Name: Jessica
Location: Mission District, San Francisco
Size: 1 br / 1 bath with living and dining rooms converted to bedrooms, about 900 square feet
Years lived in: 1/2
Since relocating from Austin to San Francisco, Jessica has been through a few different iterations of homes. Starting in a 200 square foot studio, graduating up to anattic space with low ceilings, and then sharing a single room in an apartment with a roommate, Jessica has finally moved into a large apartment space with a room of her own.
Since relocating, Jessica has been managing in very small spaces, with uncertainty as to the next place she'd be calling home. Moving into the first larger space in a while, she has found herself in need of larger scale furniture, and more permanent arrangement of her belongings. She's on her way, with more work to be done, and has been enjoying stretching her arms and legs in a full scale bedroom!
AT Survey:
My style: Eclectic mix of vintage, scavenged, modern, and sentimental.
Inspiration: I am greatly inspired by the space I'm in. Since I've never owned, and have had to work within the constraints of smaller spaces, and spaces with a ton of character (that often can't be changed) I respond to the places that I've lived. I am also inspired by a few friends that have a great deal of style, and my favorite blogs, magazines, and furniture stores.
Favorite Element: My favorite element of my current space is the size of the bedroom. I have been in the situation where I have to keep all of my belongings in a single space, but now I am working towards making my bedroom my own space.
Biggest Challenge: Since I have been living in small spaces that require a lot of creativity, most of my things are stored in small modular containers. I don't really have any large scale furniture. Because of this, I am battling with the cluttery look of lots of small things in a large space. This will take me a bit of time to adjust, as I need to add some large scale furniture and storage options to my room. In the meantime, I'm constantly mushing things around to find some sort of balance.
What Friends Say: My friends tend to say that they think my room really reminds them of me--which I love. I would love to have a bit of a cleaner, more minimal looks, but ultimately I want my home to reflect who I am.
Biggest Embarrassment: The clutter. Even though the things that I have are things that I use for art projects, and I feel like are interesting to look at, I need more places to put things away. I'm working on it, but I am have to add some furniture purchases, which take a little time to find (and budget for!)
Proudest DIY: I love my white Queen Anne chair that I repainted and made a new seat for.
Biggest Indulgence: Recently, my Eames plastic molded chair with the eiffel base. I absolutely adore it, and it's super comfortable!
Best advice: Do what you love. No matter the style or trend that is current, if you surround yourself with things that are important to you, you'll be happy.
Dream source: Mercury Design Studio in Austin, Room & Board, estate sales
Resources:
So many of my belongings are from thrift stores, craigslist, or the side of the road!
The white Queen Anne chair in the kitchen was found on the side of the street, as was the female mannequin. The green desk (which will be refinished soon!) was a Craigslist find, as was the small green dresser. The tall bookshelf is the Billy bookcase and the bed is the Malm bed, both from Ikea. The dining table is my roommate's, and is from Craigslist. The vintage record player was purchased on Ebay. The rug in the kitchen is from Target.
(Thanks, Jessica!)
Images: Jessica Tata
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Nomade Express Slee...
My Staple Summer Cocktail Recipe: Campari & IPA Spritzer
Easy Pickle Recipe: Cucumber Kimchi Bites
Fun to see the transitions.
Looks like your new place has great period details: moldings, wainscoting, etc. Nice use of color. And I love all the vintage stuff..
I would have appreciated more long shots and less vignettes, to really get a sense of the space. Also, I find it kind of weird that you posted about yourself in the 3rd person. Or am I wrong? Please don't fall prey to the AT "royal we" epidemic :)
Overall, nice job! And your dog looks like he's gotten bigger.
Love those blue walls with the white wainscotting, yellow kitchen table, and rug. Unexpected and cheery.
Love the light blue color and spotted one of my fave Nikki McClure's Congregate:) I like vignettes as much as other types of shots. Inspiration is inspiration:) Mostly just tired of grouchy people:)
could you tell me what color you used in the kitchen? i love it.
great place
Lovely tour and lovely place, Jessica. I remember your two other tours, so it's really nice to see your style translated into a larger space. I love that your spaces seem so liveable and laid out to suit your purposes, rather than meet some trend - that really comes across.
I love all the splashes of bright colour - the little vignette with the Moleskines and toy cowboys is so cute.
Can I ask you a question - who makes the set of 6 larger coloured notebooks in that photo? I love the colours.
Thanks Jessica, I really like your style :)
Love the use of the hangers to hold up your artwork.
I love the hangers too, and the clipboards. Great place, so homey, cheerful, and oozes character!
Great place! So cozy - it looks like a home I'd like to hang out in.
I was going to say the same as AngelaDee76 and nomadchicky... the pant hangers and clipboards for art (and the little paper clip thing too) is such a great idea. Definitely stealing that ;)
love the yellow stairs. very interesting use of color in a place that is usually not very colorful.
I love your eclectic style and your sense of color!
Nice colors in the kitchen. Looks comfy!
There are so many elements of this place that my home shares, the mannequins, typewriters, polaroids - I even have a ton of the same books, laid out in the same way. It's weird! I obviously love it :)
I love your HOME cup speller! I bought two of those initial cups for my hubby & me & then our best friends & duplex co-owners got their two too! Now for my wedding anniversary I'm going to paint & bake two thrift store cups in the same style with black silhouettes of my husband & I - one on each cup to expand our cup collection.
Beautiful home Jessica!
Ania
http://www.papercutworks.etsy.com/
I love everything about this...very personal, and clearly reflects your personality. Almost every piece in here I would choose to have in my own space. It helps that I'm a Haruki Murakami fanatic, and also that I have two Nikki McClure prints of my own ("Return" and "Voice"). ;) This has given me inspiration!
i LOVE that yellow table. this is very much my style.
Your paint colors are really nice.
lots of personality and great use of unusual hangers for your artwork. sooo sf!
Totoro in the succulent pot! woo-hoo! love it!
love the flamingo desk lamp!
and the general feel of the kitchen. very nice start at living in your own place!
love the way you hang your art, too!
Best,
-Vic
please contact me. i build and lived in the house on the cover of oct 81 metro homes. i am even in the pic of that back of the house on the balcony. i lost my copy in katrina and would love to have the copy ruckjefferson@hotmail.com
Great vintage vibe. Love the blue wall color in the eating area. Great use of everyday objects to display art, eg; clipboards, string & clothespins, wooden pant hangers. Nice!
not about the apartment --> but, did you steal my dog? just kidding - it is my dog's twin! do you know what kind (s)he is? mine is a basenji/chiuahua (sp?) mix & I never see - rarely see - look-a-likes!