i get lots and lots of requests from readers about where to go in san francisco — cool spots to hang out, best places to shop and especially where to find vintage bargains, so when the folks at know what asked me to join their team and provide a guide for their new know what app, i was in! Sfgirlbybay’s Bohemian Modern San Francisco is now live in the itunes app store and you can download it instantly! Woohoo! 

know what shares multiple guides to the cities’ best secret spots. right now, the app covers the greater San Francisco and Los Angeles areas with over 1,000 top recommendations from the country’s coolest and most creative people with some of the best websites. people like Vegansaurus, one of the most popular vegan lifestyle blogs; Mark Frauenfelder, editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine; and Carolyn Jung, a James Beard award-winning food and wine writer based in Silicon Valley, California.

here’s How it works:

• The price of the know what app is $2.99 which is pretty much less than your morning coffee — and comes with 400 built-in recommendations of the thousands available: The Know What Essentials.

• thousands more places can be added to the map through in-app purchases. Purchases range from $.99 to $3.99 depending on the size and subject.

• Sfgirlbybay’s Bohemian Modern San Francisco app is $3.99.

• i’ve loaded up my Sfgirlbybay’s Bohemian Modern San Francisco with 75 of the hidden gems i’ve had stashed away in my brain, and will continue to update the list as new cool spots open up around the city, or when i discover something new i wanna share. so, if you’re seeking some tips on where to go and what to see in san francisco, and where the best shopping hoods are, you’ll find it all here in the sweet little know what app — and they’re all mapped out for you with directions on how to get there.

so, heading to san francisco or los angeles, and want to visit the city’s most culturally cool spots? check the guides for the one that sounds right for you. and know what? yeah, it’s going national — New York, Chicago, Boston, Seattle and Portland are coming soon!

this is just a quick, instagram version of sunday in the city, because as you can see — i visited the alameda flea market, and after four+ hours of wandering every aisle, alas i did not find much to speak of. a cute bespoke bag, a black tin box to stash stuff bedside; some metal filing bins for the office, and another lamp to which i added a filament bulb to and threw into the collection. it was sunny and glorious out, and very very crowded. i thought everyone would stay home watching some football game, but instead they were swooping up the scores at the flea!

sometimes i like to think about different purposes for vintage finds. i’m headed to the alameda flea market tomorrow (as i write this on saturday), and i like some of these ideas for giving new life to old objects. i love hilda grahnat’s repurposed coat hanger turned eyeglasses holder. i guess that’s the heart of re-purposing in a nutshell — reinventing vintage finds to suit your modern needs. i’d like to know — much like that feature in real simple magazine “new uses for everyday items” — do you have any fun ideas you’d like to share of a vintage find turned into all new treasure? i’d love to hear them.

i love old camp stools. they’re so charming, and rustic, and make an excellent place for stacking and displaying favorite books or collectibles. this one’s from bella lulu.

vintage cash register price flags just look interesting displayed — i love their tin shapes and old typefaces, via lackluster co.

earth sea warrior continues to make the most incredible vintage-inspired lighting fixtures — Vintage Antique Art Deco Glass Bullet Lamps have been beautifully revamped with unique color cloth cords. or this fixture (below) a white and yellow plug and silver pull chain socket have been added for extra cool vintage flare.

trampoline is at it again, with great ideas for repurposing vintage finds — i love her idea of uses muffin pans for displaying votive candles. they’re great for stashing jewelry, too.

A Vintage Wood & Porcelain Toothbrush Holder makes the perfect spot to store your paint brushes, and looks so pretty, too — from love vintage finds.

Vintage metal Drawer makes the perfect spot for stashing stationery, postcards or office supplies, from hindsvik.

Vintage 1960s French language flashcards can be perfect for framing — these would be great near a coat closet or in a young boy’s bedroom, from gin & tonic shop.

for shame — it’s been utterly way too long since we’ve had an unexpected guest! but today i’m quite elated to be sharing designer and artist jill danyelle’s apartment in manhattan’s east village. i’m extra excited about this apartment, not only because it’s lovely, but because this coming may i’m headed to new york for the ICFF show and a bit of fun, and jill has very generously invited us to share her space for a few days! so i’m pretty thrilled to be staying in such a beautiful home. born in woodstock, formerly a therapist, jill danyelle is primarily an interior designer now, but has creativity bounding from her in countless artistic avenues — from fashion design to writing and photography. here’s what she had to share with us…

You’re kind of a creative entrepreneur with your hands in a bit of everything design related — how do you define what you do?

Currently, I am focused on interior design, but am hoping to grow the art/ photography/ print side of the business more this year. I definitely explored a lot prior to beginning this business and those experiences were invaluable. They contributed to my abilities, to who I am and allowed me to meet a lot of great people. Ultimately, they were not the right fit for one reason or another, but I am thankful that they led me to the path I am on today.

Is there anything you’d like share about your work, who you like to work with etc?

Doing interior design has been great so far. I find it creatively fulfilling, but I also really enjoy working with clients and solving problems. They may not be the kind of problems I was solving as a therapist, but I still feel good about the work I am doing. Being able to hire an interior designer can be seen as a luxury, but many of my clients opt for DIY plans which are fairly affordable. Sometimes it is hard to hand over the DIY plan and not be able to see a project through, but it makes me happy when I get emails from clients who have implemented their plan with good results.

As far as the art side of things, I need to be more diligent about making, making, making. I am not talking about making things to market and sell necessarily, but just developing more consistency in my practice. It is really therapeutic for me and I want to see myself progressing. When I photographed my garden over the course of a year, I felt like that was a really magical and productive time. Just by the nature of the project, I had to continually go there and shoot. Prioritizing time to create and make art is definitely a goal this year.

what are a few of your favorite things to do in the east village?

Some of my favorite things to do in the neighborhood are…share a meal with friends in the amazing community garden that I belong to…walk through Tompkins Square Park. I live just off the park and try to always make a path through it to admire the trees, see people of all walks of life and catch a glimpse of our resident hawks…grab a coffee at Ninth Street Espresso. I was never too particular about coffee, then came Ninth Street.

What’s your favorite flea market, or secondhand find?

Half my world seems to have been found secondhand or in a flea market, so picking a “favorite” might be difficult. I am quite fond of my Lightolier sconces and Dansk Kobenstyle pots and pans, recent additions in the last couple of years. My Danish Modern daybed probably wins for combined points of aesthetics and utility. I scored it many, many years ago at The Salvation Army. I think it was $75. There used to be a great flea market in the parking lot on the corner of Ave A and 11th St. You could find a vintage dress for $20 to wear out later that night, get some authentic tamales and horchata and pick up some old school music. It was the best. I bought this huge, kind of abstract print there of sailboat masts and rigging for $5. I was sailing on tall ships out of South St Seaport at the time, so thought it was extra cool.

What’s your favorite possession?

I am really fascinated by our relationship to our possessions. I am trying to get my feng shui on more and more in recent years and I think it takes a bit of detachment. As New Age as it sounds, I try to have faith that the Universe will bring what I need, when I need it – although, it still hasn’t answered my prayer for some brutalist brass chandeliers or a set of bottom basement priced Dansk Fjord teak flatware… maybe when I finally close on the house Upstate. Seriously though, if there is one thing that shopping at flea markets will teach you, it is that there is always another killer vintage dress and Danish Modern credenza to be had somewhere.

I liked Marion Melbourne’s 52 objects…I think that was a really nice practice to meditate on the things in her life, show appreciation in some way. Like her, most of my favorite things are imbued with some emotion, connected to some memory — a Mexican silver bracelet that I wear a lot, which was given to my Mom by my Dad. I actually love it aesthetically, but it is the history that gives it meaning and makes it special.

What five things can’t you live without?

love, nature, creative expression, challenges and growth.

I also find brunch to be pretty important. When I lived in Barcelona people did not brunch and everything was closed on Sunday. Five people sitting around the kitchen table, hungover, staring at one banana and a cup of yogurt is not pretty.

If you could go flea market shopping with anyone in the world, who would it be?

Lisa Eisner. Maybe we’d just skip the flea market, sit in her garden having cocktails and then try on some of the Sammy Davis Jr suits she owns or maybe some feathered hats. Then Roman Alonso would come over and offer me his apartment for any time I wanted to crash in L.A.

What bores you to death?

Chronic negativity.

• all photos courtesy of jill danyelle.

i love this image of stark white plates on a sharp black wall by photographer david prince. makes me wistful for my long gone black dining room wall. i’d love to get this look. i thought about it once before, and maybe it’s time i start collecting plates for a wall of my very own.

abchao perhaps does it best — i love her well-collected dining room plate display (above, and below).

pretty blue & white collection via vtwonen; elisabeth dunker of fine little day’s home, as visited on unexpected guests (above, and below).

even a mixture of paper and ceramic plates can work well, via vtwonen; knack studios embellishes vintage plates with words, via remodelista; and some naughty vintage china from trixie delicious.

i love this image by ben roberts, and it got me thinking about what it might be like to live down by the shore. own a little beach pad and decorate it with a mix of rustic and vintage-modern pieces and keep it on the kitschy side, just for fun.

how amazing would it to be to have some dining room chairs by artist leslie oschmann?

i like the idea of having amazing barn doors like this, with a green chalkboard wall via Cottage Living Idea House.

i’d like to keep things nice and light with a modern twist, like this image via femina.

i think i’ll have some vintage-inspired graham & brown retro patterned wallpaper in the bedroom to cozy it up a bit; and a rustic bedroom door via country living. i’ll hang caitlin holcomb’s forever banner above my bedroom dresser.

i think a vintage scalloped end table like this one via fab.com would fit right in; and these woodstock storage bins from anyhow.se are fun; and i will most definitely need at least one or two Herman Miller Eames DAR Molded Plastic Armchairs in aqua!

chris & kenny’s backyard via apartment therapy.

so last week i shared these amazing bulbs and vintage fixtures etsy shop trampoline put together. and this week, i went out and got some edison, or often called filament bulbs for myself. i had a couple of vintage bedside lamps hanging around with some sad looking shades on them, so i threw off the shades and let them run bare! i love the way they look! they sit upon my vintage black dresser and hang out with my eyeglasses and baubles. i think everyone is quite content.

i covet lighting. much like the chairs i collect, i can never have too many lighting fixtures either. and just recently, MCMF turned me on to these amazing edison light blubs — they’re vintage-inspired and they make lighting things up just that much cooler. here’s some lighting i’m coveting right now.

trampoline has some great vintage light fixtures in stock right now, and i like how they look with just the bare bulbs. anthropologie sells the edison bulbs too. this is how they look unlit, and then all lit up, too. pretty, huh? best made also makes this very rad cloth extension cord. i bought this one in black, and i’m trying to figure out a way to rig just a bare edison bulb to it and hang it. any electrical wizards out there with an idea? love the look of this studio with it’s exposed bulbs. what can i say, i like bare bulbs and i cannot lie.

artist michael gillette sent me a link to his new james bond prints available at eclectric works in san francisco, (below) and it got me thinking about a mod world — mid-century, brit-pop mod. i love the glamorous lines and bold colors of the 1960′s, so i thought i’d round up some fun mod vintage-inspired finds. yeah, baby.

clockwise, l to r: james bond print from michael gillette; mid-century modern chair via hansel from basel; judy kaufmann’s city prints; eero saarinen womb chair; mid century modern coffee table from hindsvik; twiggy Diamond Dust Painting by Justin Belmont via not a gallery; crate and barrel’s petrie sofa is perfectly mod; PLINC Emperor Six Print from house industries; orange desk caddy from vintage modern and more; and TAHIR MAHMOOD CHAAND lamp from cavier20.

a few more of michael gillette’s mod james bond prints.

• top image: santa barbara house tour via apartment therapy.

this is one awesome, vintage-inspired new york city loft. it belongs to eric goode and was featured on yatzer, which is fast becoming one of my favorite websites.

be forewarned there’s a bit of taxidermy here in case that’s not your thing, but we are assured all the animals died of natural causes, as the idea of killing animals is something that the goode is strongly opposed to. his collections include bits of vintage memorabilia from his many nights as an entrepreneur in new york’s club scene, and the eclectic vibe is simply awe-inspiring. i could live here in a new york minute.