Name: Katy, Yannis, Rob, Brett, Laurel
Location: San Francisco
Size: 2000 sq. ft.
Favorite Element: The living room with the sun pouring in at 4 in the afternoon -- a perfect place for a nap. (Katy's)
>>Enter Slideshow
Twenty years ago, Phaedra, a ballet dancer with the Oakland and Sacramento Ballet companies, inherited a rent-stabilized apartment from her father. Phaedra just moved out, but for the past two decades, this home has thrived as a communal household and a refuge for dancers in or passing through the Bay Area. Located in the Mission District, the flat has seen close to a hundred wonderfully talented dancers enter its rooms, some staying for years, others for a few days.
>>Enter Slideshow
Here, we have 5 artistic souls -- Katy the filmmaker, Screen 360 festival director and former dancer, Yannis, the choreographer and director of a Kunst-Stoff dance company, Brett, a ballet dancer and son of two interior designers, Laurel, also a ballet dancer, and Rob the director of ODC theater and professional clarinetist -- involved in/competing for the design decision-making process in almost 2000 square feet of combined space.
The challenge of course, is achieving a unifying style amidst all these different voices.
They try to be democratic. Each time someone wants to initiate a major interior intervention, everyone is asked for his or her buy-in. Sometimes it works out just as planned, and other times, as in the case of the yellow paint in the hallway -- there are minor communication infractions. Paint colors are chosen to match natural elements such as the color of the bathwater as it fills the home's clawfoot tub.
Like many such flats in San Francisco, a loooong hallway cuts through the entire length, with small rooms off to each side. As a result, the unveiling is more of a seek-and-you-shall find exercise as opposed to the slap-you-in-the-face-as-soon-as-you-walk-in-the-door quality of the loft-style apartments so popular today. There are bedrooms, guest rooms, a library/office, a living room/dining room, and a soon to be exercise room. The cumulative impact is one full of surprises, self-expression, and serenity.
(Thanks, Katy, Yannis, Rob, Brett, and Laurel!)
>>Enter Slideshow
(Edited from a post originally published by Jill on AT:NY on 06.07.06)
So, is it still rent-stabilized? How does that work, if the original occupant died?
view Palmetto's profile
It looks like Rob's attic may be haunted...!
view JennAnn's profile
Sorry - posted too soon.
Re: haunted attic - see photo #31.
(Comment ment for the sake of conversation and with hope that it doesn't freak you out. You have a lovely home:)
view JennAnn's profile
There are too many heads deciding the decor of this flat. There's no flow, it's all over the place... Why is there an outdoor patio table in the living room?? With so many heads in this, you would think someone would at least put a shade over that bare bulb in the hallway ( A big no, no). Then there's the power cords showing all over the place, hide them, get them out of the way.... Sorry Katy.. there's Ikea stuff all over the house.. someone shops there, buy a duvet cover that will fit over your bed and also get a bigger bedside table that has a drawer, so you can put away all those remotes coming out of the side of the bed and those books in the corner what's up with that mess? I won't even get started with that upstairs/top floor room... And please bathwater has no color until after washing, if it does before.. call your landlord and get your pipes fixed. I hope you will take this as a positive critique... It does not take a lot of money to have a nice looking home, you can even work it with what you have. This site gives you lots of design help, seeing how others style their home... and their thoughts behind it.... you learn from it. Hopefully down the line you will give us/post some after shots. Good design is easy to have...
view set's profile
Oh really.....I love this home EXACTLY the way it is! It exudes the warmth and soul so lacking in "perfect" schemes. You can the the hand of creativity, warmth, and love in each corner of this home.THIS is what good design is about. NOT following a list of dictatorial "rules". "Too many heads" is exactly why and how this space works....This home has stuck in my mind since the first time it was posted.
Don't
Change
A
Thing!
view hdtex's profile
IKEA sells a stainless top toilet seat which would look a lot better than that woodgrain thing.
Otherwise, this apartment rules!
view CincinnatiKid's profile
Hey Set -- calm down. Being an actress and former dancer myself, I know that artists don't have a lot of money and you spend most of your artistic energy on the stage and in the studio -- not on your home.
That being said, I think this place is vibrant and beautiful -- especially on artists salaries (or I should say incomes). It is tasteful and clean -- what more could you need when you have such fulfilling lives outside of the home.
view krigone's profile
I never even noticed the cords and bare bulb. I think this is very homey and inviting.
view jooly's profile
Love the place. Can you tell me what the darker blue paint is called.
view wooks's profile
hello krigone----This has nothing to do with money.. it's does not take any cash to put a shade over that bare bulb in the hallway. Getting a duvet that fits your bed. Hiding cords that are showing... putting a patio table were it belongs.. outside. These are all very simple things to do. It's a lame excuse to say that because your an artist your willing to live in a jumble mess, you only care about the stage... get real!
Having an eclectic home is fine, but there's still a right way to do it. It's your home, a place that you always come back to, to rest your head, to entertain your friends, a place that you should care about.. and show that you care. You can learn a lot from this site. Life is not all pretty roses, if your willing to post your home for the world to see on the web... you need to expect comments like mine.
view set's profile
I wonder what Brett's interior designer parents say when they come over...
view Cynthia in SF's profile
Set -- I respect your point of view.
I know that the world is not all roses. I have had plenty of violence, and tragedy in my own life -- I just happen to think this is apartment isn't as "bad" as you do.
Let's agree to disagree.
Thanks.
view krigone's profile