In August we packed all our belongings (mostly mine) and moved from our small studio apartment in Berkeley to a cute Victorian duplex in Oakland.
I found this apartment while I was a student at Cal and it was 1 of 5 I toured on an ambitious Saturday in July with my mom as I set up appointments with different landlords/property managers I found on Craigslist. I was living in Salinas for the summer and wanted to find a place in one day to be ready for my third year, which I am lucky to say I did find a place in one day.
Initially, I was shown a unit 2 floors above this one in the same building and it did not look at all updated, but then the property manager mentioned another space was potentially going to be available since the one applicant was not entirely committed. I toured this space and when compared to the others, and the unit upstairs, it had everything I felt I needed in my first apartment, plus an updated bathroom and kitchen (minus the appliances.)
Prior to living here, I had experienced roommates and I realized early in the lease of my second year I was over that. I had planned on working while going to school, so it made sense to me to pay a little extra for my own space, and it later proved to be a really smart move since I locked in my rent while housing and apartment prices soared in the Bay Area.
I lived in this space for exactly 8 years, and managed to live here with up to 3 roommates at one point. I lived with my sister for a year while we both went to school in the Bay Area and then eventually with Armando. We all lived together at one point for 1 year, and luckily survived with all of our relationships intact, but that really did kick me and Armando to consider looking for a bigger space, which deserves its own post.
Our studio had a fairly narrow hallway when you opened the front door. Soon after Armando moved in, I found some Ikea Billy bookcases with the glass doors for cheap on Craigslist and we picked them up and I ended up storing most of my heels in them and used the top extra cabinets for some of my purses. It was hard to get a photo of the shoes, but trust me when I say they were color coordinated and it made sense to have them near the door.
Something we ended up doing was buying all this black Ikea furniture, which I felt gave our space a dark look, so I tried to balance that by adding a ton of color elsewhere. We stored our bikes by the entrance and tried hanging what we could to avoid clutter and kind of designate a space by function. We put two Ikea Expedits together and one was definitely used as an entry table while the other housed all our electronics like the modem and tv.
Over in the corner, we put our sectional couch which also functioned as an extra bed in case we had guests. This was our favorite corner in our home as we would spend a lot of time on our laptops working here or watching TV together. Armando picked this couch out and found it on Craigslist as well. As I think about it, there weren’t too many things we purchased new since we were not thinking all our pieces would be long-term and it was more cost-effective for us. I did pick out all the throw pillow covers and found most of them on Society6. We did buy the coffee table from Ikea new with the intention of spray painting it gold, but I never got around to that while living here.
Since we shared the closet, I did treat part of the studio as my closet and had bags in an Ikea cart and all my dresses on a clothing rack. Our closet had a built-in dresser on the door, which definitely helped, but was not enough storage for me and Armando once he moved in.
Armando and I are big fans of grey since it feels like a nice neutral color. This duvet cover is by Max Studio and I think it has definitely helped lighten the space up. I own a few canvas pieces that are by a local artist, Nidhi Chanani. I discovered her work, Everyday Love, at a blogging event and then eventually met her at a local festival in SF on Haight Street. She is very sweet and her pieces remind me of the little moments that make love special. I also love that she incorporates local landmarks in her art. I purchased the pieces on Zazzle, but you can find her work here.
As we’ve moved, I’ve been working on pairing down my jewelry, but Armando surprised me for Valentine’s Day one year by making the t bar necklace stand. I love using it and have wondered if I should ask for another short one to hold some bracelets. We started collecting brooches together, which came about after a day at the Alameda Antique Fair. We found so many good ones at a table for a great deal, and it’s something we keep an eye out for when we go to thrift stores or flea markets. I am hoping to incorporate them into outfits, especially on my jean jackets for the summer, but for now, I love looking at them since they remind me of our thrifting adventures.
Our secret to making this space work for us was taking advantage of all the storage options we had, and that meant a lot of shelves. We had storage in the bench at the foot of our bed and in the couch, but we definitely made our shelves work. The built-in shelf in our kitchen was not also tidy, or had a system, but I would store small appliances and boxes for shipping. I designated a space pretty early on for my baking supplies, but I would hardly use the top for baking. I would move to the kitchen to take advantage of more of the counter space. We had a spacious pantry, which I didn’t take photos of, but it was located to the left of the baking shelf.
And now my favorite space in the apartment, the kitchen! Despite it being narrow, I loved the natural light and that the cabinets were updated compared to a previous unit I looked at. The sink and stove were not up to snuff. Since we were in an old building, it would back up at times. We also had a love/hate relationship with the stove. I love baking, but this stove was not cooperating with my hobbies and would not heat up consistently. We fixed it at one point since it would not seem to even preheat, but I never felt it was reliable and this was one the reasons I wouldn’t bake as often.
And our his and hers closet (mostly hers) was located on your way to the shower/toilet. It was crammed, and despite my attempt to edit my wardrobe, it is a painfully slow process. I love clothes and know how to rework pieces, but it is true if you don’t see something you will definitely not wear it. Across the closet was our bathroom sink/vanity and since it was rather small, we really utilized the top of the dresser attached to the closet door and even the little ledges with the internal windows. I don’t think our bathroom was decorated that well, months before we moved I was asking Armando to build out a ladder shelf, but I am glad we both dragged our feet on that project.
And finally, one of the reasons I was sold on this space was not just the location and details like the picture rail and giant closet, but that there was access to a balcony from one of our large windows. This bench, which I eventually covered with cushions from Cost Plus World Market, became a great hangout spot, especially for Armando when he wanted to read his iPad during the summer. We didn’t have an amazing view, especially since we were only on the second floor, but we did have a tree that provided some privacy on a busy street.
It also added extra storage accessible from inside for items we didn’t need as often. I would need to move my clothing rack to access our Christmas decorations or luggage, but it definitely helped us fit in this apartment.
And there you have! That’s a tour of my first apartment and our first home together. It’s been 6 months since we moved out, and I was pretty sad about leaving this place. I did learn that in order to welcome new things, you have to be ready to let go of what you’ve known and held on to. It was time to leave this studio, despite it being good to us and I love our new home, particularly because we found it together and now I have a dedicated space for my clothing and accessories instead of having stuff everywhere in our living space. Armando is pretty stoked to have his own closet too.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour. It was overdue, but I am glad I was able to share its story and I’m looking forward to sharing photos of our new home soon.