Hurray! Yesterday's Chron featured an article on a small space! We're so excited that we included a second photo below the jump. (You're wondering about other articles? Nope, that was pretty much it.)
Art decorum: Architect turns rundown hotel into showplace and a tiny studio condo into a suite of 'rooms': Dave Weinstein writes about Pat Carney's 500-square foot Lower Nob Hill condo. What was a studio now has seven rooms. (Pat, if you're reading, we'd love a house tour.)
Great job renovating, and it must have taken alot of courage/conviction to deal with the angry HOA members without any vision. I wasn't expecting the article to cover the beautiful Hamilton Building on O'Farrell after the description "rundown hotel". A little harsh, no?
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I live in the Hamilton and feel a bit of "inside the building" perspective maybe helpful to the AT community. I do not like to write negative comments about a person and I hope all of you do not take these comments poorly. When you live in a place that is profiled and see a one-sided article you feel obligated to respond.
The lobby renovation looks really good and helps to sell the building to people not interested in living on the edge of a difficult neighborhood. I really like the building and there is a great bunch of people living there.
(I think the article is inaccurate as the lobby renovation was completed before I started looking at this building in 2000. This shows me that the reported did not do his homework)
I do not think Pat would be a great person to show case on AT. This is how he operated: He comes up with a plan for changing something in the building and then talks to one person about it. If the person is not receptive to Pat's idea of "deco-izing" the space, Pat will ignore that person and move on to another person. This will keep occurring until he finds people who agree with him. If you do not agree with him, he badmouths you to others....
There are many other great people in the Hamilton that have renovated their space and might be better candidates for a home tour.
Anyways, Pat worked hard to create his "vision" of an art deco hotel. All the renovations are interpretations and mostly not historically accurate. For example the chandeliers he designed are very loosely based on the original lobby lights, but his design is more gothic than art deco. Based on all the work Pat has done that is not historically accurate this building will never qualify for any historic registry.
Recently Pat has decided black and white tile represents art deco to him and puts this pattern everywhere. Did the non-historical almost non-functional laundry room really need black and white tile? (deco-izing occurs again!) The building is been turned into a Disney art deco reject.
The article did not go deep into the funding of the numerous renovations. This is an old building that needs some maintenance. Pat controls the HOA board and has pushed through his aesthetic upgrades while the building's waterproofing was leaking and some unit have poor ventilation or occasionally no hot water. Some of these issues are now being fixed because the residents became vocal.
The building needs maintenance and money is tight. Many of the residents are retired or first time homebuyers with tight budgets. Pat does not consider these people when proposing his deco-izing projects. He expects everyone to pay for "his projects" and not criticize any of these projects. The building is turning into an art deco mausoleum under his direction.
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