Knock, Knock: A Study in Downsizing ... Salt Lake City to San Francisco.: Nesting

Liz Stanley, author of the popular blog Say Yes to Hoboken and shopkeeper at Baby Hank Vintage, just moved her family from a good-size standalone house in Salt Lake City to a smallish apartment in San Francisco. They moved in only a few weeks ago, but she already has her apartment looking stylish and put together. (Is this proof of the advantages of a small space? Or the talent and seemingly endless energy of Liz herself?) We're delighted to get a peek at her tricks for downsizing.

The space looks so calm. What great light! Tell us about that amazing, gigantic mirror.

It belonged to my sweet grandmother before she passed away two years ago. Surprisingly, no one else laid claim on it, so I got it. Score! I've always loved how over-the-top ornate it is, and I think it looks great against our modernish style. A lot of white may seem boring at first thought, but I don't think I will ever get sick of it. It's a very peaceful place. Plus, it's fun to swap out small punches of color here and there.

Those tiny chalkboards are adorable. So smart to have them at kid-eye level. Are they vintage? What's your favorite source for cool finds like that? And what about the sweet little banner?

The chalkboards are vintage, bought from a shop on Etsy called moxie thrift. Etsy is such an amazing place to find not only handmade items but vintage ones as well. It's fun to have others do the hunting for you, plus prices are always so affordable. The banner I made, it seriously took 15 minutes. It was made with felt and ribbon and cost about $4 in supplies.

This looks like such a pleasant work space. How hard was it to transition from a full, stand alone house to a small city apartment? Was it tricky to carve out this project space?

Surprisingly, the transition from a five-bedroom home to a two-bedroom apartment was easier than I anticipated. We had a huge garage sale and donated literally a truckload of stuff to the local thrift store. It felt really good to purge and keep only what we really loved and needed. When we moved into our new space, it look a lot of creative thinking to make things work. For example, my son's closet (one of only two in the apartment) is now the linen, tools, and storage closet. We had to think of really creative ways to store clutter and toys.

This workspace was the last to come together, and I did sit on it for a few weeks, trying to figure out where and how I could compress an entire craft room into a single corner. I ended up finding a really great storage cabinet-turn desk on Craigslist (which is incredible here in San Francisco) and everything just fell right in place. It zips up nicely and cleanly.

The punches of color here are perfect. We can't get enough reds and yellows. Did you consciously pick this color scheme, or did it just come together? And is that original art on the wall?

It all started with the couch we bought a few years ago from Crate and Barrel. Then I made some pillows to add punches of color, then I found the red Barcelona chair, and recently bought the zigzag rug. It's a multifunctional room--living room, dining room, and office. Plus, it's a play area for my toddler, Hank. Toys are stored in those large baskets under the bench in the corner, which he promptly empties out each morning. The artwork is from my very talented brother-in-law, Paul Ferney. It was a Valentine's present this year from my nice husband.

Everything about this shot is delightful: the perfect map, the owl lamp, the adorable stuffed creatures. Tell us about it all, please.

I love maps in children's rooms and found this one at a secondhand store for $28. Framed! I immediately snatched it up and reworked his whole room to make it fit. Last year when Hank was a newborn, I was really getting my crafting on--so I wouldn't go completely insane--and made a bunch of stuffed-sock animals. He sleeps with the white lamb, Linus every night (I admit, with some gentle product placement at first). There are quite a few things in his room, like the fish mobile above his bed, that I made as well, and they make me proud when I see them, even if it was just a simple 15-minute pennant-banner project.

That chalkboard! It looks like the perfect size. Is it magnetic? Very cool. Is it a find or a make?

Yes, I made this from an old mirror I found at a thrift store for $7. I painted the frame white and then added coats of magnetic and chalkboard paint. It's fun to decorate and I like the contrast against the modern chairs.

Thanks for the peek, Liz! Congratulations on your successful move.

See more from Nesting contributor Gabrielle Blair at her blog, Design Mom.

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