This Renter Made an Empty 560-Square-Foot Apartment Feel Lived-In in Just 4 Days

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About this tour

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Home Type

Apartment

Location

Twin Peaks, San Francisco, California

Style

Mid-Century Modern

Traditional

Bedrooms

Square feet

560

Sq ft

560

Last fall, the building that housed Taylor Jordan’s previous apartment of 11 years caught fire. While his unit wasn’t damaged by the flames, all the tenants had to move out for “well over a year for asbestos abatement and construction of the units and common areas that were impacted by the fire.”

Understandably, Taylor was distraught. “How would I make a temporary place of a year or more feel like home?” he asked. His previous apartment was 950-square-feet large, with two bedrooms, a large dining room, and a big patio. “Everything I own was purchased with that space in mind,” he explains.

Credit: Taylor Jordan

"This is San Francisco, so of course there is a laid-back West Coast vibe to the color palette and the mid-century modern bones you see in the furniture, lamps, and some of my abstract art," Taylor begins. "But, I love the tradition and sense of history you see in many East Coast homes. That's where the busts, the horses, the chinoiserie, and the plaids come in. Together I think they paint a picture that is unpretentious, comfortable, but still well-designed and visually unpredictable."

He wondered how he was going to fit all his furniture, art, and decor into this apartment — a much smaller, 560-square-foot, one-bedroom unit in San Francisco, only three blocks away from his last place. “Would I have to feel like I was just existing in a temporary space the entire time?” he worried.

Taylor says it was vital for his mental health that no matter how long he was going to live in it, he needed to make the new space comfortable and feel lived-in. And he needed it to feel that way as soon as possible.

Credit: Taylor Jordan

"Always keep your eyes open," Taylor advises. "And don't equate quality with high prices. Some of my favorite items were either on sale or I found for a really reasonable price."

“I spent some time before move-in day taking measurements and putting together layouts of everything, so I knew to the detail where everything would go, and what would need to be placed in storage,” he explains. Being only three blocks away, he was able to move over smaller items in the days before the move-in day, “with a goal of having all boxes gone and art on the walls by the end of the first day.”

Impressively, the photos Taylor submitted for this feature were taken just four days after officially moving in. “I think I learned during this whole ordeal that turning a temporary, smaller space into a homey and welcoming environment IS possible.”