San Francisco Ca

As an engineer, Hayley is used to innovative thinking, and she used that when designing her studio apartment. She transformed the entryway into her closet and was able to create the feel of a one-bedroom apartment by turning a walk-in closet into a bed nook.

Sam's San Francisco apartment reflects his love of design and furniture. With art covering the walls, the shelves, and even a few mannequins, the home is an ode to color and design.

Leslie and her partner, Amy, have a rainbow media cabinet, a pink neon sign that says "queer," a candle in the shape of a plus-sized woman's figure, and more in their "Sapphic, feminist, cerebral, sensual, Venusian" rental apartment.

This apartment's main selling points for Joyce were the huge windows and the natural light. "I wanted to create a home that felt equal parts like a warm hug and a peaceful retreat, so the overall decor vibe is purposely minimalistic, earthy, and neutral."

Four things became clear to me.

Christina was drawn to this apartment's details (like the funky bathroom tile), but some details were outdated and tired, so she added removable peel-and-stick floor tiles and faux peel-and-stick subway tiles to her kitchen to give it a renter-friendly upgrade.

Creative technologist Amy Wibowo's small San Francisco studio apartment is packed with personality, including a mermaid headboard of her dreams.

This cottage was an earthquake refugee shack and renovated in the 1970s, and is now a cozy cottage home.

Since it is off the street, nestled behind her parent's home, this little backyard cottage feels like a secret oasis outside the city.

Renters have a good deal of agency, for starters.

There's a reason the renters who live here have dubbed it the "Micro Casa."

Donovan Ho's San Francisco Bay Area home is filled with fun colors, textures, eclectic home decor... and LOTS of plants.

Abigail's specialty is turning a small living space into a home on a budget... and her teeny studio apartment is a great example!

It's definitely maximalist, but not chaotic.

CW Stockwell CEO Katy Polsby reinvigorated her apartment in this San Francisco house with lots of patterned wallpaper and color!

It’s like a Wes Anderson movie that hasn’t been filmed yet or like a little Madonna Inn.

There's stained glass hanging in the window, a cool David Bowie print, and a sleek bookcase smartly separating the living room and bedroom.

Full-time freelance photographer and music enthusiast Ryan Tuttle lives in a small custom designed tiny house on wheels she calls the "Tuttle Shuttle."

From the hot pink sofa to the art, decor, plants and more, this small apartment is proof you don't have to sacrifice color when you rent.

Cue the “Full House” theme song.

Huge windows, bay window, a black and white tiled kitchen floor, three fireplaces, stained glass windows... this apartment is full of architectural details.

Inspired by Australian and Japanese design with a little California desert mixed in, we went for a natural, relaxing, minimalist aesthetic with low profiles and warm desert colors.

Are your spidey senses tingling? If so, that’s because you now have the chance to live in the Marvel-ous former home of the late comic book legend Stan Lee.

With the multi-colored rug anchoring the living room and the beautiful but still rather neutral blue walls in the bedroom, this is an example of how to add color to a rental without risking not getting your security deposit back.

You can Instagram every corner of this San Francisco rental apartment, where every element inspires and tantalizes your senses.

This rental apartment has Palladian windows, curved ceilings, an ornate mantel and fireplace, and 25+ plant babies!

After a five-month long remodel, this home was completely transformed into a more modern, bright space.

Name: Emily SimmonsLocation: Russian Hill neighborhood — San Francisco, California Size: 1100 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting I’ve lived in so many variations of tiny spaces, from my earliest dorm rooms, to small attic spaces in college, to cramped studios in Manhattan.

You have to see the small but AMAZING bathroom reno.

This interior designer's studio may be on the small side, but it has beautiful hardwood floors, picturesque windows, and original cabinetry and molding.

Name: Maya Goldfine Location: San Francisco, California Size: 400 square feet Years Lived In: 6 months, renting Call it fate or luck, but something aligned the day I found this studio. By chance I had come across the listing on Craigslist the evening prior—at 5:45 p.m. it was posted that an open house was happening at 7:30 a.m. the next day.

Just south of San Francisco, close to the idyllic Highway 1 views of California’s picturesque cliffs and beaches, lies a tiny mushroom dome cabin in the woods. It’s one of the world’s most popular Airbnb listings and, for just $130 a night, it could be yours to sleep in. The Mushroom Dome cabin is in Monterey Bay and is surrounded by 10 acres of woods that make perfect hiking trails.

Name: Carra Manahan Location: San Francisco, California Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting A couple years ago, I decided to get my own apartment in San Francisco. I’d lived in the Marina since moving to the city and couldn’t part with it. The neighborhood’s beautiful and charming; there’s truly something special about being able to see the Golden Gate Bridge from it.

Jon O'Shaughnessy is inspired by the things that make him happy—travel, the outdoors, and forests.

Are you made of stern enough stuff to spend a night in a San Francisco dungeon done up, in every eery detail, to recreate a cell from the infamously haunted and horrid prison at Alcatraz? A few curiosity-seeking travelers to the Bay Area will be able to find out for themselves this Halloween, thanks to an exclusive and otherworldly bed and breakfast experience from Booking.com.

She didn't see a single piece of decor or furniture in person until it arrived, minus her curtains.

After years of renting in San Francisco and Oakland, we bought a home in Walnut Creek (a small city in the Bay Area) for $545,000 in 2010—when the market was relatively slow. The house was the smallest model in a 1960s neighborhood at 1,445 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. But it sat on a spacious 9,375-square-foot lot. It was a dream cosmetic fixer. Over seven years, we made it our own.

Before the remodel this house felt cramped. After the remodel, it feels as if it's gained 50 percent more square footage.

Name: Prathima Nalluri Location: Nopa (North of Panhandle) — San Francisco, California Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 9 months, renting I moved into my apartment about nine months ago with not much furniture except my bed and a console table. I know they say take your time to furnish your place but I did it in less than three months (and I don’t regret a single purchase!). I love spending time at home and I wanted to create a space which is airy and cozy at the same time.

If you listen closely, you’ll hear something booming in the Silicon Valley—and no, it’s not just the sound of blockchain capital exchanging hands or tech bros downing Soylent. What’s booming far louder than anywhere else in the U.S. is San Jose, California’s real estate market: According to a recent report by Zillow, home values are rising the fastest in San Jose, at a remarkable 26.2% change year over year to a median value of $1,263,900, the highest in the nation.

Every item must have at least three different uses, be used three times a week, or be used for more than three years.

Name: Mohammad and Rachael Gorjestani Location: Western Addition — San Francisco, California Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, rented Mohammad and Rachel’s San Francisco apartment is so cozy and serene, it’s easy to forget that it’s right next to a busy intersection at the center of the city. The original hardwood floors add warmth to the space, and the view of greenery in their spacious backyard (a true luxury in San Francisco) is beautiful.

The number one rule is there are no rules!

Name: Bonnie Berridge Faxén and Per Faxén Location: San Francisco, California Size: 650 Square Feet Years Lived In: 3.5 years, renting Designer and interiors consultant Bonnie Faxén says she has a passion for “art, design, architecture, colors, fonts, materials, textiles, paint, wallpaper. If it has to do with design I’m thinking about it!” This healthy obsession for visual elements has spilled over into the small apartment she shares with her husband Per.

Name: Walter and Adam Ryon Location: San Leandro, California Size: 950 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, rented Walter was working and living in Abu Dhabi when Adam first spotted the building they now call home. Finding a home from a distance was difficult, but when Adam drove by the building, Adam thought this one might be a good fit. It was a quintessential 1950s apartment building that was recently updated, and Adam felt their style was reflected both on the inside and outside.

“When I decided I was ready to live on my own after years of living with roommates, I needed a place where I could continue to have dinner parties and space for guests to feel comfortable — but finding that at an affordable price point in San Franciso is challenging,” writes Chelsea Drenick.

Name: Holly Location: The Mission — San Francisco, California Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting The first thing you notice when you open the door to Holly’s apartment in San Francisco’s popular Mission neighborhood is the light in the hallway that runs two-thirds of the length of the space. Windows all along the right side — some stained glass — make it feel very airy and ethereal.

While it might not be as nightmarish as Toronto just yet, the real estate market in and around San Francisco has been getting worse for years. Here’s what homes are really selling for: The backstory: My cousin and her family have lived in Berkeley, Calif., for several years, renting because they couldn’t afford to buy there even five years ago.

Name: Vera Claire and Sam Cheadle Location: Bayview — San Francisco, California Size: 1,200 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned For Vera and Sam, the past three years have been filled with the never-ending process of renovating and personalizing their home. The fact that Sam — the acting handyman and contractor — has no experience with renovating is even more impressive.

Considering this San Francisco mansion takes up an entire city block in the most expensive urban real estate market in the country — one of the largest private lots in the Bay Area — and is a compound comprising four separate residences around a sculpture garden, it’s actually kind of a steal at $12.5 million.

Name: Katherine McEachern, Ian Tse and Gracie (the dog) Location: Berkeley, California Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, renting “As an editor at Rue, I’m constantly looking at inspiring spaces and filing away ideas. For me, personal style is an ever-evolving challenge,” says Kat McEachern, the Lifestyle Editor for the stylish magazine.

Name: Allison Shiman Location: The Mission — San Francisco, California Size: not sure about the square feet Years lived in: 5 years, renting “I’m so excited about having my apartment memorialized on Apartment Therapy,” Allison tells us. She’ll be saying goodbye to her beloved apartment soon…to leave on a trip around the world. “I have put so much effort and love in my little space that having it somewhere captured forever makes me so happy!

Color lovers, you might want to book a trip to San Francisco ASAP: The latest must-visit destination is The Color Factory, and it’s probably already infiltrating your Instagram feed. Inside the can’t miss it striped exterior, you’ll find a 12,000 square foot, pop-up “color experience.” Color Factory just opened on August 1, and tickets are selling out faster than you can say (or take a) Boomerang.

Name: Flora Tsapovsky and Tom Kolinski, plus Theo the cat Location: Berkeley — California Size: 720 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, rented “Every morning I stand here with my cup of coffee and soak in the views, even if it’s for a minute,” describes Flora of the view from her home’s large glass corner wall that looks over Berkeley and the sparkling San Francisco Bay.

Name: Jenee Yuen Location: San Francisco, California Size: 400 square feet (maybe a little larger?) Years Lived In: 8 years, renting One of the fun things about living in an old San Francisco apartment is that sometimes, depending on your particular landlord, you get a little bit of creative control to “adjust” your living space as you see fit. Jenee did just that when she took out the carpet in her living room and refinished the beautiful hardwood floors that were hiding underneath.

Max Heinritz, a software developer living in San Francisco, never thought of himself as much of a DIYer, until he was faced with the challenge of creating a costume for a little party he was going to (that little party being Burning Man). The success of this creation opened up all kinds of new possibilities for him: he realized that, “if I want something, I can figure out how to make it.

Name: Jessica Henry Location: Duboce Triangle — San Francisco, California Size: 500 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, renting Jessica likes to collect things that remind her of a specific time and place, like the leather butterfly chair she got in Argentina, or the bedroom mirror she found at a San Diego thrift store. All of those mementos combined with eclectic accents — and lots and lots of greenery — are what makes her place special.

Name: Kirstie Maryott Location: Lower Pacific heights — San Francisco, California Size: 420 square feet Years lived in: Rented 2 years Kirstie has bounced around from state to state the past few years of her life, including stops in Colorado, Virginia and Georgia. A California native, she has called the Bay Area home for the last two years, where she lives in a charming studio on the top floor of a building in the Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Name: Claire and Kasey Location: Mission District, San Francisco Size: 675 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting Claire and Kasey chose this apartment because of the light; it’s warm and abundant. “When we came to look at the listing it was mid-day and I didn’t have to do more than open the front door to know that I wanted to live here.

San Francisco is a dream city for many, but it comes at a cost—it’s the most expensive city in America. But, if you had an unlimited budget and the daydreams to make it happen, you might consider moving into one of the most expensive homes you could find. To help you picture it, we combed through listings to find the highest priced homes for sale right now in San Francisco.