breesf's Profile

Hi Clau,

Do you have a picture of the kitchen and dining room layout that you could post? It would be great to see the layout and also the kitchen dimensions.

There are some cool products like tall vertical tower fridges or fridge/freezer drawers that you could probably incorporate to make the most of your space. And you can find a high quality 24-inch range, if you're really short on wall-space.

I can't tell what the room's total layout is, but if there's space for a set of bottom cabinets where the little pony wall is - then I'd try to fit in a combo counter and bar space there so you can work inside the kitchen and interact with guests at the same time or layout food for parties. If there's enough space, then you can avoid taking out that wall and utilize as much space as possible for cabinets.

If there's more kitchen space to the left of the door on the wall adjoining the dining room, then you might be able to open up the top of that, too (like the right-hand side), to create more openness and bring light and air flow into the kitchen.

Best wishes and congratulations on your new home!

I live in one of the Victorian/former hippy boarding homes in the same neighborhood as this house.

These houses are cold and dark and the rooms are tiny. Our neighborhood has a lot of light and sun, but it can't penitrate into the home because of the Victorian floor-plans. And the hippy boarding home "design period" was one of adding lots of doors and walls in places they don't belong - making it even stranger and darker and colder.

I think this remodel is an incredible design in that it actually allows the sun and light to flow through the space and into all the rooms of the house. Also, keeping elements like the original, exposed fireplace in the master/attic, and the stained glass and the antique door knobs and plates are the most interesting parts of these old homes. And the unfinished banister rails that they added are really sweet. The Times slideshow shows a lot more of the interesting ways they mixed new and old details.

I love the look of the Haight Victorians. But once you live in one, you spend a lot of time thinking about how you'd like to have thicker walls and windows and heating and light systems that actually work.

This design is warm and fresh and sunny. If any of you who believe the redesign is wrong want to experience a freezing San Francisco summer in my Victorian apartment - you are welcome to! I'll take the remodel and then we can compare notes.

Your home looks like a lovely place for long dinner parties.

For your curved windows, you can contact a local curtain/shade store and they'll come to your house and measure and make curved curtain rods for you.

You could either do sheers over the windows alone, or a longer rode with curtains that you'd pull back. I've found lots of great curtains on Anthropologie's website. And Restoration Hardware has the thickest velvet curtains that keep my Victorian nice and cozy.

Do you happen to know what the model is of the Ikea wardrobe system in your bedroom is? It's looks much higher quality then the normal Ikea lines.

We hang dry the lighter stuff (shirts and light-weight pants) in the bathroom on hangers on the shower curtain rod, the little stuff goes on a drying rack and the heavy jeans and sweatshirts go on hangers and get hung from every door hinge, door knob and hook in the house. Sweaters and delicate tops get dried on mesh sweater racks in the bathtub.

We have a washer (finally!! after 9 years with using the local laundromat) but no dryer. Not using the dryer keeps clothes from wearing out quickly (and stains from setting). Plus it saves quarters and electricity. We only dry towels and sheets.

The dressing area does look like a good place to transform into a music room - since it appears that's the area with the most extra space.

Definitely swap the bed and put the dining table and living room area closer to the kitchen.

One thing you might consider is getting light colored slip covers for the sofa and maybe even the dining chairs (they're inexpensive at Bed, Bath & Beyond or any other home store). That would help you keep and use what you have but not have it feel so heavy and jumbled.

ChrisGal's layout looks great. Using the china cabinet as a room divider between the bedroom and the living/dining area is perfect. You could even tack some pretty fabric to the back of it to soften the wood wall in the bedroom area and make it feel more cozy.

Also, if it seems like you still have the space once you move things around, you can use the extra dining chairs with arms in the living room area to add to the seating/conversational area there.

Good luck! Small spaces are tricky. But simple changes can make a huge difference.

Hi, I'm an ad. In case you didn't notice.

The cake in the kitchen is so great!

And the house is lovely.

I don't think the black chairs are too good of a match . . . They're very 70's and would work better with a round and/or glass table.

I'd go with something opposite to the table - either plastic or fabric. You want to play off the hardness and darkness of the table. You don't mention what the other items or colors you have in your space are but, here are a few ideas.

On the higher priced side - an eames molded plastic side chair in either white or any of their fun colors (blue, orange, lime) would look great:
http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product.do?method=get&id=493010&coll=378552&cat=51

Or

The clear Ikea Tobias chair:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70146301

Here's a table similar to yours shown with the CB2 Zebra chair and a bench:
http://www.cb2.com/popup/zoom.aspx?url=%2fpopup%2fzoom.aspx&c=115&f=3820&&fi=3820&t=room&n=zebra chair&cn=

Here's the Zebra chair alone:
http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=115&f=3820&viewall=1

Also, Anthropologie has some new fabric folding chairs that come in a bunch of different print styles. They would look great with your table, too. Check out the different styles, if you like the idea of a fun print and a folding chair:
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=5137294563401502660&id=860084&parentid=FURNITURE_FURNITURE_CHAIRS&pushId=FURNITURE_FURNITURE_CHAIRS&popId=FURNITURE_FURNITURE&sortProperties=&navCount=8&navAction=poppushpush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=mul&colorName=MULTI

Good luck and have fun with it!
BB

Elliot Smith's soundtrack for Good Will Hunting

Hi Shayna,

You in live in my childhood home. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did.