Houzz Tour: Farmhouse Chic in San Francisco

Michele Cabot apartment is a tranquil haven from San Francisco’s Inner Richmond neighborhood. A love of all things along with a knack for sewing and refinishing furniture ordered the space’s serene aesthetic.

Inspired by a year in France, Cabot wanted to design her apartment at a mix of French cinema and farmhouse design. Instead of opting for new variations, Cabot found nearly everything by scouring flea markets and antique fairs for furniture.

More shabby-chic style

The majority of the items in Cabot’s house are either vintage or handmade. Her imaginative uses for vintage French linen seem to be endless. “Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention,” she states.

Interior color: Linen, Restoration Hardware
Pitcher/candlesticks: Atelier de Campagne

The dining room built-in is just one of Cabot’s favourite things. She utilizes the dainty screen to maintain vintage pitchers and old painted bread baskets out of France.” This part of the house feels very San Francisco to me,” she states.

For a rustic, mismatched appearance, Cabot put four German classic bistro seats and two Louis XV caned back seats round her table. Cabot covered the seats herself, distressed and painted.

Although Cabot believes her rental kitchen renders some things to be wanted, she has done a great job at making the space work. Barstools at precisely the exact same fashion as the remainder of her house add rustic elegance, and Cabot additional wainscoting under the counter to get a little additional detail. Next up: New pendants and countertop.

A small area from the hallway is a good spot to seat an overflow of guests — a more likely scenario in the apartment. Cabot hand-sewed the slipcovers for these seats, and found the side table at a local flea market.

Cabot’s apartment improvement project started with the white linen slipcover on her living room sofa. “As long as I can remember, I’ve needed a white linen sofa,” she states. As these may be spendy, she chose to make a slipcover for the sofa she had.

She found a beautiful thick but soft white linen and made the slipcover without using a pattern or even a sewing machine! The slipcover turned out superbly, and Cabot actually supports her brothers to play on it. Every time she washes it, it comes out thicker and more worn in. She made the stockings over the sofa.

The sofa slipcover was such a victory, Cabot chose to make slipcovers, duvet covers, curtains, pillows, tablecloths and more. “I knew I could make them,” she states. “I moved to the project with the knowledge that it would require quite a bit of time, extensive use of my seam ripper and undying patience.”

As in several San Francisco apartments, the bedroom was originally a living room. Cabot handmade her bed out of a thick and soft 6.5-gauge linen and classic hand-loomed hemp linen. The frame and mirror over her bed really are from a local flea market, along with her parents brought the dining table lamp out of Ireland.

Interior color: Linen, Restoration Hardware
C Wreath: Ballard Designs
Picture frame: Shabby Chic

Stunning period details add to the home’s vintage feel. Cabot contrasted the traditional mantle over a non-working fireplace with a more modern piece of artwork.

The bedroom is rather large, so Cabot left a small sitting area at the foot of her bed using a white sofa and two classic French seats. The room has five large windows, which offer ample all-natural light and make the atmosphere more serene.

Coffee table: Trunk from flea market
Candleholders: Atelier de Campagne

Cabot made a number of the pillows and runners at her house from classic hand-loomed linen, a cloth used to make grain sacks from Europe from the late 1800s and early 1900s. “I love the background behind them as well as the rustic feel, durability and one of a kind style of every piece of cloth,” she says.

Chairs: Shabby Chic, flea market

Vintage bed frames from the girls’ room have a yummy, classic feel. Cabot made their bedding out of the identical linen she used in her room, and snagged the chandelier out of her sister.

Each of these crafty endeavors have invited Cabot to site about her new projects, and open an Etsy shop.

A small seat with cubbies was found at Pottery Barn and hand-painted pink with white polka dots to match the remainder of her daughters’ room.

“My biggest challenge is trying to find the opportunity to do that which,” Cabot says. “I want to sew, paint furniture, learn how to hide seats and headboards and choose upholstery courses. Since I am a mom with a full-time occupation, this may be rough.”

It is possible to follow Cabot’s projects on her blog, Summersoul.

More Houzz Tours:

Kay Loves Vintage

Cozy and Crocheted from the Netherlands

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