My Houzz: Earthy and Eclectic in San Francisco

Scott Cunningham and Douglas Leach were drawn to the light in their San Francisco home despite the place’s being smaller than ideal. Cunningham, an interior designer and a colorist, and Leach, a professional chef, originally thought they’d live in their one-story, one-bedroom home in the Bernal Heights neighborhood for a few years, make a few small changes, then move to a bigger place. The few years turned into two decades, when they decided to stay put and update their home in two major renovations. Here’s what they did.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Scott Cunningham, Douglas Leach and their dog, Darby
Location: Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco
Size: 1,700 square feet (158 square meters); 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms


The first stage included a total DIY remodel, converting the bedroom into the kitchen, the kitchen into the dining room, and the deck into the living room. Ten years later they began the second, more complicated renovation and brought in professional help, including contractor Dan King. They redid the molding and walls, added a second floor and gave the rooms more storage.

Cunningham describes their design style as “earthy eclectic.” Many of the furnishings were picked up over the years from various flea markets, including the Alameda Point Antiques Faire. Cunningham made the console seen here using reclaimed wood and also reupholstered a thrifted ottoman.

“Under Scott’s guiding eye, there’s a consistency over time,” says Leach. “Despite swapping things in and out, the design of the home remains consistent.”

Sofa: Dean, Room & Board; side tables: Crate & Barrel; white tables: West Elm; drapes: Bed, Bath & Beyond; rug: West Elm; pillows: West Elm





Leach, a chef, knew exactly what he wanted their renovated kitchen to include, like the stainless steel Wolf range.


Leach also hosts cooking classes at home. When he started he found that their round banquette dining table just didn’t function for his eight-person classes, so he brought home a discarded table that he found while driving around and refinished it to fit their decor.

Dining room chairs: Stackable Chair, West Elm


The owners are avid rock collectors, and many of the rocks displayed around the house were gathered from their travels. They found the rocks here on the dining table on coast of Maine, where they both grew up.

Leach and Cunningham made the fiddlehead-shaped art in the dining room from dozens of hand-dyed clothespins clipped and arranged in a spiral.


Leach collects vintage egg beaters from around the world and displays them in this custom-built wall unit.





The bathroom was completely redone; it now has custom cabinets and Italian porcelain tiles. Cunningham’s design goal is to stay current with what he calls a “touch of trend.” To do so, he chose neutral colors to enhance the artwork and details around the home.


The homeowners are known among friends for hosting great parties on game days. Leach will prepare a feast, which usually includes a roast. On game day neighbors and friends gather in the TV room to cheer on their favorite teams.

As a color specialist, Cunningham paid careful attention to every hue in the house. The striking gray teal wall was inspired by a perfectly maintained car they pass by every day while walking their dog. The ceiling is a constrasting khaki gray.

Sofa: Room & Board; rug: Pottery Barn; Bone Side Tables, West Elm


The homeowners punched out a section in the original wall to create a walk-in closet for the guest room (on the left). Cunningham found the vintage Swiss chair at the Alameda Point Antiques Faire.

Rug: West Elm; lamps: Pottery Barn; pillows: Room & Board


The master bedroom is now in what used to be the garage. Cunningham built the bed frame; the side tables are secondhand finds.

Rug: Crate & Barrel


Cunningham recently painted the lower level white to brighten the interior. As a result the rooms are soft, warm and welcoming, especially during the daytime. He recommends choosing the right temperature for lightbulbs, especially when using white on the walls, as lighting can greatly affect color. For these rooms he used LED 2,700-Kelvin (K) lightbulbs for a warm yet crisp color.

Learn more about how light affects interior colors


The sitting room, next to the bedroom, is “a great place to hang out and turn the fire on, especially when it’s raining,” says Cunningham.

He created the graphic, colorful sculpture from wood scraps for a client’s photo shoot and loved it so much, he brought it home. The piece is inspired by the children’s game of pick-up sticks.

Sectional: Crate & Barrel


The Eames shell chair is a vintage piece.





Starting with a bare yard, Leach became an avid gardener through years of trial and error. The first thing he did when building out the backyard was to add texture and variety through rocks, carrying every stone into the garden himself and meticulously laying them out.

While the yard has transformed over the years, the homeowners are confident that this current design is here to stay.

Some of the backyard patio furniture has been passed down from family members. “I mix the new with the old and not-so-old. I think it speaks to who we are and how we live,” Cunningham says. “With over 30 years together, we like to keep some of the more important pieces we have gathered over the years — some of which are family heirlooms — but I want them to be a part without creating an antiques show.”


Cunningham and Leach commissioned Diane Rollins Feissel to paint this series of oil portraits that hangs in the kitchen.

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