The live/work space of painter Heather Day and musician Chase McBride is what many would expect of a creative couple’s artist loft—high ceilings and an open floor plan saturated with sunlight pouring in through large warehouse windows and skylights, white walls swathed with canvases, and a floor coated in paint splatters. Guitar strumming permeates the three stories, drifting down to coexist with the sound of mixing paint, brushes scratching canvas. As in a painting or song, balance is key, which infiltrates every element of the 2,200-square-foot apartment in the Dogpatch district of San Francisco.

“During winter rainstorms the tin roof fills the space with a calming clatter. Those are great days to hunker down and binge through an entire Netflix series, scroll Instagram endlessly or, you know, read a book.”

Each level is broken down with a specific cause, and naturally everything is multipurpose—the bottom level functions as a living room, kitchen, and art studio. The second floor has a full bathroom, music studio, canvas storage, and a converted guest bedroom with a collapsable Murphy bed. The third floor, accessible only by a handmade walnut ladder, is their bedroom and personal space. You can also peer down each tier to the first floor from the bedroom nook on the third floor.

Developments were made by the previous tenant, also a notable artist, with interior designer Sarah Owen to allow the space to function as both a home and studio. The top floor was extended to make space for a bedroom with the bed tucked away, working out nicely as there are no real walls dividing rooms. The goal was to minimize visual clutter in tight accommodations which translated to clean, white surfaces with subtle wood accents.

The second floor has been reconfigured since McBride moved in to accommodate a workspace, where he hosts rehearsals, writes, and records rough demos before doing final sessions in Oakland and Los Angeles. With Heather painting voraciously in prep for her upcoming solo show in San Francisco, the space is teeming with art.

“We love the energy that the constant creation and color give to the space, especially against the minimal aesthetic of the loft. It feels like a living, breathing entity. A cycle of turning nothing into something.”

“During winter rainstorms the tin roof fills the space with a calming clatter. Those are great days to hunker down and binge through an entire Netflix series, scroll Instagram endlessly or, you know, read a book.”

“We love the energy that the constant creation and color give to the space, especially against the minimal aesthetic of the loft. It feels like a living, breathing entity. A cycle of turning nothing into something.”

“In a matter of a couple hours, the space can transform from a painting studio into a dinner party venue, so a lot of our furniture is modular, and easy to move between floors.”

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This Three-Level Loft in San Francisco Is an Artist's Sanctuary