Textile designer Lena Corwin lives with her husband and two boys in the Outer Sunset neighborhood in San Francisco. “I love the foghorns and harsh salty air,” she says. Her home is simple yet stunning and feels like a deep breath. Take a peek inside…
KITCHEN
Pendant light: Industry West. Shape artwork: Mason St. Peter.
What did you think when you first saw this home?
We rented for a year when we first moved to California, and then on a visit back to New York the listing popped up on my phone. I was lying in my brother-in-law’s bed in Chelsea. I knew right away — I got chills. Josh wanted an older house. I wanted a renovation project. I looked at a map, and the house seemed to be sitting on the edge of the world, a block from the Pacific Ocean.
What do you enjoy about living in the outer sunset?
Living a block from the ocean has added so much to our lives. The beach in San Francisco is pretty rugged — windy and cool most days, with occasional heat waves. When it’s hot, it’s glorious. But I also love the foghorns and harsh salty air.
What neighborhood spots do you like?
For restaurants, we often go to Outerlands, Andytown and Palm City Wines. And I like the stores Mollusk, General Store and Case for Making.
What white paint did you use throughout your home?
Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. It’s a warm white.
Kitchen table: Ikea. Benches: Custom Liz Dunning. Floral artwork: Chelsea Heffner.
You have a lot of blank space on your walls. Can you talk about this?
I love open space. It’s very calming for me. Some people come into our kitchen and suggest ways to fill the long wall by our dining tables, but I like it empty. It leaves room for transitory artwork. We’re always hanging the kids’ drawings and handmade signs for celebrations.
What do you like to cook at home?
I make a big pot of soup almost every week. My mom taught me the basic formula for making a soup from whatever is on hand, without a recipe, and it’s a skill I’m glad to have.
Ooh, can you share the formula?
Sauté onion, garlic, mushrooms, maybe celery. Add an assortment of veggies in the order of most cooking time needed to least. Add one or two starches: rice, pasta, lentils, beans, chickpeas. Add broth, boil and then simmer. Build flavor with a couple splashes of the following: tomato sauce, soy sauce, salsa, lemon juice or hot sauce. Add greens like cabbage, swiss chard or kale. Mix in a lot of fresh herbs, plus salt and pepper. Done!
LIVING ROOM
Sofa: Montauk Sofa with dyed slip covers. Shelving: Home Depot brackets, wood from a lumberyard.
Do you have any advice for people starting a renovation?
I would suggest focusing on the bones of the house — opening up walls and making the space itself feel really good. We saved money by choosing modest and utilitarian finishes, knowing it would get a lot of wear and tear with young kids. I really like humble finishes over fancier options.
What are three words you’d use to describe how you wanted your home to feel?
Peaceful, open, warm.
Coffee table: gifted antique. Daybed: The Futon Shop, similar. Credenza: custom by Jay Nelson. Chair: vintage Eames. Yellow stool: More & Co.
Can you tell us about this cool word art?
When my son Eli was learning words and handwriting, he started making these large letters on single sheets of construction paper. I took my favorites and tiled them in a huge Plexiglas frame I bought off Craigslist.
Waterfall artwork: Johanna St. Clair. Planter: Sloat Garden Center.
And what about this gorgeous artwork?
This Johanna St. Clair piece is the first of a new project I launched at the end of 2019 — large scale artist collaborations called Earth Art. I plan to work with one or two artists every year. I love oversized artwork and merging that with my love of textiles was really appealing. Each frame is made with raw (usually salvaged) wood by artist Jonathan Anzalone. This project is really close to my heart and the idea took shape two years ago during a bus ride alone through Iceland.
BATHROOM
Who creates these little collections?
We all enjoy finding things when we’re out in nature — rocks, driftwood, shells. I like to cluster them in piles on our windowsills.
KIDS’ BEDROOM
Rug: Dana Haim. Kids’ beds: notNeutral. Bedding: Muji.
Why did you choose to have carpet in boys’ bedrooms? (I love a carpeted bedroom!)
The roof is pitched in the kids’ rooms and we knew we’d spend a lot of time on the floor. So, carpet seemed appealing. I found a 100% unbleached wool carpet that felt like a good fit for us.
Would you be up for talking about your struggles with infertility?
I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was having trouble getting pregnant. It made so much sense; I experienced all the symptoms since starting my period but never heard the word until then. I had laparoscopic surgery, but still wasn’t able to get pregnant. So we went through a long process of trying IUI and then IVF. I’m so grateful it worked. But it was a really grueling and difficult thing to go through. The experience did prepare me for motherhood in many ways — I learned to ease my tight grip on wanting to be in control.
What are Eli and Abe into these days?
Eli loves woodworking and running in the sand dunes. Abe is into sparkly jewelry and Legos. Both enjoy hiking and I’m thrilled.
MASTER BEDROOM
Sconces: Anglepoise. Bed: Crate and Barrel. Bedding: Parachute. Pillow: See Sun. Rug: vintage.
How did you want your bedroom to feel?
Serene and light-filled. We haven’t put curtains up in our bedroom, but the height of the windows gives us privacy. If i’m walking around naked, our neighbors can’t see!
Dresser: vintage.
What are you reading these days?
Normal People by Sally Rooney, before I watch the TV adaptation. And Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottleib.
Towel: Peace Cloth.
Tell us about your beautiful peace towels.
Peace Cloth is another expression of my love of textiles. I’ve always wanted to work with jacquard weaving (one side is the woven inverse of the other). The peace symbol is such a part of my childhood, growing up near Haight Street in San Francisco. When I launched the first towels in 2014, I was wanting to do a side project that donated a portion to a longstanding peace organization.
MASTER BATHROOM
Towel: Peace Cloth.
I’ve always thought a shower window is one of life’s simple pleasures.
Yes, it feels like an outdoor shower! We never close the window — it stays open and feels really fresh. We just see treetops.
BACKYARD
How did this outdoor bathtub come about?
That was my husband Josh’s idea. We had set up a hot water hook outside in case we wanted to do an outdoor shower. Then he found this bathtub on Craigslist. The kids mostly do it, and it feels great in this climate where it gets really chilly in the evenings. It feels like a hot tub.
What are you growing in your garden?
Lettuce, kale, swiss chard, strawberries, summer squash, cucumbers and herbs.
How have you been getting through quarantine?
I go for an evening walk or run, which has been my sanity savor. And we’re all watching Kids Baking Championship — there are eight seasons, so we’re working our way through!
Thank you so much, Lena! Find her projects at Peace Cloth and Earth Art, if you’d like. xoxo
P.S. More house tours, including a maximalist house in Minnesota and a colorful home in a spaceship building.
(Photographs by Lena Corwin for Cup of Jo.)
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Just had to comment…I was skimming through the archived home tours for some inspiration when I came upon this outdoor clawfoot tub and realized– wait! That used to be MY tub! I live in Mill Valley, CA, just over the Golden Gate Bridge north of San Francisco and this home! Sure enough, I looked back through my old emails and yep, I sold it to a man on Craigslist (a couple of years ago) who it seems is married to Lena Corwin of this house tour. This is yet another serious *synchronicity* in a wild string of them that have been popping up over the past couple of months. What do they all mean — Universe, I’m listening!
Do you know where the round bathroom mirror is from?
That outside bathtub is the bomb.
I love this, so open and beautiful (but a word of warning— Old bathtubs often have very dangerous levels of lead, especially for children).
This is a gorgeous home – but I’m particularly taken with that straw hat! I’m sure it was a tiny stall in a lovely holiday destination (or similar), but I’d love to know where it’s from.
Can I just say I love the say next to the muffins?!? Lena, I would love to know where you found it. Thanks for sharing your lovely, calming, mindful home.
*Hat
Thank you so much for talking about Endometriosis.
My favorite house.
I’m curious about the handle on the sliding glass door. We have similar doors and the handle is slim and hard to grip. That handle on your door seems great and looks cool!
Our friend Josh Duthie made the handles. I didn’t like the options than came with the doors, so he used the base hardware and added a different handle. I love em!
My favorite home!! Keeping walls open for transformational art is so beautiful.
Such a serene home. I just love the peach pedestal sink.
love this entire house and esp the bathroom color — and laughed so hard at “I was lying in my brother in law’s bed” hahaha innocent, I’m sure, but I still laughed
Lol, I thought the same thing about the brother-in-law’s bed… :P
So funny, I had the same reaction when I read my own words. HA.
I painted my whole house Chantilly Lace as well! In some rooms it looks beautiful, in others it’s a tad bit too cool. I watched the machine when it was mixed – it’s literally just the base paint with some black added. I share this to caution people who are looking for a “warm” white. Depending on your geographical location (latitude) and exposure of the room (north vs south, etc.) this one might not be for you!
Oh my gosh, eating ice cream in an outdoor bathtub is like my idea of heaven! What a beautiful and inspiring home!
Love the three letter words artwork!
…foghorns and harsh salty air…describes an atmosphere that reminds me of New York City; and, it would make a beautiful book or blog title. Lovely home
I would also love more info on the carpet. We’re currently in the market for something for the kids rooms.
Her soup “recipe” is spot on. Soup is a great way to use up half servings of leftovers, wilted vegetables, the last of the tomato paste, etc. The most important thing to know about soup is that it is always, always better the next day!
Beautiful home, beautiful family.
What a beautiful, serene home. I also wanted to comment because.. while I don’t have endometriosis, I am going through a miscarriage right now, and I feel so much kinship with any woman struggling (or having struggled) to get pregnant. I know this is not the purpose of this post, but I am so thankful when any woman chooses to share her story, even as a small part of a much bigger, happier story. It makes me hopeful.
So sorry to hear what you are going through, Judy. Sending a lot of peace and healing thoughts to you.
I am so sorry to hear, Judy. I have also just recently had a miscarriage and it was very difficult to go through. Know that you are not alone and that all the emotions and feelings you have are valid and acknowledged. Things will feel raw for a while but I found over time it hurts just a little less. The grief is real.
Love this! We just bought a home that’s a bit of a reno so I have been absolutely devouring your house tours lately. They are excellent inspiration. Did you ever decide or redo that wallpaper in your room from a couple months ago??
I’d love to what her kitchen counters are. We are getting ready to renovate our kitchen, and I like this look!
Same! Would love to know kitchen building materials in general. Counters, flooring, cabinets… Lovely home.
Update: Just Googled and Remodelista gives material details. Beth – counters are combo of off white and light gray Corian!
Thank you, MJ!!
Agreed I love this kitchen too. Any chance anyone know the flooring material/colour?
All this beautiful art makes me wonder if CoJ would do a post on sourcing affordable, original art – where to do it, how to do it responsibly (ie, which sites give the most to the artist), etc.. I have to imagine that especially now, it’s all the more important to support local artists, but we’re all feeling economically pinched/worried. Would also take guidance on framing!
I would love this too!
That’s a great idea, I’d love that too! I have found that instagram is actually a great place to find and support artists. I follow a local small gallery space (the Little Lodge, also located in the Sunset, San Francisco) because they do artist “yart sales” where local artists can sell works they haven’t been able to move.
Whenever I buy something or come across someone’s work I like via other means (like house tours) I follow them on Instagram. Artists will often post pieces for sale or announce promotions, etc and you can buy directly from them rather than through an online middleman.
I would love to see a picture of the other side of her kitchen! I find it interesting that she has two dining tables… I would love to hear her reasoning for it. Although I had never considered it, as a mom, it totally makes sense! You’re always using the dining table for a puzzle or project… I guess if you had two, you’d always have an empty one for eating!
Not my style, but I love seeing these home tours whether they look like a place I would live or not! Feels especially good to see home tours since a lot of us are spending more time at home lately…and potentially doing a lot of reorganizing and home improvement/decorating (or is that just me?) Thank you for this! ❤
I adore her house. Feels so calm and soothing. Just what we all need right now!
Um, sitting outside in the cool salty air, in a bath of hot water, eating ice-cream? How could life get better than this?
love! what a great home and person! It was soothing just to scroll through the pictures <3 <3
It is borderline thrilling these days to come onto Cup of Jo and see a house tour–my favorite posts along with the week in outfits posts. Thanks for brightening my day with this gorg house!
Such a lovely lovely space!
I am saving this post! So many wonderful ideas and beautiful photos (especially the one of Lena with one of her sons curled up on her lap <3), thank you! Question: the Peace Cloth site shows all of the towels currently sold out : ( Can you tell us when they will be restocked?
Thank you Susan, I’m hoping to restock in July!
The home is not my style – I just love STUFF! – but Lena seems such a thoughtful and grounded person. This whole piece made me feel calm and centred somehow.
Such a lovely home. And those towels are gorgeous!
This is so beautiful. Is it possible to get the paint color that the trim is painted? It looks like balboa mist?
Hi Jessica, It is called Ghost Pines
Thank you!! Take care.
I’m a white wall enthusiast too! It drives my husband nuts. He wants to put something on every wall, tack up postcards on the fridge and window sills (which drives ME nuts!). We have opposite approaches to the home. I’m going to share your home with him to bring him around :)
Thank you so much for showing your home! Honestly, I wouldn’t enjoy sharing so much, but I’m so glad we’re different and you can do it and I can be inspired by your home! The last photo with one of your son is so so beautiful. I love the “art word”, there is something so precious about these first handwritten words, Great idea. You made my day!
What a beautiful, beautiful home! I’m decluttering big way at the moment at this is a great look to aspire to with fewer things everywhere. Thank you for sharing it!
This house tour felt like walking through a friend’s house. I loved the down to earth, warm and slightly nostalgic quality of Lena’s house, which I could also feel in her responses. Definitely one of my favorites yet.
Love the bathtub in the backyard! What fun. And your books- I’ve had to buy Mother’s and Children as my creative dissertation combined photographic and written work about mothering.
Will you feature more rentals as well? I do really enjoy them all but happen to be renting now (and probably for a while) and could use the inspiration! Home tours are my favorite posts!!
seconded! It’s always inspiring to me to see what people do when “focusing on the bones” is not an option.
Thirded! Renter here, and love seeing creative ideas from fellow renters :)
thanks for talking about endometriosis.
what a dreamy home, all the warm whites and browns and tans and caramels is everything i would ever want. everything exudes peace. even the boys and toys seem calmly playful and curious.
I’m a registered dietitian and my husband is a software engineer but I would be willing to share my apartment! I think people from other types of occupations and backgrounds might be willing! very relaxing home tour :) thanks for sharing!
I’d love to see your home ♥️
Maybe we need a FB group to share homes? Is that weird? I love to see any and all.
Lovely home and similar in style to ours. I love the empty walls! We used Benjamin Moore Simply White and love it. But question for you, Lena: how do you keep the walls clean? Or what do you use to clean them / wipe the dirty finger prints, the smears from grabbing the railing and missing, the scuffs etc. I’ve tried the mr. clean erasers or a clean tea towel with a light spray of Method cleaner or similar with varying luck. I feel like we just need to repaint certain areas every few years (not a huge deal – I don’t really mind painting)… but there must be a better option.
We chose an eggshell finish so the walls are somewhat wipeable. But they still get very dirty with kids! I do the same as you– wipe with rags and a bit of cleaning spray, and sometimes use a magic eraser.
Everything here is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
I love the idea of using a comforter sans duvet cover but wonder about keeping it clean and if washing it a lot degrades the filling. Maybe choosing a dark color would be smart, but the crisp white always looks so lovely!
Also, that grey-ish neutral used on the lower half of the bathroom is excellent!
What a beautiful home. Lottery-winning me would love to live in San Francisco. Completely serious question: how do people *not* have a nightstand? Where is your phone/alarm? What about a glass of water? Hand cream? Chapstick? I don’t actually love the look of the bedside table, but I don’t have any other ideas!
Hilary, we also don’t have it: books (always) and phone (during night :) on the floor, everything else in the bathroom (including glass :)
I don’t have room for a nightstand so I keep a tiny tray from Zara Home next to my bed. It has my water, five year diary and hand cream on it (I use a sleep app so my phone is under my pillow on charge). I wasn’t keen at first but not having the nightstand means I can’t create room for junk!
I live in a small space and don’t have nightstands. What I have instead is two shelves (Vitra Corniches – one on each side of the bed). They’re just big enough to hold, on my husband’s side, a coffee, phone, wireless speaker and chapstick, and on my side a tower of unread books topped with my phone. If I had more space I’m not sure I’d do anything different!
I don’t really use a bedside table for much… my phone stays in another room, I have a water bottle which sits on the floor, and my book goes on top of the bed (I have a wooden bedframe). I guess I would question how much you NEED to have those things next to your bed, rather than on a bookcase/ shelf across the room?
Hahahhaha. This made me laugh. We don’t have a bedside table, but use our large (it’s a 100-year-old home) window ledge for chapstick, a glass of water and kleenex. I’m very interested in what others have to say!
Also, beautiful home tour! I love how intentional it feels. The pops of green plants are so nice! <3
Small chairs work very well (children’s chairs) as a nightstand. I’ve never managed to buy a nighstand, it seems a luxury to me, so right now I use the floor (I love the sight of a pile of books on a wooden floor) and my husband uses a child’s chair (but, also, our matress is on the floor, can’t sleep any other way!).
We don’t have “proper” night stands, but do use an old sewing table (the kind with a sewing machine that folds into it) on one side, and a little dresser on the other. I keep a few photos and a dish of pretty shells on the table, a small wooden tray for my daily jewelry with tiny pottery bowls my daughter made that hold chapstick, nose studs and earrings, and a book if I’m reading (sadly not much lately), a glass of water, and my phone.
My husband has his own room (ah, the intricacies of married life), and he has a little antique table with a lower shelf for his phone and his CPAP machine. Funny how you never see those in home tours lol. If I had to choose one thing in my home I treasure, it’s that. It keeps my husband alive.
I love looking at this beautiful space. I find that I enjoy all the spaces in these home tours, ranging from minimal to maximalist, because they’re such reflections of their owners. Am weirdly interested in knowing what kind of fridge that is – it looks very tall, and somewhat narrow.
i was about to ask about the fridge as well ? It really caught my eye.
Beautiful! We’re in the market for bedroom carpet. Could you share the manufacturer’s information of the wool wall-to-wall carpet? Thank you!!!
I believe it’s a Liebherr fridge, which I also have and love!
Gabi is right, it’s a Liebherr
Do you know what her trim paint color is?
Gabi is right, it’s a Liebherr
Hi Helen, It’s called Ghost Pines
Could you please give us more carpet details? The source? Does it clean well?
We bought the wool carpeting from California Carpets. So far it has been low maintenance. We had it professionally cleaned once, when a friend’s daughter vomited on it – eek!
It really is a peaceful, beautiful home. It feels calm just looking at the pictures. Thank you for sharing!
Small world thing…the rug in her boys’ bedroom is from my friend’s younger sister’s company. I love the design!
Beautiful! Would you mind sharing the kitchen flooring details? Love it!
I love this house so much and Lena sounds like a really down to earth person. A really peaceful post that has me dreaming of summer. Summer was obviously difficult in Australia this year – something about this tour reminded me of summers in Australia growing up. Maybe the light. A beautiful, relaxing house tour. Thank you x
I have quietly followed Lena Corwin on social media for years, and have been hoping for a house tour at some point. I love the airy, bright feel of this home. As someone who also has endometriosis and struggled for years to have a child, I really appreciate Lena’s openness in sharing her own family story.
Incredibly peaceful home. I’m so happy for her that she was able to finally have two children as well.
As for the kids cookery show – I can barely tolerate Gordon Ramsey but his kids cooking contest is so so good. Watch from the first episode – the kids are amazing personality’s and soo sweet. Not to mention crazy talented.
I love this whole house, but the last photo of Lena holding her son is just so beautiful.
It’s such a beautiful and serene space and the area sounds breathtaking to be situated at.
That said, could I make a suggestion?
The majority of these tours features people with backgrounds in the fashion/design/art etc. industry.
I would LOVE to see a home tour where the occupant is a nurse or clerk or works in admin. etc.
I think that would be so refreshing and real :)
I think one challenge is that people who aren’t designers aren’t typically interested I having their home exposed that way! Yes, this community is generally very kind but a post on A Cup of Jo is still part of the larger internet.
I 100% agree!! I am a labor & delivery nurse and my husband is a sommelier, and we live in a 400 sq ft studio in West LA…REAL life!!
Second this! Though I enjoy them all very much – a bit of range would be most welcome.
I second this comment! I love this particular home and the escapism of these home tours In general, but as a nonprofit worker living in a working-class suburb, they also feel pretty unattainable, financially and just in terms of aesthetic coolness. It would be great to have the home of a retail worker, teacher, office manager, etc., thrown into the mix every now and again.
That is a great idea, and would be real and refreshing! Another suggestion for the COJ team is when featuring homes in cities that are being gentrified at rapid rates (SF, Brooklyn, DC, Oakland, and many more!), it would be so interesting and beautiful to feature natives of these respective cities. Can you imagine featuring natives from the Mission in SF or Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn?! While these homes you feature are all aesthetically pleasing, I would love to see and read the stories of women who have been able to hold on to their spaces even when there is an agenda to push them out.
If you’re looking for more wonderful home tours, I highly recommend Design Mom’s Living With Kids series: https://www.designmom.com/category/living-with-kids-house-tour/
If you click on any tour, there is information at the bottom of the post for submitting your home to be featured.
While I would love to see something similar on COJ (and would love to submit my house!), I know that this model and format of soliciting for home tours from readers isn’t for every blog. COJ still manages to find unique home tours from people in all careers and at all stages of life (remember when we got to see Jo’s grandmother and aunt’s house? — lovely!). Coincidentally I had woke up yesterday morning and thought to myself it was just about time for another COJ house tour to be posted. :)
I totally agree. I would love to see some tours from renters with lower incomes and small spaces. Since that’s the category I’m in I’m able to take a lot more inspiration and encouragement from people who want a beautiful space and have to figure out how to be resourceful and creative to get there.
We have a bunch in the archives if you’d like to peek! Xoxo
This home beautiful but not at all the norm for the area. I’ve lived in the same outer sunset neighborhood as the author for many years and neither myself nor any of my friends have homes that look like this (not going to touch on the gentrification issue).
Yes, the reason why I commented about this is because I am a teacher (in Europe) and so I am not in the art etc. industry, however, I love home decor projects and a huge chunk of my pay cheque actually goes into sprucing up various parts of my house with lots of inspiration either via pinterest or home decor bloggers. We “regular folk” can also do magic! :)
Carpet in children’s spaces makes *so* much sense (unless health conditions are a concern)! I wonder if carpet full scale will ever make a comeback, ha.
Haha omg I hope not. I will never forget once helping a friend pull up old carpet in their new house and discovering just a thick layer of ancient dust and grime under there. Nasty. But also I’m biased as someone with a husband and kiddo with terrible carpet allergies
My grandparents in the UK had carpet in every room, including the bathroom (literally by the bathtub). I love the slightly battered oak parquet in my flat; no carpet.
This whole tour felt like one giant exhale <3 Thank you for this!
How absolutely gorgeous! i’m moving back to Northern California next month after a few years away and this made me all the more excited to be back. The peaceful, quiet, foggy afternoon energy comes through in these photos!