2 Minute Read
We sat down with Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco Consultant, Beth Miles who used all donated or discounted materials to make inspired design upgrades to one of our resale homes in Daly City. HGSF: What inspires you to be involved in interior design for affordable homes?
Beth Miles: With Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, I get to think about how to make interiors work at every price point while still using inspiring and enduring design choices and finding the most sustainable solutions we can. The emotional health that inspired design creates for families is indescribable; my decisions affect someone’s ability to have a "sense of home", a safe space where traditions begin and where memories are created. That’s a lot of responsibility but I love the process. |
Interested in homeownership with Habitat Greater San Francisco?
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“Whatever a house is to the heart and body of man—refuge, comfort, luxury—surely it is as much or more to the spirit. Think how often our dreams take place in the houses of our imaginations?”
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– Mary Oliver
HGSF: Why do you support affordable homeownership as a designer?
BM: Owning a home shouldn’t be an unattainable privilege. When you do have the opportunity to own a home – there should be the same joy and inspiration in an affordable home as any other home in the neighborhood. Shelter is the first level, and we layer on the sense of calm, safety, security that our home brings; the colors, materials, textures all make up that sense of home. The rituals of life are embedded in people’s homes which helps set up generations for success.
HGSF: What would you say to people in the design industry who want to join you in supporting affordable housing?
BM: It’s all about creating a bridge between these communities, and it’s so easy to become involved! If it’s in San Francisco you volunteer and bring your people and ask “Hey, wanna support this with me?” As a scrappy designer – every bit of material is useful, old samples or excess product from projects have so much value! Let’s convert these into opportunities for organizations and see where products or creative energy could go!
Every bit of what you do has value within this affordable housing lens. Individuals are integrated into their community through volunteering and gathering resources. The riches are shared both ways, volunteers’ own sense of wellbeing is enhanced when we are reminded of our ability to create. I would argue that Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco gives so much back to the volunteers that work with them.
BM: Owning a home shouldn’t be an unattainable privilege. When you do have the opportunity to own a home – there should be the same joy and inspiration in an affordable home as any other home in the neighborhood. Shelter is the first level, and we layer on the sense of calm, safety, security that our home brings; the colors, materials, textures all make up that sense of home. The rituals of life are embedded in people’s homes which helps set up generations for success.
HGSF: What would you say to people in the design industry who want to join you in supporting affordable housing?
BM: It’s all about creating a bridge between these communities, and it’s so easy to become involved! If it’s in San Francisco you volunteer and bring your people and ask “Hey, wanna support this with me?” As a scrappy designer – every bit of material is useful, old samples or excess product from projects have so much value! Let’s convert these into opportunities for organizations and see where products or creative energy could go!
Every bit of what you do has value within this affordable housing lens. Individuals are integrated into their community through volunteering and gathering resources. The riches are shared both ways, volunteers’ own sense of wellbeing is enhanced when we are reminded of our ability to create. I would argue that Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco gives so much back to the volunteers that work with them.
HGSF: Thinking about the recent Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco resale home you partnered with us on, what advice would you give to others who want to build design and functionality into their home?
BM: Start by combining the two and provide a new alternative that feels more purposeful and beautiful. Here’s how we approached the updates at the Habitat Way buy-back:
Bathroom Storage: We’re thinking about the family moving in who has 3 children & the need for storage in the home. In the bathroom, we chose IKEA vanities with a tremendous amount of storage with 2 full drawers and a medicine cabinet above which uses the entire vertical space.
Kitchen Storage: We installed a donated $1,800 refrigerator which is much larger and more energy efficient. We built out the pantry and added a door to create more designated storage and installed a stone backsplash with a ledge above the sink for additional storage space.
I sat down with Heidi Hansen, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco board member, and together we created lighting stories with the generous donated lights from City Lights. We used different lighting color and fixtures to indicate how you can use and gather in the space. The beautiful ceiling mount lights for where you gather for your living room space, the drop light designates where the table can go.
We used this nice pendant drop lamp from City Lights in the stairway. We were able to swag it and take more advantage of the height of the staircase and then drop some light down it. The beautiful fixture has colored glass which I think speaks to this wall color, burning sand – a gift in kind paint from Valspar.
Flooring
The home’s floor previously transitioned between carpet and flooring. We chose a single solution flooring Luxury Vinal Plank (LVP) made to look like American Walnut to use throughout the entire home. One material used throughout all the rooms creates a beautiful, rich continuity, and it’s an enduring product which is meant to last 30+ years.
Landscaping
We were thinking of the colors we could bring in with the landscaping and how that could fit with the color of the home. Things like lavender, rosemary, California grasses, and star jasmine that are beautiful, drought resistant and good for the environment. Efrain, the new homeowner, helped plant discounted plants from Clement Nursey in the front garden!
To learn more about Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco’s work in the Bay Area building and repairing homes, visit our website at habitatgsf.org