Erin’s Casually Sophisticated Modern Loft

Name: Erin of Apartment 34
Location: Mission/Potrero Hill , San Francisco CA
Size: 900 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 years

Anyone who follows Erin’s lifestyle blog Apartment 34 will know that her style is synonymous with clean lines and tasteful restraint, with a touch of glam and global influence. Her loft follows suit with beautiful bones, and airy style and refined textures, with perfectly styled accessories bringing things up a notch or two.

A DIY-ed gold flecked cowhide creates a luxe, layered effect in the living room, and a mix of textures helps keep all the neutrals looking polished instead of drab. Greenery abounds, further breathing life into the airy, high ceiling-ed space, and treasures collected on Erin’s travels help keep things interesting.

My Style: Androgynously eclectic, casually sophisticated and modern with a side of the randomly-collected thrown in.

Inspiration: The homes I grew up in in the Pacific Northwest, my childhood friends’ homes, spaces from my memories and fabulous hotels I’ve stayed in over the years. I’ve also become recently obsessed with Scandinavian aesthetics — I stalk Scandinavian design blogs like nobody’s business.

Favorite Element: Our open concept living space: it feels super spacious even though the actual footprint is relatively small.

Biggest Challenge: Storage, storage, and where oh where can I find more storage (I have a lot of shoes!).

What Friends Say: That our loft feels inviting, homey, comfortable and big! High ceilings are the greatest secret weapon ever!!

Biggest Embarrassment: The things I can’t invest in changing (since we rent) like the horrible cherry cabinets and black appliances in the kitchen, the less than stellar paint colors, and the builder grade tile that is everywhere. Blech.

Proudest DIY: This leads directly from my greatest embarrassment! Our fireplace (and yes I count my lucky real estate stars that we even have one) is actually tiled in tiny seafoam green and blue (horrible!) mini-square glass bathroom tile. Someone hit the jackpot in the overstock aisle when these condos were being built, but it was awful. I knew I could NOT live with that for any period of time, so I had a faux fireplace front built that simply slid right over the existing tile. I then painted the faux front with matte white chalk paint. It gives me a nice little mantel and a clean slate to work with. Every penny and extra effort was worth it to hide the eyesore!

Biggest Indulgence: Our couch. We went big on this piece of furniture and while it’s now the most indulgent dog bed we’ve ever purchased (our 14 yr old lab Bailey has claimed it as his own and we just can’t say no), it’s still super comfortable, has patina-ed really well, and overall we still absolutely love it.

Best Advice: Invest in the highest quality pieces that you can afford for your core furnishings (couch, dining table, reading chair); good lighting makes everything look better; don’t be afraid to mix and match materials, eras and styles; plants make every room feel more alive.

Dream Sources: Paris and Moroccan flea markets, ABC Home, BDDW & Aero in NYC, Cisco Home, the Future Perfect and Arteriors in San Francisco.

• All came with the loft

• Full length mirror, Ikea
• Entry table, CB2
• Round mirror, vintage from the Alameda Flea market
• Picture rail used as shelf, West Elm
• Rug, EQ3
• Basket, Target
• Hooks, Muuto DWR

• Couch, Room & Board
• Console, now closed modern furnishing store in Seattle, Velocity Art & Design
• Rugs, West Elm & DIY’d gold-flecked hide
• Coffee table, vintage from Alemeda flea market
• Floor lamp, Lamps Plus
• Bertoia-inspired side chair, Lulu & Georgia
• Wood side table, West Elm
• Leather and & wood stool/side table, CB2
• Other side chairs, Herman Miller Wishbone chairs from DWR
• Throw pillows on couch, Susan Conner, NYC
• Throw pillows on window seat, Rebecca Atwood & Coyuchi
• Table behind couch – CB2
• Oversized mirror, HD Buttercup
• Rothko print (anniversary gift)
• Plants – Flora Grubb
• Accessories, Hudson Grace, Etsy, vintage and found on travels

• Emeco Navy chairs, Room & Board
• Wall sconce – Etsy
• Buffet – HD Buttercup
• Tall bookself – HD buttercup
• Bar – HD Buttercup
• Large white lamp – Crate & Barrel
• Small concrete lamp – HD buttercup
• Frames, vintage

• Island – kitchen supply store
• Frame – vintage
• Concrete lamp – HD Buttercup
• Cutting boards – March SF, Smitten Studio
• Dishware, Heath + collected

We’ve worked hard to eliminate clutter from the bedroom, really going for that clean, calming hotel feeling. Bedside tables are clear, surfaces are sparsely styled and the color palette is crisp, neutral and soothing. Keeping my clothes picked up and making the bed help make the space very zen!

• Bed, West Elm (has storage underneath – key!)
• Bedside lamps Robert Abby from LampsPlus
• Shelving, Ikea
• Medicince cabinet, West Elm
• Bedding – Duvet & Shams by Crane & Canopy, Throw by Missoni Home, Throw Pillows by West Elm
• Wall hooks – Mutto, DWR
• Black & White lamp, Serena & Lily

Thanks, Erin!

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