Text by Francoise O’Neill • Styling by Pamela Fritz • Photography by Matthew Millman

On the outside, Fred and Wendy Testu’s house looks just like the other Victorian dwellings strung along the winding road of their San Francisco neighborhood. But that’s where the similarity ends.
The interior is distinguished by the couple’s witty interpretation and functional reuse of “reincarnated rubbish,” as they call it. “I grew up in the Normandy region of France, where my mother took my sister and me antiques hunting every weekend,” Fred says. “That’s how I developed a taste for architectural salvage and rescued relics, and a love of decorating with reclaimed, recycled things.”
Fred and Wendy met 14 years ago while working in the clothing design industry. It was love at first sight, a feeling that deepened as they discovered how much they had in common. “Both of us are interested in design: Wendy is a gifted sculptor and I have a passion for photography.” Following their marriage in France, the newlyweds moved into a comfortable rental. “When Lolita was born, we bought our nest.”

(a) An artful collage of personal correspondence, family photos, and old French hotel room numbers heralds the Testus’ talents. (b) Fred, Wendy, and 5-year-old daughter Lolita.

(c) Mismatched garden chairs give the dining room a sassy spunk that more traditional furnishings can’t provide. An antique monogrammed sheet doubles as a tablecloth. A bookcase shelters flea market finds and sentimental mementos.

(d) The living room’s simplicity focuses attention on sculptural stone and iron furnishings. (e) Topped with new glass, a bistro table becomes a staging area for seasonal displays. (f) A French bed and a battered industrial stool unite with a well-worn leather armchair and a spectacular garden Madonna. Slung over basic iron rods, light-filtering cheesecloth adds drama.

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