ready to say goodbye to the suburbs for a new life in town. We wanted to provide her with that perfect launch pad.”

Photo credit: Christopher Stark
Photo credit: Christopher Stark

Fellows, a philanthropist, activist and, most uniquely, an extreme athlete (think marathons, triathlons and Ironman races) chose a classic 1920s Italian revival Pacific Heights villa for her metamorphosis. “The house had great bones,” says Chambers, a 2018 Julia Morgan award recipient. “But it needed updating everywhere, from floorplan to casework to a complete electrical overhaul.”

Photo credit: Christopher Stark
Photo credit: Christopher Stark

The biggest challenge? “Getting the permits!”

Photo credit: Christopher Stark
Photo credit: Christopher Stark

The end result of this undertaking is a decidedly feminine pied a terre, but one that can also effortlessly host large family gatherings without pretense. “What I love most about the house,” says Fellows, “is that in spite of the extraordinary renovation and decoration that was done so expertly by Barbara and Molie, the original beauty of the house that I fell in love with at first sight is still there... every bit of it!”

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