A photographer builds a colorful world in a tiny space

A photographer builds a colorful world in a tiny space

Last Updated on February 7, 2019 by Kristen

Just a few blocks from San Francisco’s famous Painted Ladies is, from the outside, a more muted Victorian house. But head to the back of the building and you’ll find photographer Anna-Alexia Basile’s technicolor world. Her tiny 156-square-foot space is alive with the twinkly reflections of an oversized disco ball and mood lighting that changes color and dims at Basile’s command.

She shares the house with roommates, but for the first time since 2010 she has a room all to herself. So she wanted to embrace her newfound freedom to design a room that was totally hers—and also take advantage of those big bay windows and crazy-high ceilings.

She’s lucky enough to claim two architectural designers as besties. First, she and Carolyn Kimbro came up with the concept and design, which included a loft high enough to accommodate a large walk-in closet underneath.

Then she recruited Michael Woodcock who flew up from Los Angeles for the weekend and masterminded the build.

“We erected the whole structure in one day,” Basile said. “He built the stairs and we painted the second day, then on the third day we did the electrical and fixtures.” 

The result is pretty breathtaking—I can’t imagine a more glamorous use of 156 square feet.

Stay tuned for my podcast with Basile, and in the meantime enjoy these photos of her incredible living space (all takeN by Basile herself, naturally!).   All Photos by Anna-Alexia Basile.

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