apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

That rug looks awful in the kitchen. The one in the den with that creepy china coffe table/pot looks terrible too. Not to impressed with the place.

Those rugs are beautiful!!! Let me guess, you wold have matched some color in the wallpaper for the kitchen rug and done just the neutral in the den... outside the box people!!! I love this place... it's not perfect but it gorgeous, it shouldn't be perfect either, that's just boring.

Very cool! My favourite room is definitely the bedroom, though I share your uncertainty about the painted headboard.

I really like this house! I haven't exactly figured out precisely why yet, as it doesn't fit into the categories I tend to go for. Some favorite aspects: unexpected (and well done!) use of Asian rugs, fun vignettes, gorgeous kitchen, thrift store savvy, great use of color and texture, unusual plants, unexpected surprises everywhere. Good job! And good luck with the bathroom ...

I love your idea of using high gloss and matte finish paint in the same color. I have been wondering what to do with my big blank wall in the living room and this has given me some inspiration.

I can see why one would hate it, but I absolutely love the hideous pink bathroom! The tile colours (much like traditional Peach Blossom and Oxblood) provide such an opportunity for Chinese-flavoured drama and kitsch. Just imagine the Asian Drag Queen potential: Black lacquer, Imperial Yellow, cinnabar accessories, gold leaf, jade jars, red tassels! That said, I am rather curious to see what could be done with the alligator print tile sample.
In all, I think what R&R have done with the place looks great. The heirloom antique rug in the kitchen is a gutsy choice. I spill things in my kitchen.

Hi Rebecca! I absolutely love the risks that you've taken with this place. Your creativity shines through your house. Two questions for you, where did you find the green velvet armless chair, and also where did you find the wallpaper for your kitchen backsplash? I also love your collection of art! Take care.

I love every bit of this!

I think this redecoration is really a love it or hate it. It's not my thing (the persian rug, the furniture and all...) but it is definitely a big change.
What puts me off is that I can see "Eclectomanic mix of Kitsch" in here!

WHEN can I move in?! The entire place is gorgeous...with the tiny exception of the bathroom. Kind of dull, and I truly believe a toilette should never serve as an extra decorative surface in the home.

Otherwise, just beautiful! A really nice balance between mod and vintage, clean and textural, designed and lived-in. The kitchen, a huge improvement and very nicely done!

just when I thought your place couldn't get better...! I thought I'd be sad that you re-did the kitchen (I have a thing for old appliances), but it looks amazing. very very well done.

Is that an old mattress spring above the couch? if so. genius.

anyone know where the bedroom ceilling light is from?
So classy...

I think the red rug in the kitchen looks great - hopefully not too hard to clean if food is spilled (which I would definitely do). I think the painted headboard is too fine/fragile looking for the size of the bed and the boldness of the curtains. I don't have a better idea, tho'...

Cool apartment, overall. If I came to visit, I would definitely be impressed.

I love it all with one exception! I too am unsure, no actually I am not crazy about the painted headboard. As for the rug in the kitchen, I also have the same look and it adds so much color and warmth.

I have a few questions:

1. What is the color used in the old kitchen, the apple green shade. I too live in SF, and have a similar kitchen (the old one unfortunately), and it is just white with white tile. And as it is a rental all I can really change is the paint.
2. Is that an old bed spring on the wall? I now have to go dumpster diving to find one!
3. Also, the color of the living room walls, a pale blue. Very nice.

Love you house!

Sorry, one last question, the great red rug in the dining room???

I'm not mad about the bathroom (except for the art, which I LOVE), but overall very, very cool!

I like the idea of the painted headboard, but I think it needs some more visual weight. Maybe if you painted inside the white border a colour similar to the curtains?

thank you for sharing! I have been playing around with different ideas for my backsplash and love your wallpaper...I think that you gave me the courage I need to move forward!

Also....I really think that the entrance to the shower is interesting...I know that you said, "next on the chopping block" but I think it's cool!

I'm with EP---the mattress springs are great art. Reminds me of Katie Holmes' apartment in the movie "Pieces of April." Thanks for sharing your home.

Love it! And really cool art. Is it really a mattress spring above the sofa?

Is that Godzilla in the bathroom? Anyway, I like your place loads. Happy living.

So much fun to look at. Love the idea of the high/low gloss contrast. Please please please tell me the color of the kitchen walls!

Eleno_Mome, the bedroom light looks like a Nut pendant:

http://2modern.com/designer/Luzifer-LZF/Luzifer-LZF-Nut-Pendant-Lamp

I love the creativity that went into making this space their home! Well done!

I really love the bedroom! And well, of course the kitchen! That kitchen is love. :)

Rebecca and Roger,
I am a location scout in the Bay Area. I work for several magazines including kitchen makeovers and DIY magazine as well as other decorating mags....finding stories for them. I love what you have done with your apartment, and I would be interested in submitting it to a few editors to see if they have any interest publishing it. Might you be interested in having me submit? If so, please feel free to email me at: albaworks@gmail.com
Thanks!
Sarah Alba

WALLPAPER - is from Cole & Son. It's available through Lee Jofa to designers but you might want to try searching elsewhere on the internet for it. Here is the link on the LJ website:
http://www.leejofa.com/search/fabdetail.asp?Code=LJF&roy=CAS-Cole %26 Son&Price=All&Page=27&pat=F66/1005&clr=CS

WALLPAPER LINK - http://tinyurl.com/5qkmop

Love the kitchen. You and I are faucet twins!

Love, love, love that kitchen. And the carpet in there looks awesome.

I liked the kitchen before. dark kitchens seem so drab to me.

i looove this. i love the kitchen. so many great ideas. the new layout really utilizes the space and makes a tiny kitchen seem so luxurious. and i love the bedroom. i love the painted bedframe and all the colors and textures. and i love the little porch. is that too many things to love?

Can anyone tell me exactly which Benjamin Moore paint was used in the kitchen? I think it would be perfect for my living room.

Thanks!

Wonderful! Am absolutely in favor of Amed Studio's ideas for the bathroom- with the addition of a madly "Flower Drum Song" bead curtain shielding the shower stall!

Really love your inspired curatorial gambit- "A/A for C/C"- on that art-historical timeline right next to "What Missionaries Brought Home as Souvenirs"....

nicely done! Rebecca or Roger - could you tell me where your white duvet is from? love it!

That original bathroom tile is great. I don't think you should destroy it. Or if you do, save it and sell it to a salvage place (if that's possible) for someone who would enjoy it.

Just one question. How long has the rug in the kitchen been there?

needleinthehay: thanks! :-)

your home is great, i would have taken your old kitchen in a heartbeat but that layout is much improved!

As much as i love me some vintage look... that pink and burgundy is pretty rough... i just don't know how you'd work around it.
Can't wait to see the after.

Overall, I love the decor but please remove that gorgeous antique rug from the Kitchen! That's insanity! I can't imagine how awful it would be if that beautiful rug got covered in food stains.

I love the rug in the kitchen! I've actually been looking for a similar one (only a runner because my kitchen is galley style), but my husband thinks I'm mad... this is the first time I've seen someone else have a similar rug in their kitchen. Thanks for providing a photo to inspire him!

Hi rebecca!

loooove the changes; as always, an amazingly inspiring and creative landscape captured within the walls of your living space. congrats!

-j

Thank you all for the comments! Yes, our house is definitely quirky, with an iconoclastic tongue firmly placed in cheek at all times (not for everyone). Seems the perpetual life-long performance piece (Live it, breathe it, clean it, trash it, purge it. Scramble up. Start again.)

The A/A for C/C collection (hah. love the abbrev. Acer) was really quite inadvertent, like the chair orphanage, not meant as a design theme. One day I took inventory and they just made this.... collective organism. I am a scavenger at heart and think the common thread is that I love the history and psychology of objects (who and what defines them). The objects can be downright unaesthetic sometimes, but always a wonderment (and really that's their charm). I'll be the first to admit that design can be a rather brittle and soulless pursuit if things are perfectly finished and too matchy-matchy (the 3-color palette being a novice offender). Humor and personal perspective shape vitality in a space. blah blah blah.....

**********
SO...ANSWERS TO SOME QUESTIONS:
(some answered by savvy ATers...but here it is in one spot)

RUG IN KITCHEN: It's actually safer there than in the living and dining room...where we do the entertaining-spilling. 9 months, 3 drops of coffee.

RUG IN DINING ROOM: Not recommending it, as it has shed several small families of Irish wolf hounds worth of hair. My miele vacuum is indignant. Dinner parties create spills. This is why there is a cheap colorfully patterned (stain hiding) rug in this room.

MATTRESS: Yes, that decorative element was found shortly after we moved in, in a neighbor's (one man's....)trash pile(treasure). It casts the most amazing fluttering (when touched) butterfly wing shadows.

LIGHT IN BDRM: Luzifer Nut Pendant

WALLPAPER IN KITCHEN: Cole&Son Malabar. Yes, got it at Lee Jofa.

DUVET: overstock.com

LIVING ROOM: Ben Moore Lily White
DINING ROOM: BM Smoked Oyster | Light Pewter
KITCHEN (new): BM Healing Aloe
KITCHEN (old): BM Split Pea
BEDROOM: ICI paint Dovetail | 3/4 formula Desert Castle.

funny run-in re: the mattress....was recently reading my MoCA ART is LIFE book on Allan Kaprow (fluxist artist. love him.)....and the inside cover has a photo of him in his house, also with a mattress on his wall. Like minds? (....magari.)

*Love* this! As a huge vintage fan, I love how you combined both new/modern with vintage finds. Quirky and filled with personality, there is something interesting to look at in every room. This is something I strive for in my house, and although I'll never be satisfied, the process is so much fun! Bravo!

I have to say I loved the look of the old kitchen, and my heart actually sank when I saw the renovation, but that's just me. The rest is fantastically tasteful and original, imo. But I gather you're going to redo the bathroom too?

I'll just sit here and weep quietly for the vingtage tiles....

Erm, "vintage".

It was sad to see the ironing board niche and old stove leave (but it wasn't working so well). But those were really the only things charming about the old kitchen. The original architecture (cum eat-in banquette) had already been gutted. A friend who restores old stoves (and houses) took the stove, and the niche went to a new coffee shop owner on Mission Street. So they are in good hands.

In the bathroom, the tiles and accessories we will likely try and salvage and find a home for. Too many bad patch jobs, hokey trim, and badly functioning diy fixtures/lights to not overhaul. I've seen some really well-maintained 40's bathrooms worth keeping, but this just doesn't happen to be one of them.

Where is that croc tile from? I

Wow, very cool! Very full of personality and whimsy. Can't wait to see what you do to the bathroom.

Very, very pretty. I love the curio cabinet in the dining room. I've been looking for something like that forever. Also, I don't know if I'm crazy about the *idea* of the rug in the kitchen (maybe because my dog loves to take food out of her bowl and drop it on the kitchen floor before eating), but I must say it looks fabulous.

is the "headboard" above the bed simply painted, or is it a decal? i would love to do something similar!

The place looks great and I love the new kitchen and overall colors used. What really tripped me out was the bathroom. I have like the same exact tile in my bathroom. I was just going to post some of my bathroom on here too because I did a little update with it (except for the tile). I just moved into a ranch home in southern CA that's 1000 square feet built in 1957. The tiles looks just the same down to the border used, our layouts are a little different but I thought it was really cool to see another one like mine. They must have been popular then because I just saw another bathroom with the same tile on Designed to Sell on HGTV last night.

LOOSE END ANSWERS:

sorry art_brutale...missed your question in the fray.
Velvet chair was found in an antique store in Memphis Tennessee in 1997 while on a road trip from SF to Georgia. It came by train, mummified with a cardboard sign attached, "Chair a la Christo". heehe.

SarahinATX
croc tiles.... Brown one (was for color ref. only, is real leather) from Ann Sacks.
The Black and White ones (top of pic) are porcelain Matouche sold through Walker Zanger.

emyduck
I blew up and printed out an image of an antique frame found online and transfered it with carbon paper onto the wall. An easier option can be found at Esther's link: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/painting-fixing-repair/esthers-craft-closet-before-and-after-058079#comments

I love the artwork in this home. There's something about original paintings ( instead of posters and prints) that add a sense of depth to the walls.

I love the kitchen countertop - what material is it?

Wonderful and inspiring to look at.

LOVE the idea of one color, but different patterns using different glass paints - brilliant!

And did I really read that there is glass over the wallpaper on the backsplash???? If so can I ask how you mounted the glass? Or did I miss read.

Enjoy redoing the bathroom! As I write this my hubby is laying all the new floor tile in our bathroom remodel, ah the joy!! And I get to grout the millions of 1x1 tiles! Fun!

smallhousebiglife,
Would love any caveats or advice you have from your bathroom re-mod. Post pics!

Looking forward to seeing the bathroom remodel. though I love the before pictures. Yes, the history and psychology of objects, of course, you are an artist. Shameless self promotion for my spouse: another alligator tile from Ann Sacks, check out the Andy Fleishman concrete tiles.

Kate,
Your hubby is Andy Fleishman?? I love his stuff.

Hi! Could you please contact me, I am interested to write a feature to a magazine about your apartment!

Best regards: Annika anvai@hotmail.com

luxe, whimsical and high quality. Attention to details set this place apart to look to for inspiration! LOVE IT!