How a San Francisco Designer Gave a Bold New Look to a Victorian Charmer

Founder of the firm Noz Design, San Francisco-based interior designer Noz Nozawa is a rockstar. Honored as one of the new American voices in interior design by several prestigious outlets, Noz is known for her ability to create narrative-driven spaces that tell a unique story, individual to her clients. “I don’t have one singular aesthetic,” says Noz. “I’ve definitely been recognized for using bold colors and layering patterns, but I play in lots of styles, from Japanese minimalist, to color explosions, to traditional. The main thing for me is that my team and I start completely from scratch with every new project and every new client. There is no formula.”

For this particular project — a Victorian in San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood — Noz and her team collaborated with architecture and construction firm San Francisco Design Build, as areas of the home were in need of renovation, including the kitchen. “The home on arrival was perfectly live-in-able but lacked an openness for hosting. The kitchen was stately but perhaps designed in the past for someone who did not cook so often,” Noz says. A staircase that was ruining the flow of the kitchen was relocated to open things up and make room for stunning details, like the dusty blue island. “The client had a clear vision for a lot of the details we included in the kitchen — colorful terrazzo countertops, a mix of colors, open shelves wherever possible and a traditional larder pantry, as the family comes from England,” remarks Noz.

The larder pantry makes a vibrant, bold statement in the shade Orange Burst by Benjamin Moore. For a family that cooks and needs storage, they maximized the pantry, going from the floor to the ceiling. “The ceilings in this house are quite tall, so we also loved adding a ladder to reach the topmost storage,” explains Noz.

To complete the kitchen’s story, they brought in one more pop of color on an unexpected appliance — the range. “The Bluestar range in a custom orange was iconic,” says Noz. “I absolutely adore it. It is so joyful and energizing.” It's a perfect match to the vibrant larder pantry.