2 Tools + 1 Resourceful Guy = Lots of Great ‘New’ Furniture
“Moving into this apartment was worth going broke for,” says retail
visual merchandiser Taylor Hoff. Unfortunately, that meant Hoff didn’t
have a lot of money to spend on furnishing his San Francisco rental. “I
didn’t want crappy furniture but couldn’t afford nice furniture, so I decided to make it myself,” he says.
Tapping into his creativity and craftsmanship skills passed down from his father, Hoff turned his Mission District apartment into an industrial, retail-inspired space.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Taylor Hoff and his 3 housemates
Location: Mission District of San Francisco
Size: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Tapping into his creativity and craftsmanship skills passed down from his father, Hoff turned his Mission District apartment into an industrial, retail-inspired space.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Taylor Hoff and his 3 housemates
Location: Mission District of San Francisco
Size: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
Hoff attributes his handiness to
his father, who taught him everything about woodworking and building.
They even had their own workshop at home, where his father taught him
how to use tools and gave him a foundation in craftsmanship.
He doesn’t like the look of dressers but needed a place for clothes, so he decided to build open, retail-store-inspired shelving.
He doesn’t like the look of dressers but needed a place for clothes, so he decided to build open, retail-store-inspired shelving.
Hoff follows a pragmatic design
principle: build and design based on functionality. “I want to create
solutions to a problem,” he says. Even his tools are stripped down to
the basics; Hoff made everything for his room using a drill and handsaw.
He finds inspiration from blogs, Houzz and the minimalist aesthetic of Japanese design. Displayed on one shelf is his collection of vintage cameras.
He sourced most of the wood and brackets from Discount Builders Supply in San Francisco. He also used reclaimed wood from Building REsources, where scrap wood from commercial buildings is sold.
He finds inspiration from blogs, Houzz and the minimalist aesthetic of Japanese design. Displayed on one shelf is his collection of vintage cameras.
He sourced most of the wood and brackets from Discount Builders Supply in San Francisco. He also used reclaimed wood from Building REsources, where scrap wood from commercial buildings is sold.
While the design of the room is always in flux, Hoff wanted a bed with a low platform. It took three hours to cut each piece to the right length.
A lot of the objects in the room
are made out of scraps, like this light. Hoff wanted a pendant lamp and
happened to have some extra rope. The result is this sleek fixture.
His bedroom
faces the street and is on the top floor, so it receives a lot of
natural light. “It’s a good thing, though — it helps me wake up early in
the morning, even on those days when it’s hard to do so,” Hoff says.
To gain a little extra privacy,
Hoff pieced together some secondhand window frames, covering a pair of
doors he didn’t need and giving the room a unique accent feature.
Out of everything Hoff has made, the benches
are dearest to his heart. “They’re a little rough around the edges,” he
says, “but that’s precisely what I love most about them.”
These wheels used to be part of a
table that Hoff didn’t like and took apart. Now they fit perfectly with
the industrial look of the apartment … and will remain here until he
decides what to do with them next.
The kitchen is shared with three
housemates. Hoff created a backsplash using chalkboard paint, where
they can leave messages for one another.
The hanging pot rack was a shared project, using supplies from Discount Builders Supply.
The hanging pot rack was a shared project, using supplies from Discount Builders Supply.
In the back of the apartment is
this hidden gem: a gorgeous, light-filled sunroom. The floor used to be,
in Hoff’s words, “crappy linoleum,” but a roommate put down plywood to
cover it. The surface was then painted a dark slate color, so it pops
against the white finishes. Hoff made the table and a matching bench
(tucked underneath).
The sunroom is a communal space, where the four housemates can eat or entertain.
Hoff plans to add a concrete or marble top to the table.
Hoff lives just a few blocks away from a popular coffee shop, Four Barrel, which he describes as a second living room