apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow, great taste. Love the viking mobile!

Please, please, can I move in? I love everything about it, and working from home myself I agree that it's (at least for some) essential to have separated areas for work and play. I don't have two desks, but I only use my desktop computer for work and then my laptop, on the sofa, for non-work activities.

This place is wonderful. I love the chaise and the window seat area. Such a warm cozy spot to drink tea and read magazines. Well done.

VERY nice. This apartment has a lovely feel to it.
If Frances dislikes having the bed in the living area so much, how about investing in a Murphy bed?? Old ones are easy enough to find. Investing in a new mattress (and perhaps even some having springs resprung) would be wise but also a good investment as the Murphy bed could be brought along as a guest bed to next living quarters .

I love this! Can you tell me what color paints you used? Especially the chocolate brown?

Love it. Eclectic without looking like a garage sale, tidy without looking like no one lives here, stylish without looking too serious or too trendy. I love the idea of a mini-garden outside of the bathroom... any specific plans? In any case, good luck, I'm sure it will be wonderful.

Hi, great place.... it has given me a lot of inspiration....

- your doll head gave me the idea of putting one just like that in my husband's closet (he has a porcelain doll phobia-the eyes you know?)
- the lighting is wonderful
- love the tierred bookcase (no place can have too many bookcases imho), love the window seat
- I like that you have used the closet for an office (I have eyeing our closet for the same purpose) and I have a harvest table I have been thinking of painting white and after seeing your table I might do it now....
- I like the pen holders! I am a sucker for office supplies...
- I like the idea of using the pet basket for albums (I am pissed now that I just got rid of our pet basket in a garage sale--was using for wood at one point but now we have gas)
- like the green paint colour and also like your blue office chair...

Great place!

Very cute and cozy. It's hard to believe this place is only 450 sq. ft.! You managed to fit in so much without it seeming crowded.

*drool*

I Love this place, there are so many wonderful things; both in the house itself (windows, lightwell...) and in the interior (office, art...).

Only thing I'd change if I lived there is to turn the walk-in closet-turned-office into the sleeping area. Since I don't foresee a relationship in my immediate future, it would perfectly fit a bed for just one person. And leave wallspace for some shelves or cabinets for clothes.

Nice use of the space and looks real comfortable and warm.

Lovely!
But I see no place for clothes, really... Where do you keep them all?

I can only hope someday to have a home this lovely.

I've been looking at houses a lot lately on realty sites...your house is a HUGE inspiration! We want a large house eventually, but that's just not going to happen right now (as much as we wish it could) so this small place really helps to put things into perspective.

The other thing I noticed right away was your beautiful bay window! A lot of the homes I've seen during my house hunt have them and I'm having a hard time seeing past them for some reason...but this definitely turned my thoughts around!

PS I *love* that lamp near the bay window!

Thank you for sharing your lovely home. :)

The way you've kept your bedroom and entertaining space so light and airy and saturated your closet with colors that work so well together is fabulous. I'm very impressed with how you've maximized your space without sacrificing style.

Great Job!
Especially LOVE the little Kiri wood box for your earrings!
Were nuts for Kiri wood! If only we could wear it... hmm.

Does anyone else have a problem with the house tours messing up your computer? I'm on a Mac, using Safari, and everytime I click on a slideshow on here it makes my browser freeze up and then shut down. It's been happening for the last year or so, every single house tour that I've tried to look at. The house tours are one of my favorite things on AT so I'm pretty sad about it. I'm not very computer-savvy, so if anyone has any advice please let me know.

love this! does anyone recognize the Etsy artist shown in slide 25??

Looks like a nice use of space, I wish you would've included a floorplan.

Beautiful home, cool stuff and it's so nice to see a the homeowner in the post!

Love the TVontheRadio poster.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hi4dVtqw1Y

Lovely. You have the perfect home office, AND a charming home.

Beautiful. Great taste. I love everything about this place. Looks so much larger than 450sq. ft. Please share info on the Etsy artist from slide 25 & shade of the chocolate brown Benjamin Moore paint.

Awesome tour. Thanks for sharing.

Anna I have a Mac and safari works fine.

How do I love thee and I counted more than my usual amount of pictures that I love on these tours. Way too many things for my style but like whytephoenix said its well done without looking like a garage sale.
Frances you are a great merchandizer really you would be great at this.

I love the vanity shot with those black and white drawings..and how can a home office look so neat? I struggle I struggle. We live in the same city and you are brave to sleep with a shelf and leaning art above your head..but I love the bedroom and the living room is great.

My front room (home office) is very similar to your front living room except I wish I had the low window seat like you do instead of the high one which is such a waste of space for me, you get additional seating I get a ledge for nic nacs.


Thanks for sharing, love this tour.

AnnaPDX, yes same problem! I thought it was just me! I've taken to emailing the ones that look good to myself at work so I can check them out on my break.

I met your bedroom not living room window seat, sorry ^^

Anna, download Firefox 3 instead. It's a much better browser.

I'd love to see this again WITHOUT the Bloomies ad background!!!

Frances can you tell me where you got the wood cubes you use a bookcase. I would love to know, seen similar ones in those naked furniture pine stores in the city, but they seem costly. I would love some to display my succulants on. Thanks

Thank you guys for the lovely comments. Opening up one's home is pretty personal and I appreciate all the positive feedback. 1st off, Phillip's photo taking skills and wide-angle lens definitely make my space appear bigger than it is and do it a lot of justice. I''ll try to touch upon all that was asked, but forgive me if I don't answer everything. Let's see, I have clothes in the entry closet and behind the tree curtain in the office area. The color of the eating area is Pratt and Lambert's Deep Taupe, which is the closest I could find to that perfect brown with a violet undertone that you see in so many coffee houses. Unfortunately, I have no record of the artist who did the piece in slide 25, but I loved it so much that I bought 2 of them and gave one to a friend. The wood boxes I use as a bookcase are discarded wine crates meant for the trash which I've re purposed. The 'garden' out back is really a collection of potted plants that I've placed in my lightwell on tables and shelves. Oh, as as far as neatness goes - I merely cleaned up before the photo shoot - you should see my office now ;-) Thanks for letting me share.

I love the turquoise office, the Nancy Drew Mysteries lunch box, and all the windows and light.

gorgeous!

Jean, YES. I'm hating the blooming Bloomie ads. Horrible visual clutter ruins the appeal of all the slide shows.

This is a great space--The bed is very simple and inviting. Love the spread, the lack shelve with the lights (do they work well for reading)? I wonder--how did you choose your art? What's the connection with Kime?

The quintessential SF apartment. Crazy for the colors, the hanging pen holders (where you get? eh?) and the serene, but fun, sense of balance. Oh, and the tiles from my fave corner market at 26th & Guerrero! Those too.

Love love love your place. My favorite is the way the Night of the Living Dead poster is placed to reflect in the bathroom mirror. Perfect. Also, where did you get your bulletin board?

wonderful space! can you share the paint colour you've used in your main space - kinda looks like BM silver half dollar?

Your place is beautiful. Love the beaded curtain, the light, and the organic feel of your home.

You have a great taste! I love the eclectic style of your place and the colors that you used are amazing.

The blue chair is awsome! I especially loved the office, and the Death Cab artwork.
Really really nice place!

I've tried opening the House Tours in both IE and Firefox and while the browsers don't crash, the images load ultra slowly, if at all. They usually freeze up halfway through.

super cool & cozy space, nice photographs and excellent taste in art & music. and she's awfully cute too.

Wow! Thanks for saying such awesome things. There must be friends in the midst. I'll attempt to answer more questions if I can. Kime is an artist friend from LA who gave me a beautiful parting gift when I left there. The majority of the other art was given to me by friends. The ceramic colored pencil holders are from IKEA. The metal bulletin board is from the Container Store. The paint colors in my main space are a combination of BM Gray Owl and Gray Mist. Oh, and those tiles are awesome. The design is based on Indian Carpets from what I understand. I love that you (thepictures) noticed the Night of the Living Dead poster in the mirror! Thanks y'all ;-)

Really lovely apartment. Where did you get the tree curtain?

I LOVE the house, but I can I second the removal of the Bloomingdale's ad?

The colors really work together. It's obvious you had a specific palette in mind and stuck with it. I know it's a rental, but if you plan on staying for a while, you might want to splurge on a Murphy bed and open up the living space. My beef with studios is the bedroom-in-the-living area thing.

One quibble: is there a way to arrange the office so the shelves aren't blocking the window? Would it be too distracting to put your desk in front or perpendicular to the window.

Definitely my favorite. It looks finished without looking like a showroom. Awesome design a completely homey/comfortable feel.

Where is the owl picture from? I love that!!

Everything an AT house tour should be. Love it.

I really enjoy seeing other home spaces in San Francisco and seeing how others have worked with/around the unique architectural features found often in the area. This tour was fantastic because Frances' home makes great use of the limited space, doesn't feel cluttered, and presents a different (and good) layout of the typical SF studio that has office/walk-in closet/bay windows. Really great apartment. :)

I must know... where was the "Etsy Find" painting found?

Anyone?

Still looking for the Etsy artwork... Maybe the artist is listed in your "Purchases" history?

i LOVE your apartment! gives me hope for my own :) when did you purchase the pencil holders from ikea? they look like hanging bird's nests! lovely...

So now that I think about it, I found the owl piece on Little Paper Planes around 3 years ago. I just looked through all of the artwork on the current site and that one appears to be long gone. I also looked on the actual piece to find a name, but I must have sliced it off to get it in the frame. Sorry I couldn't offer more help.
Oh, and I found the pencil holders at IKEA around 6 months ago in the kitchen section. The tree curtain is from Urban Outfitters.

Thanks for letting me know where the tree curtain is from - it isn't on the Urban Outfitters website. And of course I desperately want it! How long ago did you buy it?

It's actually a cloth shower curtain and I bought it probably 4 months ago...

Thanks again for the information on the curtain. I did end up finding it on Urban Outfitters site - sort of accidentally! I really love it.

Love love love love love!

i keep coming back to this one.
it's one of my favorites.

Beautiful Space! I love the sitting room, so relaxed and airy! the yellow with the neutrals is great!

Design Momma
www.designmomma.blogspot.com

I have seen these photos before... ?

I love and adore this space, but man...I really, really wish you had put up a floorplan, Frances! Mine is 375 square feet and looks pretty similar to yours; I would LOVE to see how you managed the space from a bird's eye view.

wow, those windows are amazing. This proves that square footage does not = better apartment. Everything looks so inviting and open! I love it. One of my all time faves.

this is my favorite apartment i've seen on this site, and i've seen lots. i just love it, the nooks, the crannies, the old windows right up against the floor.

I just love your space especially your office area and your DR table..........details please on the area above the monitor

what is the information on the "city girl cain't have no dog" piece? i love it!

Great Place! And I should know - I am 99% sure that's the building I lived in 10 years ago in SF! The window seat and the huge walk-in closet - and the view across the street - are pretty unique. You've done a better job than I ever did decorating it though! Somedays I still miss that place - it was the best apartment ever! Thanks for sharing!

I absolutely love your place! The light, the colors, the art, the overall feel. I can imagine it being a wonderful haven.

Awesome job maximizing a small space - bravo!

Love the sitting area near the bay windows. Was that there when you moved in or did you make it?

My name is Frances too and I LOVE your apartment. It's definitely my favorite on apartmenttherapy so far! Your plants are wonderful, also!

I know it's been forever, but, where did you get the owl print?