Name: Lisa and Dan
Location: Pacific Heights
Apartment Size: 650 square feet
Years lived in: 2 months
Lisa arrived in San Francisco recently and did what most writers do at the start of a new venture: found clever ways to procrastinate. It's lucky for us that her search for a new job was pushed to the back burner, because she's sharing the fruits of that procrastination here on AT. She writes:
I am proud to say that our things arrived from New York at 12 noon on Tuesday, and by noon on Wednesday the boxes were unpacked; the furniture placed; Dan's shirts organised by colour, his closet arranged with scented liner {from the best shop in the world, The Container Store}, T.Shirts placed in order of most loved, and most importantly socks equal in length, colour and thickness lined up appropriately.
Do you have an idea for a house tour? Let us know! tips@sf.apartmenttherapy.com
I actually enjoy tasks like that far more that I could have imagined. The pleasure in printing out labels from my {Container Store} label maker which let us know exactly which drawer holds wires and which drawer holds the Yahtzee check lists is never ending. The joy I get from placing all the {wooden} hangers 1 cm apart from each other so they look nicer is quite worrying, though. I wish I were as particular with myself, 6 months of eating late dinners, being happy and in love has paid a worrying toll on my thighs. I need to use some of the anal tidying brain work on anal calorie counting and portion sizing.
Dan and I have been sourcing all our furniture from Thrift Stores and the Streets. We were on our way back from Ikea the other day when we screetched to a halt after seeing an old oak chair on the pavement. After nearly causing a collision, we managed to grab the chair {I raced down the hill and snatched it before anyone else could get it. I bustled it into the back of Dan's brand new BMW!!! Hahahhaha!!! Can you imagine us driving around San Francisco looking for free crap on the streets and then snatching it to put in the back of a flashy car!!!}.Then we went to Thrift Town in the Mission district to see if we could find some cheap furniture. We found a chest of drawers for only $30 {You'll see them in the pic} and a kitchen table for only $15, which was 30% off due to Martin Luther King Day! We also found a beautiful Linen Table cloth in the sale bin at Shabby Chic which looks great on it. Oh! And my mum gave us a beautiful Linen bed sheet for Christmas which we love too.
We live off Fillmore St, which has all the things we need. A Hardware Store, Paper Shop, Dry Cleaners, Shoe Repair, Supercuts where I got my hair cut for $20 yesterday!!!, a good Chinese restaurant, and of course, Marc Jacobs. There's a Crepe Place called 'Crepe Vine'. They may have called it Crepe Expectations. or Crepe Balls of Fire. Or...orr... I need to make some friends. Sorry for my wittering. I think if I don't make a friend soon then I'm going to run out of things to label with my {Container Store} label maker. Because after all, how else would you know which drawer contained batteries and which drawer contains the envelopes?
Inspiration: French style
Our style: Eclectic, vintage, vibrant, mix and match
Favorite room: Living room
Most talked about element: The view
Most embarrassing element: No blinds in the bedroom
Proudest DIY: Hanging the flatscreen! BestBuy was going to charge $500!!
Dream source: La Clignancourt Flea Market in Paris
Reality source: Mix of thrift shops, French Shop, Street
Best advice: Don't be afraid to buy it and try it. Some thinngs look so much better in your house as opposed to a dirty thrift store.
Found treasure: Drawers: $25 at Thrift Town; vintage American flag: $10 at the flea market
Had forever: A piece of fabric from Heals, London
Just got: Old Metal Trolley from a salvage yard in Berkeley for $5
Sources for Kitchen fixtures, etc
Ohmega Salvage, Berkeley
Cath Kidston
Thrift Town
Thanks Lisa! (and if anyone out there wants to hire Lisa, she's now ready to work. Email her here).
Your floors are sooo shiny!!
Love your teeny typewriter! So cute...
Gorgeous decoration... Very warm, fun feel.
Clignancourt is great, but the price of free is unbeatable.
Who is the artist, that painting is incredible.
A house tour! *Finally* a house tour! My fave AT element, seemingly not so common of late.
And what a beautiful home! I'm inspired by the eclectic, thoughtful, playful simplicity.
Lisa, dear, you probably do need to put down the label maker for a day or two, if only to step back and appreciate what you've done. I imagine you wandering around labeling everything that doesn't move, even the potential friend. In my mind's eye you have a pre-made label in your pocket; you finger it while you connect with new people, explore new places, all the while pondering to whom you can affix it, and when.
Erm... not sure if you realised by my 'English' sense of humor; but It was mostly tnogue firmly in cheek joking.
Just one question - what's with the flag?
Everything else looks lovely...and organised. Pity to ruin the look with the stars and stripes
I am not American, my boyfriend is however. We found the vintage flag in a flea Market and think its beautiful. If only we could afford a Jasper Johns. I happen to think that the American Flag is a beautiful design and absolutely love it on my wall. So in my eyes I have not ruined any look.
I am wondering where I could find something like the flowering branch arrangement on this table. I have a hall table that looks really nice with big flowers, but I don't want to have to buy them too often. Any suggestions for large arrangements of branches or some type of dried flower that would last for a while?
Also, I really like the flag.
Hi Kristin!!! Thanks for your comments!! I bought tthese branches from the 17th and Cole Street Market near Castro for $20 per bunch which turned out to be $40 - sounds expensive but they have lasted a month!!! so its like $10 a week!
Thanks Lisa. That is near my house, so I will try that!
i love your shiney floors and the sailboat in the window is a really fun touch!!! (I like the flag, too. looks cool hanging up there)
love your place! am jealous of the location, love the perfect arrangement of photos on the wall, the curated hermes bag (those bags ARE art!), and all the flowers! but please tell me where you got the khaki stars runner?! (and just so i'm not totally fawning, you are going to change the light fixture over the table in the kitchen, right? :)
Hi!! Hahahaha yes, we hate that too and will get round to that light eventually. The runner is from a swedish shop on Fillmore St right next door to the hardware store i forget the name but they have them in all different colors and theyre cheap!
where's the tv
A beautiful home, I love all of your treasures.
I found the same little metal table (the one where the ends fold down) on the streets on NY, any idea re: its original use?
I'm heading to SF this weekend for a week, any more suggestions on good thrift shops to check out...?
I think they were typing tables!
"Where's the tv?" Who cares? People watch too much tv anyways. Try editing a tv out of your life and watch your fitness level, eating habits, diversity of interests, and sleep hours soar.
Notwithstanding my comments above, I am addicted to "24" and proud of it. I just free-load off my friends on Mondays.
Oh yes, almost forgot - I like the decor. Warm and breezy feeling.
lovely! I got some great ideas. Thank you!