Theresa Gonzalez

After I ordered my custom sofa, I felt anxious during pretty much the entire 6-week wait time for delivery. I worried that it wouldn’t fit into the hallway to my living room, even though I made sure to measure it. I imagined myself donating it to the building and just leaving it in the lobby, eating the $1600 cost. Luckily, the little guy fit in perfectly. I was thrilled, and have owned it for 4+ years now. Are you living in or moving into a smallish apartment, or need an office lounger?

Name: Krzysztof Palacz Location: Buena Vista, San Francisco Size: 880 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Owned House tour veteran Christopher Reynolds tipped me off about his friend Krzysztof’s San Francisco apartment. Since I trust Christopher’s eye, I didn’t ask for many details, and showed up site unseen with tripod in tow. Krzysztof first had me at the Cherner chairs, a modern classic I’ve been coveting since design school.

Handmade pottery is my latest Pinterest obsession. I’m ready to upgrade from my plain white Crate and Barrel plates, which I scored at Goodwill, to something a little more special, like these handmade pieces. They fit the bill for what I’m looking for, although my budget isn’t quite there yet for a whole set. (A friend of mine registered for a full set of Heath, an idea I liked). Do you have any favorite potters not featured here? Share below!

Name: Lisa and Chris Hauswirth, kids Emma and Cole, and dog Buster Location: Inner Richmond, San Francisco, California Size: 3,000 square feet Years lived in: 10 years; Owned Two things that stood out for me in Lisa Hauswirth’s home: her use of color, and her collection of original artwork, which she says wasn’t crazy expensive (her favorite sources: Etsy, Saatchi online, and the local Paul Thiebaud Galley).

We’ve had freezing temperatures in San Francisco this week, which is way worse than getting them in, say, New York. Our windows are old and drafty and not insulated for this kind of weather. In fact, I’ve lived in two apartments with no heat at all. It’s not uncommon here, where temps don’t tend to dip below 50. But this season, my Chilean boyfriend turned me on to the hot water bottle. I hadn’t used one since I was a kid with the flu.

Name: Karen Baumann of Intrinsic Design Location: Corte Madera, California Size: 460 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Owned When I arrived at Karen Baumman’s apartment in Marin County, just 15 miles north of San Francisco, I was greeted with a glass of delicious lemonade, squeezed from the Meyer lemons growing outside. It was a gorgeous day and the apartment was flooded with sunlight — a nice feature for a 460-square-foot space.

image:b1df9e6ce2d284f7eacdde073b54b87576d1c11c w:540 s:"fit" class_name:"mt-image-center" show_pin_button:"true" show_image_credits:"true" I’ve always lived in small spaces, and even wrote about how I prefer it here. Not only do I like the design challenge of a smaller apartment, but living small also allows me to live in great cities, which can get pricey with more square footage.

I’ve recently found myself in the dark. I work in a windowless office (well, those who have windows keep their shades down because of “glare”) and I am temporarily living with my boyfriend who has a lower-floor apartment with no direct sunlight. I’m dying.I live in foggy San Francisco too, so needless to say I’m craving light in a bad way. In the meantime, I’m dreaming up ways to brighten my bf’s pad.

As an Apartment Therapy contributor and design addict, I’m pretty sensitive to my living and working environments. Right around the time Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer banned employees working from home, I was asking my boss if I could work from home a couple of days a week.I got to the point where I couldn’t handle the 2.5 hours of commuting every day, which entailed three forms of transportation.

I moved three years ago with every intention of buying a new TV when I arrived. But after months of procrastination, it became less of a priority. I started watching the shows I liked online (Parks & Rec, Mad Men, 30 Rock) when I had the time and with limited commercials. I also enjoyed the money I was saving without a cable bill. I struggled too with the idea of bringing a giant black box into my small space, which I had spent months carefully designing into a serene and cozy place.