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. They realize they’re lucky to have stumbled upon this apartment after a long tedious search. “We knew exactly the kind of apartment we wanted, but given the housing crisis and crazy costs of San Francisco, it took a while to find a place that fit the bill and we could afford,” they say. “We got very lucky!”

They let the architecture and details of the space do the talking and invested in beautiful, simple furniture for long-lasting functionality. “We get nice compliments about our decor, which is great because we’ve kind of piecemealed the place together with some things we’ve found from Craigslist, secondhand stores, or from antique fairs.” After living in the space for three years, the couple realizes just how lucky they are to call this place home, whether they’re enjoying a home-cooked meal in their spacious kitchen or watching movies snuggled up on the couch.

Our Style: Edwardian with mid-century decor and contemporary details.

Inspiration: The architecture of the apartment.

Favorite Element: Two things: 1) The morning light because there’s nothing we love more than waking up to the sun and 2) The openness of the floor plan that allows you to see different rooms and spaces, the refinished original hardwood floors, and the high beam-lined ceilings.

Biggest Challenge: We love movies, but hate TVs. So to solve the problem, we custom-installed a roll-down projector screen. Also, after a ton of troubleshooting, we found the best projector that kept things aesthetically pleasing, but also highly functional.

What Friends Say: The size of our kitchen and the openness of the space is something a lot of people mention when they stop by. If they are over during the day time, then the morning light from our east-facing windows gets a lot of points.

Biggest Embarrassment: When people use our bathroom and are trying to figure out how the sink above the toilet works. They always come out with a bit of a perplexed look on their face.

Proudest DIY: Our projector was probably the biggest investment of time and creative problem-solving. It took us about a month to get it together just the way we wanted. We wanted something aesthetically pleasing and had to figure out a way to have classic monitor speakers and a vintage receiver be able to interact with an HDMI projector. We also had to deal with finding the right projector to throw the image at the right angle, and of course dealing with syncing issues with the audio, which we managed to figure out thanks to a bunch of different boxes and cables.

Biggest Indulgence: Sitting on the couch for very long periods of time especially in the winter. We really enjoy our “home theater.”

Best Advice: Be patient in your apartment hunt! It took us about four to six months to find the right apartment and there were plenty of times we were about to give in. But we had three principle things we wanted and stuck to them—hardwood floors, good light, and a gas stove.

Dream Sources: Schoolhouse Electric, OHIO, ROVE Concepts.

ENTRY
Ceramic planter — Flora Grubb
Shoe rack — Flea Market Find
Shoe horn — Alameda Point Antiques Faire
Candle — MissMe
Ceramic hand — Totem, Julia Lemke

LIVING ROOM
Sofa — HD Buttercup
Couch pillows — Fern
Hutch — West Elm
Mohammad’s desk — OHIO
Rachael’s desk — West Elm
Chair — Schoolhouse Electric
Brass lamp — Koch + Lowy
Receiver — Yamaha cr 620
Speakers – Klipsch Heresy 3
Mountain artwork — Mark Johnsen
Dining and coffee tables — Flea market finds
Dining table chairs — Gus Modern
Plants — Sunborne Nursery and Flora Grub
White ceramic planter on stilts — West Elm
Stool under plat — Flea market
Apple boxes — Flea market
Mantel collection — Totem & Luvhaus ceramics, matches from The Perish Trust, airplant from Flora Grub, gifts from friends

KITCHEN
Bar cart — Danish, flea market find
Cutting board unit — Tiny Shed via Etsy
Knife magnet — Wood All Good via Etsy
Knife bamboo holder — Bambiko
Bookshelf — Flea market find
Ceramics — Totem, Julia Lemke and Luvhaus
Stool — Flea market find

BEDROOM
Bed — CB2
Lamp — Craigslist
Painting above bed — Victor Reyes
Long shelf below windows — Flea market find
Dresser — Craigslist
Jacket rack — Etsy
Plant — Flora Grubb
Black ceramic planter — West Elm

BATHROOM
Round ceramic bowl — Hasami
Catch-all ceramic plate — Totem
Towels — Jung Maven and Morihata organic towels
Breaking Bad print — Society 6

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