Casa Kress

When Interior Designer and first-time homeowner Kress Jack set out to design her space, she channeled her inner wild child.

Across from an elementary school, on a busy thoroughfare, Casa Kress is both hideout and lookout. Its sunlit stucco walls, curved doorways, and vintage nautical touches create a sanctuary that feels calm amidst the world’s hum.

Before you enter, a gigantic wire rhinoceros head and a custom-built front door with a porthole window give a glimpse at what lies ahead.

Once inside, the Mediterranean-meets-nautical retreat overflows with eclectic goodness: rustic ship ladders repurposed as shelving, a custom bar with exposed pipe, and a generous daybed beneath the window inviting you to linger, morning and night, over coffee, wine, and conversation.

In true Mediterranean style, the walls are milky white—save for a few rooms drenched floor to ceiling in rich, dark green. Happy plants thrive among tactile delights like rope-wrapped banisters and irreverent moments—like a wooden mannequin hand-turned light fixture, unapologetically giving you the finger.

Many elements nod to Kress’s lifelong love of water, from vintage nautical lights sourced in her parents’ town in Maine to the hand-painted ombre life vest scored at SF Fog Fair hung above the fireplace.

In the adjacent ADU, guests from around the world (her grown kids get first dibs when they’re in town) discover a tiny version of the main house’s eclectic, relaxed style.

Kress’s creativity and passion for entertaining have you dancing through each space. Whether it’s the pink string “YUM” art installation above the dining table or paintings by her mom and artist friends—every inch begs you to follow along: one step, two step…cha cha cha.