Summer in the City

Summer in SF this year: weirdly hot. Back east, where AT was born, people flee the city in droves to escape summer heat like this. But we were around this weekend and we saw plenty of folks moving towards the city. The traffic on 101 South heading towards the GG Bridge on Saturday evening was something awful. What was that about?

We bring this up because pet month is almost over here at AT:SF, and next week we'll be moving on to a new theme. AT:NY will begin its annual August celebration of the hideaway. But we have a hunch that the hideaway theme may not generate the same level of passion here as it does in summer-muggy cities like NY and Chicago. So we're contemplating our own regional (Bay Area and PNW) theme for August (something we'll be doing a couple of times a year). And we're wondering what you think:

Where are you in August? Are you spending more time at home, or less? Where in your home do you hang the most in late summer? Are you preparing a temporary shelter for Burning Man? Are you hiking/biking/kayaking/wind surfing/camping? Are you on vacation?

Stay tuned this week for more pets-in-the-home ideas, fab Pet Décor Contest entries, and a launch party update.

Comments (8)

The reason that people are coming to SF is that it is unbelievably hot inland. I live/work in Sacramento where it was 111 degrees Sat. and 110 yesterday. Only 108 predicted for today. Many places within a 2 hr drive of SF broke historical records for all-time melt-down heat.

posted by Carol on 2006-07-24 09:58:18

how about a home entertainment theme? i don't have a fancy home theatre & i'm not a movie geek, but i do enjoy watching tv & listening to music. i find that it's always a challenge to arrange my equipment in a way that's both attractive in the room & good for viewing/listening. i notice on a lot of the hgtv shows that the designers will put the tv perpendicular to the seating & have the speakers in some funky asymetrical placement, just so the room looks good.

maybe we can start with pete's supercool cabinet plans. http://x818.com/cabinetnumber3/

posted by cyn in SF on 2006-07-24 11:19:04

How about something on multi-purpose rooms, as in how many "activities" can you smartly cram into a room without creating sheer visual chaos?

We're struggling to accommodate several in our small living room: Home office, play area for our child and her friends, adult entertainment (TV/music, gatherings) and relaxation. We were going to try to squeeze dining in, too, but that might be too much.

posted by MV on 2006-07-24 11:43:07

Anywhere I could get away to would be 108. Ick.

Here's another vote for entertainment/play/creative space somehow theme. As usual, I have loud opinions but no contest entries.

posted by wende in san francisco on 2006-07-24 11:48:59

how about simple living?

posted by simpleisbest on 2006-07-24 12:01:09

How about a piece on all the great local SF design blogs? Hint, hint.. :)

posted by victoria on 2006-07-24 13:09:17

I vote multi-purpose rooms as well. I'm currently trying to do this in my new smaller apartment, but I'm still a long ways from having the success I had hoped for.

I work at a college, so August is the time for cleaning and final preping for the onslaught of new students/faculty in September. After Sept 1 the rest of the year is a blur. This state of mind carries over to homelife too.

posted by amy on 2006-07-24 13:41:40

I'd love to read about weird spaces -- you know, that area under the stairs that you don't know how to use, or what to put in a bay window, things like that. I think we all must have some space like that, and I'd like to see what other people have done, get some ideas.

posted by lulu on 2006-07-25 11:03:43