7x7 Magazine

The Small Stakes

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Who says you need a mansion—or even a house—to show off your design sensibility?

Not these city dwellers, who’ve made their apartments, all less than 900 square feet, into showcases of urban style.

By Leilani Labong Photography by Jen Siska Styling by Mikhael Romain

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Monique Ramos discovered this old metal chandelier—adorned with lilies and glass beads—at a 2004 sidewalk sale in the Castro. Though she gladly forked over $15 to take it home, she admits that a small fortune was required to rewire the piece. “It was the first thing to go up in our apartment,” she says.

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The sheer size of this muted, but no less dramatic, seascape—purchased for $10— gives it instant prominence in Ramos and Richard Colman’s large art collection, comprised of anonymous vintage pieces sourced from local flea markets along with works by boldface names such as Shepard Fairey and James Marshall.

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“I like to hold onto moments in a tangible way,” says Ramos, whose glass-jar memories include beach sand from vacations in Cape Cod and Tulum, a hummingbird’s nest (a relic from the summer of 2006), and small bits of a Christmas tree from 2007, the couple’s first holiday in the apartment.

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Weathering Heights

Monique Ramos and Richard Colman Mission District 850 square feet “We like to describe the decor as ‘faded Cuban glamour,’” says stylist and designer Monique Ramos of the Mission apartment she shares with her boyfriend, artist Richard Colman. The intriguing tableau, a sunny 850-square-foot space, arises from the most unexpected medley of nostalgic travel mementos (jars of sand from all over the world), moody works of art (seascapes and taxidermy installations), and enchanting timeworn furnishings (chandeliers and vintage leather seating).

“We’re essentially two hoarders living in a small space,” says Ramos, 42, who launched an online store of home and lifestyle accessories in September to complement her consulting business, Brown Bench Design (brownbenchdesign .com). “Richard and I have needed to be extremely creative about how we store things. Organization is a puzzle that we’re always working on.” For instance, the couple’s ingenious method of displaying books—in shelves fashioned from two stacked antique wooden benches (pictured above, second from left)—isn’t just enigmatic of their weathered aesthetic. It also saves the lath-and-plaster walls of their rental unit from expensive damage. “I loved our bench solution so much,” says Ramos, “I named my company after it.”

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Ramos enlarged a sample of Cole and Son Woods wallpaper to fill the space above the hallway’s crown molding.

When paired with the palm-green walls, the entry turns into a scene right out of a storybook.

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Colman gave Ramos a taxidermy fawn from Paxton Gate on her 40th birthday. The piece is displayed among mosses and porcelain rocks in a Plexiglas case the couple unearthed at Urban Ore in Berkeley. “The installation reminds me of something you’d see at the Museum of Natural History in New York,” says Ramos.

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Colman displays his collection of “rubber wrestling dudes and action heroes” in an old wooden gun case found on Craigslist. Ramos lined it with an enlarged image of a diving suit, originally sketched by Houdini.

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Nesting Instinct

Frances Weiss Lower Pacific Heights, 400 square feet Five years ago, design consultant Frances Weiss and her then-fiancé shared an apartment in Bernal Heights with some pretty rotten mojo. “Someone overdosed and died there shortly before we moved in,” says Weiss, 35. The couple’s relationship irrevocably soured soon after they took up residence. The newly single Weiss sought safe harbor in a light-filled, 400-square-foot studio in Lower Pacific Heights. “It felt warm and safe from the moment I stepped foot in it,” she says. “It was such a welcome relief coming from a bad relationship and a haunted apartment.”

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By starting with a neutral canvas of earthy walls and furnishings—not to mention the familiar textures of woven baskets, cashmere blankets, and a chunky wool rug—Weiss created a modern bohemian retreat featuring spontaneously creative touches. Wine crate cast-offs form a small bookshelf, a bathroom light well is now a plant atrium, and a sizeable walk-in closet, trimmed in bright sea-green, acts as her home office. “I like the challenge of putting together interesting, functional, and comfortable spaces with virtually no budget,” says Weiss. “In my case, a safe and cozy nest.”

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Lotus Bleu round lacquer tray; Amenity alpaca afghan in Dessert Pink. On window seat: Lotus Bleu custom pillows in “Purple Mu” and “Raspberry Collins” by Madeline Weinrib

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Ever the resourceful scavenger, Frances Weiss rescued these discarded wine crates from a trash heap, lined the bottoms with samples of Cole and Son wallpaper, and stacked them to create a bookshelf. The unfinished look echoes the apartment’s earthiness while the books enliven the room with their colorful spines.

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Weiss had high hopes of transforming her walk-in closet into her bedroom even though her queen-size bed would only fit into the space at an angle. The bed is now situated in the main living area, and the closet has been transformed into an office for Weiss’s design-consultation business (francesweiss.com).

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In 2003, this moody painting, starring a sultry Art Nouveaustyle woman, was gifted to Weiss by the artist—and her good friend— Kime Buzzelli (kimebuzzelli.com).

The phrase scrawled along the edge of the work, “Try it you might like it,” resonated strongly with Weiss, who was then in the process of moving back to San Francisco.

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“When my best friend moved back to Berlin, she gave me this amazing turquoise chair,” says Weiss, who likens the classic midcentury silhouette to Saarinen’s iconic Tulip masterpiece. “The color is great and provides a stylish focal point in such a neutral space. I lost a friend but gained a great chair!”

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Weiss transferred many of the plants she kept in her Bernal Heights backyard to a light well outside the bathroom window in her new space. The miniature garden rests on an orphaned wooden shelf she spotted next to a Dumpster. “The plants give me a sense of peace and rejuvenation,” says Weiss.

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The antique mirrors sprinkled throughout the apartment are relics from a 1920s-themed cookie store that Weiss’ mother owned in their hometown of Atlanta. “Being surrounded by such beautiful antique objects as a child gave me an early appreciation of style,” says Weiss.

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a design match made in heaven

Kelly Waters and Peter Judd Potrero Hill, 850 square feet “Is it silly to be so sentimental over a chair or a sofa or an autographed doll?” asks intern architect Kelly Waters of the storied contemporary furniture, art, and other treasured keepsakes in the 850-square-foot flat she shares with her husband, Peter Judd, in Potrero Hill. Their classic Eames lounge, for instance, was inherited from Judd’s mother, who would while away many an afternoon upon it while pregnant with her son. The midcentury sofa was acquired from a porn distribution center in Los Angeles. And a collection of action figures from ’70s and ’80s TV shows was acquired via Judd’s addiction to eBay.

While the couple leans heavily toward modern design, they vehemently reject any form of style pigeonholing. “We abide by the don’t-put-it-in-yourplace-if-you-don’t-love-it rule,” says Waters, 30, who also pens the design blog, Halcyon Days (kellylynnwaters.blogspot.com). True to that incantation, a parade of pedigreed orphans, including four vintage Eames seats, a Milo Baughman dowel bench, and a Saarinen dining chair—literally kicked to the curb by their former owners—have been adopted into the Waters-Judd flat. “Old, new, vintage, or antique,” says Waters, “if we love it, we’ll take it home and make it work.”

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Kelly Waters’ employee discount at Limn furniture store enabled her to scoop up these Piero Lissoni Paper Chairs (now embellished with feltwork

by SF artist Ashley Helvey). “When Peter and I started dating, he couldn’t believe I owned these chairs,” says Waters. “He had come close to buying them, too.”

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In another coincidence (“Our paths must have crossed so many times before we met,” muses Waters), she and husband Peter Judd each owned a classic low Eames side table before moving in together. The familiar profile of these revered utilitarian pieces makes them instantly stylish, and now they have a pair.

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A Leah Giberson painting (leahgiberson .com) of a midcentury dwelling in Daly City’s Westlake neighborhood was a mutual anniversary present between the two newlyweds. “When we take the freeway through Daly City to Ocean Beach,” says Judd, “Kelly and I always mention how much we love the houses there.”

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Judd surprised his wife last Christmas with a vintage wooden toy monkey by Kay Bojesen that she’d been coveting since her days as a student in Denmark.

“She would inevitably become horrified by its steep price tag,” says Judd. “I found it on eBay.” The primate now decorates the bar.

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This eclectic 1960s mushroom pottery stool, a gift from Judd’s mother, is by sculptor Stan Bitters. It’s meaningful to the couple because, says Waters, “Peter, in his younger years, apparently liked to strip naked, jump on top of it, and proclaim himself king—I’ve seen the photographic evidence.”

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“As much as I like to have nice things, I don’t like to pay thousands of dollars for them,” says Waters of the red Roses rug by Nani Marquina she had previously admired from afar. “We came across this one rolled up at a warehouse sale for just a few hundred dollars. At that price, we felt like we were stealing it.”

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SECRET GARDEN

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Mamie Rheingold Duboce Triangle 750 square feet

Mamie Rheingold, a 25-year-old program manager at Google, wasn’t the first to claim dibs on a new Duboce Triangle garden apartment designed by Boor Bridges Architecture, but she was definitely the most enthusiastic. “I have a background in architecture, so I really marveled at the design,” says Rheingold, who moved in six months ago. “My landlords really wanted a tenant who would appreciate it.”

The 750-square-foot space, formerly a storage area for a five-unit building located near the United States Mint, was transformed into a modern one-bedroom apartment with an industrialloft sensibility. Open communal spaces flow into each other and airy 9-foot ceilings display wooden support beams. Exposed air ducts, large windows, and folding glass doors let abundant sunshine in—conduct unbefitting a standard basement-level unit.

Rheingold’s youthful exuberance—revealed through her fondness for Japanese pop art, toy robots, gnomes, and novelty ceramic teapots—enlivens the space, while modern classics such as the Marcel Breuer Wassily Chair, clear acrylic coffee table from CB2, and tripod floor lamp add sophistication. “My décor is eclectic but not random,” says Rheingold. “Everything exists harmoniously here.”

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On sofa: (from left) John Robshaw “Fog” ikat-style pillow available at Lotus Bleu; Lotus Bleu custom pillow in “Black Stella” by Madeline Weinrib.

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The spotlight in Mamie Rheingold’s living room was a recent acquisition from SummerHouse in Mill Valley. She notes that the lamp’s wooden composition highlights the ceiling beams and warms up the cool textures in the space­—namely the concrete floors and Carrera marble countertops in the adjacent kitchen.

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The prized piece in Rheingold’s collection of white ceramic teapots is a rare work by Peter Fluck and Roger Law that features a particularly snouty Margaret Thatcher. It was modeled off a caricature of the Iron Lady on the famous ’80s British satirical puppet show, Spitting Image.

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The Mill Valley native suspects that the previous owner of the white leather-and-chrome Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer had no idea of its pedigree. She acquired it on Craigslist for $150. “Well, at least I think it’s a Breuer,” says Rheingold, suddenly uncertain.

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Rheingold sourced the blue-green, fan-shaped architectural relic above her bed from the San Anselmo Country Store. “I wanted something that would float above the bed,” she says, “and give the illusion of a headboard.”

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Rheingold has been collecting toys since childhood, but she began amassing toy robots in 2006, around the same time she started working at Google. “The tech industry was definitely a big influence in starting this collection,” she says. “After all, I am surrounded by engineers who love robots.”

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Rheingold swooped up the antique Shaker-style dining chairs—refugees from a recent remodel of the Caprice restaurant in Tiburon—for a mere $15 each. Their worn black paint makes a rustic contrast against the stark-white display wall, featuring a collection of unusual ceramic teapots.

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