apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Name: Heather, Denis and new pup, Addie
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: About 3000 square feet
Years lived in: 8 months

After living and renting in Portland for 3.5 years and being newly wed to one another, Denis and Heather decided it was time to purchase their very first home together. They proceeded to find an agent who took them all over the city looking for something, but in the end came up with nothing. They decided to take a house-hunting hiatus but soon after came the news that their two friends were packing up and moving back to Denmark.

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Name: Aaron Piland, Ayumi Kajikawa Piland (APAK), Ocho & Peanut
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 950 square feet
Years lived in: 3

Tucked away on the outskirts of Portland you’ll find the cozy home of the artistic duo known as APAK. You might have seen their work here recently on Apartment Therapy. Their 1930s home is warm, inviting, and reflective of the art that this couple creates together.

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Name: Kelly Rae Roberts
Location: Seattle, WA
Size: 1465 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year

There are some homes that truly reflect their owners' personalities. The Seattle home of artist Kelly Rae Roberts is one of those homes. Like the mixed media pieces for which she is known, Kelly's house is colorful and whimsical with lots of feminine details. In just one year, she has made a cozy home, filling it with vintage collections, art and plenty of personal touches.

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Name: Melinda Gorham, David Charles, Karson and Amelie the pooch
Location: Glen Park, San Francisco
Size: Not sure, but it's a good size for San Francisco
Years lived in: Melinda for 5 years, David for a year, rented

Melinda and David invited me into their home for a tryout House Call post. After receiving such a great response, it seemed silly not to take more photographs for a full house tour. Enjoy!

When Melinda moved into her two bedroom Glen Park apartment five years ago, the cream walls and gold fixtures were definite eyesores. Luckily, her amenable landlord gave her free reign to remodel, so the painting, fixture replacing and personalizing began immediately. Now with a new housemate, her fiance David, the home is a loving and colorful collaboration by all members of the household.

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Name: Josh Ganshorn and Jen Zahigian
Location: Oakland, California (near Jack London Square)
Owned/Rented: Owned
Size: 1650 sq. feet
Type: Loft
Years Lived: Owned 5 years, lived in 3+ years (took a couple years to build)

It's been said that finding the right home is a lot like falling in love, Hollywood style: The minute you cross the threshold, you just...know. You inspect every detail, you think about the changes and renovations, you imagine yourself living there. But what happens when you don't find that perfect home? You can keep looking--or take a risk. Josh and Jen did just that when they decided to take an empty 1920s warehouse with concrete floors and turn it into an ideal home for themselves.

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Name: Zero Energy Idea House
Homeowners: Donna and Riley Shirey
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Size: 1630 square feet
Date completed: April, 2009

Meaningful design, sustainability, eco-conscious are all terms we’d like to use when describing our homes. But this is a house that can truly boast such expressions. The Zero Energy Idea House, perched over the shores of Lake Sammamish, is a real house built for a real family who have been dedicated to building sustainable homes for over 22 years.

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Name: Kelly Colchin, Jonathan Skaggs and Marco the cat
Location: The Mission, S.F.
Size: 850 square feet
Years lived in: 5 years rented

Recent newlyweds Kelly and Jonathan moved to San Francisco from Austin six years ago. Their years of cohabitation have solidified their unified sense of decor, and their current home in the Mission District is proof of the stylistic harmony they've achieved.

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(Welcome to Ashley from Portland. She is one of the bloggers trying out for a place on the Apartment Therapy editorial team, covering different cities in the NW. Comments welcome!)

Name: Sara, Oliver and baby Winter
Location: Portland, Oregon. Homestead Neighborhood aka: Pill Hill

Ashley shares a fantastic Portland home with us as part of her tryout. She writes: After purchasing their 1892 bungalow, Sara and Oliver felt the divided rooms did not create the most comfortable living space in their 2000 square foot home....

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(Welcome to Anne from Bellevue. She is one of the bloggers trying out for a place on the Apartment Therapy editorial team, covering different cities in the NW. Comments welcome!)

Name: Anne & Nathan
Location: Bellevue, WA

Anne features her own kitchen as part of her tryout. She writes: Our 1976 tri-level boasts light-filled clerestory windows with views across Lake Washington’s largest freshwater wetlands as well as vaulted ceilings with exposed dark wood beams. But when it came to the interior design, this house reflected none of our design aesthetics. Having lived in San Francisco and Brooklyn...

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Name: Joan Yokom and Johann Fitzgerald
Location: The Mission, San Francisco
Size: 660 square feet
Years lived in: 6 years

Joan Yokom and Johann Fitzgerald have garnered a lot of positive attention for their colorful Mission home. A few of their images have been featured on Apartment Therapy here, but we thought it was about time to get the full story. Chock full of inspirational DIYs and artisan made custom furniture, this Mission Maisonette deserved a full house tour.

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(Welcome to Molly from Portland. She is one of the bloggers trying out for a place on the Apartment Therapy editorial team, covering different cities in the NW. Comments welcome!)

Name: Sarah and Jason
Location: Portland

Molly sent us a House Call post featuring photos of a super creative and hardworking space - Jason and Sarah run The Wurst Gallery out of their home. Molly writes: Sarah and Jason have put a lot of love into restoring their tri-level mid-century home. They’ve pulled up the carpets, renovated the bathroom and opened up the kitchen by knocking...

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(Welcome to Jessica from SF. She is one of the bloggers trying out for a place on the Apartment Therapy editorial team, covering different cities in the NW. Comments welcome!)

Name: Melinda Gorham and David Charles
Location: Glen Park, San Francisco

When Melinda moved into her two bedroom Glen Park apartment five years ago, the cream walls and gold fixtures were definite eyesores. Luckily, her amenable landlord gave her free reign to remodel, so the painting, fixture replacing and personalizing began immediately. Now with a new housemate, her fiance David, the home is...

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Names: Katy and Tighe
Location: Vashon, Washington
Size: 850 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, rented

Back when Katy and Tighe were city dwellers, they lived a semi-country life. They built a greenhouse in a tiny San Francisco backyard, grew their own food, and made plans to raise chickens. Eventually, having moved to Seattle, they decided to try out an actual country life. They found a little cottage on Vashon Island, got an (adorable) dog, and set about making a lovely home among the madronas and pines...

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Name: Edyta Szyszlo and Jared Grellner (with cats Boris and Desher)
Location: Laurel Heights, San Francisco
Size: 650 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 months

Edyta Szyszlo and Jared Grellner just moved in to this charming Laurel Heights apartment, but it's not evident by the looks of it. Edyta, a professional photographer with a knack for design, and Jared, an architect wth a knack for DIY, have focused their carefully trained eyes on their shared space, and have managed to put together a gorgeous home for themselves and their two cats.

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