In the Cedar Book project of the week, we look at San Francisco’s award-winning Flower House

Photos: Darren Bradley

“A mash-up of a grandfather clock and a birdhouse.” That’s how award-winning architect Craig Steely describes his Flower House project in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood — and as the photos suggest, it looks better than it sounds.

Once a corner grocery store, then an artist’s studio, the building came with quirks — and history. Perched on a winding hillside shaped by old goat trails, it’s part of a neighborhood that evolved out of post-1906 earthquake shacks. Most architects might have started fresh, but Steely saw something worth saving.

“We could have demolished the existing building and built something new, but the odd form fit so well into the neighborhood fabric,” he says. “So instead, we embraced adapting and reusing the architecture rather than demolishing, celebrating the building’s history and location. Our reimagining of the building doesn’t obliterate the past, but it isn’t subservient to it either.”

Another way he minimized the project’s footprint was through material choice — namely, Western Red Cedar. Sustainably harvested, biodegradable, and naturally durable, it’s one of the most environmentally friendly materials available. In fact it actively fights climate change by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. But in this case, it also served a more imaginative role.

At the center of the home’s open plan is its most distinctive feature: a freestanding, flower-shaped cedar tower. It’s both sculpture and structure — an organizational anchor that defines rooms without enclosing them. Wrapped in clear cedar, the tower demarcates space while allowing the interior to remain open and flowing.

Cedar’s natural flexibility and workability made the playful geometry of the tower possible. It’s a material that doesn’t just perform — it invites invention. “Creative solutions for living” was the clients’ ask, and cedar helped deliver that — not just as cladding, but as form, structure, and spatial experience.

Outside, a beautiful knotty grade of custom-cut cedar forms a stained rainscreen across both the walls and roof. Steely finished the boards in a soft whitewash, allowing the wood grain to show through. By mixing grades and finishes, the cedar — along with Steely’s sculptural eye — transformed this former corner store into something quietly radical.

Real Cedar Specifications 

GRADE – Interior: ‘C’ and Better Clear, Exterior: KD Select Knotty

SIZE – Interior: 1×6 T&G, Exterior: Custom width

FASTENING – Interior: Finish nails, Exterior: Rainscreen

APPLIED FINISH – Sansin

WESTERN CEDAR SUPPLIER – Beronio Lumber

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Download the digital edition or order a free hard copy of Cedar Book XVIII to explore the latest in contemporary wood design.