Designer's Dogpatch house – great bones

Ask any interior designer if they would rather buy a perfectly polished, newly renovated home or one in dire need of TLC, and chances are they'll opt for the latter.

After all, a fixer-upper - especially one with great bones and its original architectural features still intact - is an opportunity to put their own stamp on a place, while building on its inherent character.

This was the case for Antonio Martins when an 1891 Victorian in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood came on the market three years ago. It had been in the same family for over a century; Martins, whose eponymous practice is based in the city, would be only its second owner.

"Nothing had been done to the house," he recalls. "It didn't have layers and layers of paint. The woodwork was all original and just needed to be sanded and painted."

In the garage, a glass case is filled with reminders of the home's past: a sepia family portrait that was taken out front in 1903; leftover bits of molding, wallpaper and tile; and the original metal numbers that once graced the facade.

While it's clear that Martins reveres its history, the house is certainly not stuck in a time warp. Immediately after purchasing the dwelling, he launched into a large-scale rehab.

Now classic Victorian attributes like the ornate moldings and ceiling medallions are counterbalanced with of-the-moment touches such as the stainless steel fireplace surround and Limn sectional in the media room, as well as modern art choices (including a Rubens Gershman painting in the master bedroom and a couple of Drew Kelly photographs in the living room).

The kitchen is a perfect example of old and new beautifully coexisting. The room is anchored by an O'Keefe & Merritt stove that dates back to 1948. (Martins admits that it doesn't get much use; he takes advantage of his proximity to restaurants such as Serpentine, Just for You Cafe and Piccino.)

Above the stove is a weathered wood parlor door cornice. For years, Martins' best friend, Tom Roe, collected architectural details from mansions that were demolished in the city. "This specific one was in (Roe's) Berkeley garden for more than 20 years," says Martins. "When he passed away in 2011, I inherited the piece."

Juxtaposed with these bygone accents are stainless steel elements - open shelving, a barn door that conceals a pantry, industrial tables - fabricated by Scott Adkins of Profab Metal Design (he is also responsible for the media room's fireplace surround). Rounding out the kitchen decor is a contemporary 85-bulb light fixture by Rody Graumans and a set of Ikea barstools.

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Designer's Dogpatch house - great bones