A Welcoming, Well-Traveled Abode With Classic Details

Name: Caroline and Eduardo
Location: North Beach — San Francisco, California
Size: 1,100 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years; Rented

Stylist and model Caroline and her boyfriend, Eduardo, have taken a sunny San Francisco flat and made it all their own, enhancing it with items collected on their travels—like the giant papier-mâché rhino head from Mexico in the kitchen—and references to their cultural backgrounds.

The spaces feels well-collected but not forced, considered without being overthought—a natural extension of the personal style of the residents.

Our Style: We want our home to feel cozy and welcoming, and to reflect our story and life together. Our home is a collection of items we’ve found together, and we love to bring home pieces we find when traveling. We look for items that are unique and have a story behind them, and we love to personalize our space with art from our friends and family. We wholeheartedly believe you can never have too many coffee table books, blankets, or wine glasses.

Inspiration: Travel. Both of us have lived abroad and love to travel. We want our home to feel like a mix of both of our cultures, our families, and our adventures.

Favorite Element: Feeling like we live in a tree house in the middle of the city.

Biggest Challenge: Storage and not having natural light in the kitchen.

What Friends Say: “It feels like such a home”—the ultimate compliment for us. We don’t want our home to feel prissy or overly designed, we want it to feel like us, and we want you to prop your feet up and make yourself at home.

Biggest Embarrassment: None, but our next project is to convert our dark fire escape into a livable outdoor space instead of an under-utilized storage spot.

Proudest DIY: Not so much a “do-it-yourself,” but a “move-it-yourself”: we found the iron garden bench that now anchors our living room at The Juicy Leaf in Venice Beach. It was an incredible fixture that anchored the shop, and when the owner, Felix, agreed to sell it to us, we jumped. Until we realized we were in LA on vacation and had no way to get it home! Eduardo loves the piece and coordinated everything, and thanks to a last-minute minivan rental at LAX, a 6-hour drive, and a few Craigslist movers, it’s now our favorite piece in our home.

Best Advice: Buy what you love, shop when you travel, and a $9 rug and a $1000 table have the same value if they come with a great story.

Dream Sources: Our friends at Scribe Winery constantly give us home decor (and property) envy.

• Iron garden console: The Juicy Leaf in Venice Beach, CA
• Reclaimed wood table used as desk: Art & Fleas in Brooklyn, NY
• Coffee table: repurposed sculpture shipping container
• Horse sculpture: Marisol Ramos
• Silver figure sculpture: Marisol Ramos
• Girls in Denim sketch: Andrea Simons

• Papier-mâché rhino: a market in Querétaro, Mexico
• Table: Bright Ideas

• Butcher block countertops : custom
• Cherry cookware: Le Creuset
• Bacon sign: Etsy

• Bed frame: Restoration Hardware
• Bedside tables: repurposed stools from MAKR
• Lamp: West Elm
• Sheepskin : Blu Dot on Valencia Street
• Bedding: Charisma
• Duvet: El Mercado de Artesanias in Valle de Bravo, Mexico
• Blanket: Matouk
• Rugs: vintage Persian rugs from Caroline’s grandmother
• Scout print: by Richard Phillips from Art.com

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