My Houzz: Fashion Pro Brings DIY Charm to Her Studio Loft
Personalized touches inspire joy in this light-filled rental in Oakland, California
Wang and her boyfriend split their time between her apartment and the boat he lives on. “We get the best of both worlds between the industrial look and modern amenities of my apartment and the simplicity and beauty of living on the water,” she says. Her vibrant Jack London neighborhood is full of great coffee shops, restaurants, farmers markets and event sites. “Jack London was and still is an industrial area; just down the street from me is a wholesale produce market. I love this building because it maintains the feeling and vibes of the area and is convenient to get into the city for work,” she says.
One design challenge of moving into an industrial-inspired studio was figuring out how to make the open space feel cozy, especially with exposed concrete ceilings. “Adding lots of plants made the space feel more alive and less industrial and cold,” Wang says. Another challenge was creating designated areas while maintaining the open feel. Finding pieces like the bookshelf was key to delineating spaces. She loves life in a studio because her home feels like a blank canvas. “It’s fun having an open layout like this where you can move things around,” she says.
Wang and her boyfriend repurposed the legs from an Ikea dining table to create this elevated island table. The existing table “didn’t fit well in the apartment and was too small for four people to sit comfortably,” she says. They replaced the table’s dark black particleboard tabletop with an oak board from Home Depot after routing the edges, sanding it down and coating it with epoxy to make it stain resistant.
Bar stools: Skogsta, Ikea
Wang and her boyfriend repurposed the legs from an Ikea dining table to create this elevated island table. The existing table “didn’t fit well in the apartment and was too small for four people to sit comfortably,” she says. They replaced the table’s dark black particleboard tabletop with an oak board from Home Depot after routing the edges, sanding it down and coating it with epoxy to make it stain resistant.
Bar stools: Skogsta, Ikea
The coffee table is a find from the Alameda Point Antiques Faire, also known as the Alameda flea market, four years ago from an artist who refurbishes wood into new furniture. “I saw him just last month at the same stall at the flea market and we chatted about how wonderfully his piece has held up,” she says. “The wood is beautiful and really makes the piece one of a kind.”
The leaning ladder was something Wang’s sister made out of copper pipes and ends. “She is one of the most talented DIY-ers I know and gave this to me when I moved into the apartment,” she says. “A lot of the decor pieces in my apartment are things people have made for me. Seeing them every day reminds me of how loved and fortunate I am.”
Next to the sofa is the cello Wang has played since she was 9 years old. “For a long time I kept my cello packed away in the closet. Now that I have it out and displayed, it encourages me to pick it up from time to time,” she says. A friend bought her the guitar in college. “I find that having the instruments displayed out encourages people who come over to visit to pick them up and play,” she adds.
Sofa: Apel in Dove Gray, Cost Plus World Market; accent pillows and washed corduroy floor pillows: Urban Outfitters; see similar floor cushions
The leaning ladder was something Wang’s sister made out of copper pipes and ends. “She is one of the most talented DIY-ers I know and gave this to me when I moved into the apartment,” she says. “A lot of the decor pieces in my apartment are things people have made for me. Seeing them every day reminds me of how loved and fortunate I am.”
Next to the sofa is the cello Wang has played since she was 9 years old. “For a long time I kept my cello packed away in the closet. Now that I have it out and displayed, it encourages me to pick it up from time to time,” she says. A friend bought her the guitar in college. “I find that having the instruments displayed out encourages people who come over to visit to pick them up and play,” she adds.
Sofa: Apel in Dove Gray, Cost Plus World Market; accent pillows and washed corduroy floor pillows: Urban Outfitters; see similar floor cushions
The flowers on the wall were made for Wang’s best friend’s wedding. “For the year leading up to Carol’s wedding we had handmade hundreds of paper flowers. I kept a few of my favorite ones and sprayed a few of them gold to hang on the wall. They remind me of her whenever I see them,” she says.
One other major challenge with this studio apartment is the lack of storage. “Full disclosure: I kept my jeans and sweaters in my kitchen cupboard when I first moved in. My boyfriend knows how much I love my clothing and so he designed and made this rack for me,” Wang says. She wanted more space for clothes but also wanted it to be aesthetically pleasing and fun. “He put it on wheels and made it a mix of a clothing rack and shelving so I could display books and other things on it.”
Wang has worked in the clothing industry for 15 years and started out working in visual merchandising, rearranging a store and making window displays. “My job now is still to think critically about how different colors, textures, fabrics and styles come together to create an assortment. My clothing rack is kind of like a mini store display! I change it every few weeks based on what I feel like wearing — rearranging the books, shoes and plants to match. For example, in the summer it was an all-white display; in winter it was shades of indigo, navy and grays. It’s both functional and something fun,” she says.
Wang has worked in the clothing industry for 15 years and started out working in visual merchandising, rearranging a store and making window displays. “My job now is still to think critically about how different colors, textures, fabrics and styles come together to create an assortment. My clothing rack is kind of like a mini store display! I change it every few weeks based on what I feel like wearing — rearranging the books, shoes and plants to match. For example, in the summer it was an all-white display; in winter it was shades of indigo, navy and grays. It’s both functional and something fun,” she says.
Wang usually chooses one item to set the palette and inspire what is displayed on her open clothing rack and shelves. “Right now it’s a mix of rust, mustard tones, paired back to indigo navy,” she says. “I think I had just finished Zadie Smith’s book Swing Time and was loving the yellow color of the book when I pulled together this assortment.”
Platform bed: Floyd; duvet cover and pillowcases: Björnloka, Ikea
Ceramics made locally in Sausalito, California, from Heath Ceramics decorate the open shelf that divides the kitchen area from the sleeping area.
“I’m often burning candles, incense, sage and other things in my apartment,” Wang says. “One of the challenges of living in a studio apartment is anytime you cook anything the smell permeates the whole space.” Four years ago she found a vintage copper match holder at the Alameda flea market. “When I found it, it was rusty and covered in patina. A little bit of vinegar and baking soda and some hard scrubbing brought out the beautiful copper color underneath it,” she adds.
Single-stem vase: Heath Ceramics
Single-stem vase: Heath Ceramics
She also uses the open shelving unit to display travel mementos and knickknacks. “Some of my favorite things are the pinecones from outside my childhood home, the vintage viewfinder I found at a Brooklyn flea market when I lived in New York, and my collection of things to burn, including sage, palo santo and incense,” she says. “When people come over it’s usually one of the first things in the apartment they look at and play with.”
In the narrow entryway hang mirrors, accessories and air plants from Wang’s favorite local plant store, Flowerland, displayed in iron hooks from a hardware store. “Air plants are great in the apartment since they are easy to care for, and can add life and greenery to any space. I hang my necklaces with the mirror as a final check spot to throw on with my outfit for the day,” she says. “I also have my favorite photo of my mom and me from when I was a kid lounging around. I love that it’s the last thing I see before I leave for the day.”
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See more photos of this studio
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Kelly Wang
Location: Jack London District of Oakland, California
Size: 722 square feet (67 square meters)
“My favorite thing about my apartment is the windows,” says Kelly Wang of her studio apartment in Oakland, California. Wang, a senior merchant for women’s apparel at San Francisco clothing brand Everlane, moved there in 2013 and was drawn to the rental unit’s floor-to-ceiling windows.
The open layout space gets flooded with natural light throughout the day, and “the plants love it too,” she says. The previous tenant installed the window treatments — a layer of sheers and a second layer that is a blackout shade to block out the sun when needed.