TURN UP THE VOLUME

Gerine and Jorge’s Beaux Arts home has been reinvigorated with Jonathan Adler’s tongue-in-cheek chic

- Amy Moorea Wong

Home Profile

THE OWNERS

Gerine Ongkeko, an arts and education board member, and her husband, corporate lawyer Jorge del Calvo. Their sons Lucas and Andrew and their partners visit frequently.

THE PROPERTY

An ornate four-storey Beaux Arts house built in 1915 in San Francisco’s historic Nob Hill. On the ground floor is a front and back entrance, office, wine cellar, laundry and en-suite bedroom. The first floor has a living room, TV room, kitchen, dining room and WC. The second floor holds the main bedroom and en suite, a bedroom, bathroom and den, with a sun room and terrace on the third level.

While Gerine Ongkeko’s San Francisco home may be dripping in historic decorative plasterwork, corbels and mouldings, what goes on between the walls is a different story. The Jonathan Adler effect is in full force throughout the 106-year old building, his design studio transforming what once were formal, functional rooms into spaces full of vitality that raise a wry smile.