Townhouse Undergoes Cosmopolitan Conversion
by Lynne Carrier
French doors kneading to a front patio admit light and views of Balboa Park into the living room with its decor in subtle shades of gray and gold.
The buyers spent more than two years searching for just the right home before settling on an elegant San Diego townhouse. It had wonderful bones, with lofty 10-foot-high ceilings and an open concept layout. It even had a private interior elevator. But what really attracted them was the location. It overlooked Balboa Park. The home, especially its spacious second-floor balcony, basked in the borrowed landscape of the park’s greenery.
The bland kitchen was transformed into a visual centerpiece for the main floor. The island is topped with rare Fusion granite. John Christian Photos
Built in 2006, the home was still in good shape when the couple bought it in 2013. Nevertheless, the new owners wanted a makeover reflecting their cosmopolitan style and a design compatible with its parkside setting. After an extensive computer search, the couple, who requested anonymity, found the online portfolio of La Jolla interior designer Kathleen Zbacnik. They liked what they saw and commissioned her company, KZ Design Group, for a top-to-bottom remodeling of the 3,300-square-foot townhouse.
For such a major job, Zbacnik first researched her clients’ preferences before plunging into the project. She couldn’t learn much from their previous residence, because they had been living in a furnished rental unit. “After one or two shopping trips, I got to know their tastes,” Zbacnik said. She took them to Pirch, an appliance store with a 33,000-square-foot showroom, and then to the slab yards of Unique Stone for tiles and granite.
These materials helped transform a previously dull, functional kitchen into the warm, inviting centerpiece of the main floor living area. A single slab of Fusion granite with intricate waves of blue-gray and rust colors was selected for the kitchen island. A complementary rectangle of the same stone was mounted behind the stove. “It is so expressive, so phenomenal,” Zbacnik said. “I would never get tired of looking at it.”
A reproduction of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night over the Rhone” was installed above the tub to brighten up the master bathroom. Water pours in from a wide faucet at the base of the artistic resin panel, giving the impression that it is flowing from the river.
But the most dramatic feature is the reproduction of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night over the Rhone” installed above the jetted tub. Created by Italian artist Alex Turco, its midnight blue provides a bold contrast to the golden tones in the rest of the room. Water pours into the tub – as if it were from the Rhone itself – through a sheet-flow faucet hidden at the bottom the artwork. The Van Gogh panel is made from a glossy resin. “It will withstand heat, cold, water, and you can even use them outside,” Zbacnik said.
The powder room features an irregularly shaped glass sink in gold and rust tones. The sink is infused into a pewter iron base. John Christian Photos
A fabric-covered chandelier from Eurofase shines on the custom-made Macassar ebony dining table from Indonesia. The table has a leaf in order to increase the seating capacity. John Christian Photos
A custom-made bar from furniture designer Theodore Alexander brightens a corner of the media room. The bar has interior lighting, and its exterior is exotic veneer in a high-gloss finish.