Robin Whiteside

Robin's clients tend to find her the old-fashioned way: through other clients. She'll happily talk your ear off about radiant heating, wainscoting, and Judy Garland, but your privacy — whether you're searching, selling, or buying — is never part of her marketing.

Whether you're looking for your dream home, selling one you've loved, or eyeing a fixer and wondering what it could become, Robin brings expertise, humor, and integrity to the table. She'd love to help you find your place in this city.

Robin bought her first Victorian in the Mission District while still in her 20s and became part of a tight-knit group of artists and kooks who helped reimagine the Mission — Bruno's, Foreign Cinema, Coronado Park, even the Doc's Clock neon sign. Robin was never afraid to get her hands dirty.

From gold-leaf gilding on City Hall's dome, to installing Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper in Dolores Heights, to gutting a three-story Victorian down to the studs, to working with David Best on five Temples at Burning Man, Robin knows her stuff.

She has handled the purchase, restoration and sale of homes in the Mission, Bernal, Noe, Alamo Square, Russian Hill, and Old Town Napa, along with a bungalow on four acres on fabled Green Valley Road. Navigating the city's and county's byzantine permit processes — and knowing what can and cannot be done — is a specialty. Robin has the resources.

Before real estate, Robin made her mark in advertising. Through a small design firm, Whiteside-McGraw, she lent her graphic design talents to companies including Levi Strauss, Apple, United Airlines, and FedEx. While designing books for Chronicle Books, she worked closely with legendary San Francisco historian Gladys Hansen, who deepened Robin's love of the city's colorful history and the architectural gems that dot its neighborhoods.

It was only a matter of time before she traded all that for helping wonderful people secure extraordinary homes.