apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Name: Zero Energy Idea House
Homeowners: Donna and Riley Shirey
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Size: 1630 square feet
Date completed: April, 2009

Meaningful design, sustainability, eco-conscious are all terms we’d like to use when describing our homes. But this is a house that can truly boast such expressions. The Zero Energy Idea House, perched over the shores of Lake Sammamish, is a real house built for a real family who have been dedicated to building sustainable homes for over 22 years.

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Name: Kelly Colchin, Jonathan Skaggs and Marco the cat
Location: The Mission, S.F.
Size: 850 square feet
Years lived in: 5 years rented

Recent newlyweds Kelly and Jonathan moved to San Francisco from Austin six years ago. Their years of cohabitation have solidified their unified sense of decor, and their current home in the Mission District is proof of the stylistic harmony they've achieved.

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(Welcome to Ashley from Portland. She is one of the bloggers trying out for a place on the Apartment Therapy editorial team, covering different cities in the NW. Comments welcome!)

Name: Sara, Oliver and baby Winter
Location: Portland, Oregon. Homestead Neighborhood aka: Pill Hill

Ashley shares a fantastic Portland home with us as part of her tryout. She writes: After purchasing their 1892 bungalow, Sara and Oliver felt the divided rooms did not create the most comfortable living space in their 2000 square foot home....

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(Welcome to Anne from Bellevue. She is one of the bloggers trying out for a place on the Apartment Therapy editorial team, covering different cities in the NW. Comments welcome!)

Name: Anne & Nathan
Location: Bellevue, WA

Anne features her own kitchen as part of her tryout. She writes: Our 1976 tri-level boasts light-filled clerestory windows with views across Lake Washington’s largest freshwater wetlands as well as vaulted ceilings with exposed dark wood beams. But when it came to the interior design, this house reflected none of our design aesthetics. Having lived in San Francisco and Brooklyn...

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Name: Joan Yokom and Johann Fitzgerald
Location: The Mission, San Francisco
Size: 660 square feet
Years lived in: 6 years

Joan Yokom and Johann Fitzgerald have garnered a lot of positive attention for their colorful Mission home. A few of their images have been featured on Apartment Therapy here, but we thought it was about time to get the full story. Chock full of inspirational DIYs and artisan made custom furniture, this Mission Maisonette deserved a full house tour.

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(Welcome to Molly from Portland. She is one of the bloggers trying out for a place on the Apartment Therapy editorial team, covering different cities in the NW. Comments welcome!)

Name: Sarah and Jason
Location: Portland

Molly sent us a House Call post featuring photos of a super creative and hardworking space - Jason and Sarah run The Wurst Gallery out of their home. Molly writes: Sarah and Jason have put a lot of love into restoring their tri-level mid-century home. They’ve pulled up the carpets, renovated the bathroom and opened up the kitchen by knocking...

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(Welcome to Jessica from SF. She is one of the bloggers trying out for a place on the Apartment Therapy editorial team, covering different cities in the NW. Comments welcome!)

Name: Melinda Gorham and David Charles
Location: Glen Park, San Francisco

When Melinda moved into her two bedroom Glen Park apartment five years ago, the cream walls and gold fixtures were definite eyesores. Luckily, her amenable landlord gave her free reign to remodel, so the painting, fixture replacing and personalizing began immediately. Now with a new housemate, her fiance David, the home is...

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Names: Katy and Tighe
Location: Vashon, Washington
Size: 850 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year, rented

Back when Katy and Tighe were city dwellers, they lived a semi-country life. They built a greenhouse in a tiny San Francisco backyard, grew their own food, and made plans to raise chickens. Eventually, having moved to Seattle, they decided to try out an actual country life. They found a little cottage on Vashon Island, got an (adorable) dog, and set about making a lovely home among the madronas and pines...

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Name: Edyta Szyszlo and Jared Grellner (with cats Boris and Desher)
Location: Laurel Heights, San Francisco
Size: 650 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 months

Edyta Szyszlo and Jared Grellner just moved in to this charming Laurel Heights apartment, but it's not evident by the looks of it. Edyta, a professional photographer with a knack for design, and Jared, an architect wth a knack for DIY, have focused their carefully trained eyes on their shared space, and have managed to put together a gorgeous home for themselves and their two cats.

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Name: Matthew: Owner - Merchant Brand Management, Yoko: Creative Director - simple white home, their 3-year-old daughter Juliette and Jack Russell Terrier brothers Bullet and Magnet
Location: Glen Park, San Francisco
Size: 1,800 square feet
Type: 3 br 2 ba Mission style single-family house
Years lived in: owned for 1 year, 3 months

When Yoko and Matthew set out to find a single family house in a good neighborhood, they discovered this one in Glen Park and went for it. Through extensive (and we mean extensive!) renovations, they've made it their own...

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Name: Angelique Lalonde, Catherine Lalonde, Jessica Ziakin
Location: East Burnside, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Size: 3 Bedrooms
Years lived in: 3 years rented

Our friend and photographer Phillip was recently in Victoria, B.C. visiting his friend Angelique. During his stay he learned that the landlord was selling the house and that Angelique, her sister Catherine and roommate Jessica would soon have to move out and find new homes. Phillip -- who has always loved the place for its charming, homey feel and the wonderful times he's spent in it -- decided to document it, so he could always revisit his dear friend's former home, and so he could share it with you.

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Name: Lisa Congdon and Clay Walsh
Location: Mission District, San Francisco
Size: 1,000 square feet
Years lived in: 6 years

Artist and Rare Device store owner Lisa Congdon is no stranger to Apartment Therapy. We've featured her art, the products based on her works, her store displays, and even a tour of her house a few years ago. But as with any creative person, Lisa has changed the decor of her home several times since we last visited, and especially since her partner, Clay moved in this year.

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Name: Jennifer Hewett
Location: Inner Sunset, San Francsco, CA
Size: 1100 square foot 2 br/1 bath
Years lived in: 13

We first saw a snippet of Jennifer Hewett's bright and beautiful home in a Flickr Find here on Apartment Therapy. Now, back by popular demand, we have the opportunity to take a look at Jennifer's entire home! A fantastic mix of found and vintage treasures, Jennifer's home is a light-filled haven for furniture with a provenance.

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Name: Rhiannon Smith & Victor Obeck
Location: Hayes Valley, San Francisco
Size: 501 square feet
Years lived in: Almost 2 years, rented

Rhiannon and Victor's apartment is not what you might expect the home of a couple of college students to look like. But the two of them, who are both transferring into San Francisco State in the fall, decided when they moved into their Hayes Valley Edwardian walk-up that they were going to make it special. The efficiency in LA where they lived together before was apparently so small that they didn't even consider it a "real" apartment. So they've treated this one as their first, furnishing it with style and love, and maintaining it beautifully even while holding down jobs and going to school...

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