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A Hand-Crafted 500 Sq. Ft. Home Gets An All-Natural Mattress Upgrade
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by
Photographed by Maria Del Rio
May 22, 2019
If you’ve noticed a new voice popping up on Mother since the beginning of the year, you haven’t been imagining things. In fact, we couldn’t be more excited to formally introduce you to our new Executive Editor, Erin Feher…and in a very intimate way, to boot! Today the veteran journalist is inviting us into her incredibly inspiring 525-square-foot San Francisco home, which she shares with her daughter Orion (5), son Vega (2), and husband Danny.
In a unique live/work scenario, the abode sits right above the family business—The Butterfly Joint, a woodworking studio for kids. After more than a year of renovations, the small-space-loving clan (you might recall their previous 35-square-foot nursery) is now settled into their home with most all of the final touches handled—including, most recently, a major mattress upgrade.
Thanks to a trio of Signature Sleep Honest Natural Mattresses, each room in this special home now features mattresses that are handcrafted in California (a major plus for this locally-minded family) and made of ethically sourced, organic materials, including organic cotton and chemical-free natural wool. (Bonus points: for each mattress sold, one tree is planted in partnership with One Tree Planted).
For more on these sustainable mattresses and the equally eco-minded family now sleeping on ’em, click through our slideshow below!
This post is brought to you by Mother + Signature Sleep.
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- "We live in the Outer Richmond district of San Francisco, just a few blocks from the beach. It feels world's away from our previous home, which was smack in the middle of downtown, in S.F.'s notorious Tenderloin. We really didn't expect, or even want to be out here in the beginning—we were die-hard downtown people. But like so many people hunting for real estate in S.F., we couldn't be too picky! And we had more limitations than some: We were looking for a mixed-use building that could house our business, The Butterfly Joint, and our home. We had a really specific type of small business loan that limited the buildings we qualified for, plus it took 90 days to fund, so we were really unappealing buyers, especially compared to people who could throw down all cash up front. But it all worked out incredibly in the end."
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- "This was the fourth place we bid on, and the sellers liked our story, so they took our offer over a higher, all-cash one. And turns out we don't miss the non-stop city life—living just blocks from the beach, Golden Gate Park, and our daughter's awesome public school is a dream come true!"
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- "Our previous home was a 500-square-foot condo, so while I never wanted a mansion, I was looking forward to having a bigger place, especially with two kids. But again, we couldn't be too picky, so we ended up going from 500 square feet to a whopping 525. But we had done it before, so we knew we could do it again. And this time we had the freedom to renovate completely, and the option to add-on in the future, so it seemed completely do-able. But we really had to use our imagination to see past what was there when we first saw it. It was a box of an apartment split completely down the middle, so there was one oddly large bedroom, and one not-so-big living space with a kitchen, tiny table, and loveseat in it. And the whole place was covered in these beige Tuscan-style tiles. Luckily, my dad and husband are both builders, or at least the kind of people who can watch a YouTube video and figure it out. My dad, who lives in Cleveland, and is 70 and retired, moved out here and lived in the ground-floor commercial space for three months as soon as we got the keys. He demo-ed the place pretty much on his own, with my husband (and sledge-hammer-wielding daughter) coming to help at night and on weekends. Besides hiring an electrician and a plumber, the rest was all done by us—and a handful of friends we would trick into coming over to 'see' the place, then put them to work sanding cabinets. We pretty much took down all the interior walls, created two bedrooms, laid new floors, added two windows, moved the bathroom door, sanded and painted the kitchen cabinets (so many cabinets!), updated the bathroom, and redid all the lighting. And that was just upstairs! The downstairs—now The Butterfly Joint—was a ballroom dance studio complete with crystal chandeliers, and what is now the flower-filled backyard was a parking lot. All in all, it took us about a year for the major stuff, and almost two years to finish up all the details."
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- "While we may be minimalist in some aspects, we love the analog nature of books and records, and think it's cool for our kids to have them to explore. Danny, my husband, built the bookshelves along our door arches, and it was a big moment when I finally got the last book from our moving boxes to fit! He also made special shelving for our record area. We always have music playing—Danny was a DJ when I met him, so he has thousands of records. The kids love to dance, and my son Vega has proven to be an enthusiastic singer recently. Talent TBD."
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- "This kitchen was the one thing we didn't change dramatically. The cabinets were a really dated cherry stain and we were sure we would replace them, but after crunching the numbers it turned out some black paint would suffice. While Danny gets credit for much of the hard labor, I personally sanded, primed, and painted every one of these damn cabinets!"
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"This is the first time since having kids that we have had our own room. So, we wanted it to be special, but also super simple and calming. We laid the same dark gray wood flooring we used in the rest of the house, painted the walls white, and hung our beloved Apparatus Studio sconces. The only piece of furniture is the dresser from our old house, which Danny made. To keep everything super clean and organized, I had our closet designed and built by California Closets. It was my gift to Danny since he had built the entire house, and had basically spent a year custom making every little thing for us."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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"The very last piece he made was our bed—we had slept on a mattress on the floor for over a year. As a result, the kids took to using it as an acrobatic training ground—so much for calming! That was fun while it lasted, but once Danny finally finished our bed, the room suddenly felt so luxurious and grown up."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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"Back when we bought our old mattress—more than 15 years ago!—sustainability wasn't really part of the conversation. But now, we try and be very conscientious of where things come from, how they are made, and where they will end up. We loved that the Signature Sleep Honest Mattress is made in California with ethically sourced organic materials, including USDA-certified organic cotton and chemical-free natural wool."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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"And we also really loved that it was delivered right to our house in a shockingly small box with minimal packaging. We just opened the box, the mattress unrolled, and we were in business. And we loved talking to the kids about how for each of their new mattresses, a tree was planted, thanks to Signature Sleep's partnership with One Tree Planted."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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"It really felt like a luxury to be starting from scratch. We actually sold a lot of our old furnishings—down to our plates!—along with the condo. And since the place is so small, we didn't need much, so we wanted what we did end up living with to be special versus disposable. All the built-in shelves and benches, dining table, beds, and dressers were custom made by Danny, and mostly with salvaged wood. Having things that are unique to us, and not replicas of someone's Instagram feed, is really important to us, so we felt like it was worth it to invest in art by local artists we know and love. We have pieces by Kelly Tunstall, Ferris Plock, Serena Mitnik-Miller, Mason St. Peter, and Brian Roettinger."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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"Everything. I am from Cleveland, and no offense to Cleveland, but I still pinch myself daily that I get to live within view of the Pacific Ocean, next to some of the world's most beautiful parks, and yet still reside in a thriving, creative, metropolitan area. Plus, our way of life is really supported here in ways it wouldn't be elsewhere: We don't have or need a car, we can eat locally and sustainably all year round, and we've been able to start a business that really resonates with the community."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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"Again, I feel a little like a hypocrite, because when we first saw this building online, we didn't even want to look at it—we were so convinced that the Outer Richmond was too sleepy and far from the action of downtown. But around that time I came out to the neighborhood to visit a friend who had moved here. When I got off the bus I heard so many different birds I thought it was a recording! I saw the appeal pretty much immediately. The main drag had the cutest restaurants and an old-school movie theater, and we took the kids to Sutro Park—Adolph Sutro's old property that overlooks the ocean and Sutro Baths, and the crumbling remains of his mansion which are slowly being overtaken by the lush greenery. And then there's Lands End just a little further up the way, which has a glorious trail to run. But my real loyalty is with Golden Gate Park. We are one block from GGP and we spend so much time there—and yet I still feel like I am constantly discovering new parts of it. It's been so cool to watch my daughter go from a street-smart city girl to an expert at tree climbing and edible flowers."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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- "Golden Gate Park, specifically the Botanical Gardens, is where I am happiest. I prefer parks to playgrounds, so Sutro Baths, Chain of Lakes, and the roller rink in GGP are where we like to go to run around. Parks go best with coffee, and I like Marla Bakery, Trouble Coffee, Rise and Grind, or Andytown. We eat sushi at least once a week, and love to hop around various places in Japantown. Sesame balls are a current favorite dessert, and we have about half a dozen dim sum spots on rotation, since they are frequently sold out. For solo time, I work at The Wing a couple times a week for peace and quiet and really good salads."
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"I love it, but it's a lot! Our daughter Orion has always been mature beyond her years, so we got off pretty easy with her. So, with Vega, when he starts melting down over something ridiculous like which color blanket he wants to sleep with, I'm like a stunned first-time mom, like 'What the hell is this?!' And now we are potty training, so my morning today was him running around with no pants, saying 'poop, poop, poop, poop' over and over, then me cleaning said poop from a tiny potty—at those moments it's almost comical that we decided to start from scratch, roll the dice, and do the whole thing all over again."
"But, that being said, the level of chaos is greatly surpassed by the joy. I know that's such a mom thing to say, but they light each other up and love each other in a way that is absolutely heart-exploding to watch and be a part of. And I think their personalities are really well matched—Orion can be serious, and very rule-abiding, whereas Vega is much more goofy, so he adds extra silliness to everything."
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"I'm her mom, obviously, but she is exceptional. She is just a solid person, which may be weird to say about a five-year-old, but that's what she is. She can read a room and know just what is happening and what to say—she has shocked Danny and I a couple times, by translating our passive aggressive comments to each other in the most straightforward, insightful way. 'Daddy, Mommy actually does want you to do blank and she is upset because you didn't.' She loves imagination games, going on epic bike rides, reading, playdates with her friends, and writing in her diary—she just asked for one with a lock, which I ran out and got her immediately. I have written in a journal almost daily since I was around her age, and I was so excited to see her interested in doing the same."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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"Vega just turned two and he is hilarious. He sings all day, loves books, can run REALLY fast, and likes skateboarding, swimming, and all other modes of transportation."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, $690.66, Amazon.
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"When Danny and I met, we both were already heavily tattooed with stars. He had the constellation Orion on his back, and always had an affinity for it. I knew it was a name he really liked, although, of course, I had a list a mile long of potential names. My first pregnancy ended in miscarriage, and I had a really hard time with it because I really wanted kids and I was getting worried it wasn't going to happen for me. We had taken a weekend trip away to Half Moon Bay during that time, and when we were leaving dinner and getting on the scooter, the stars were in full effect. I looked up at Orion and silently begged for a baby—I promised if I got one that I would name it Orion. So we did. We didn't find out the gender with either, so we decided if the baby was a girl she would get my middle name, a boy would get his. She's Orion Elizabeth."
"The name Vega somehow ended up in my head shortly after we had Orion. I liked it, thought it would be a good sibling name, and when I mentioned it to Danny he liked it, too, which was a small miracle. Turns out his grandmother's maiden name was Vega, which I didn't know. Her husband, Reinaldo, who Danny was close to and had a lot in common with, died just a few months after Vega was born. So, we named him Vega Reinaldo. His grandmother is still alive and she and Vega definitely have a special connection."
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"We tried so hard to be gender neutral! So much so that when I look back at Orion's baby pictures, where she's always dressed in gray and yellow, I think 'a little pink or purple wouldn't have killed anyone!' When she started dressing herself, she really gravitated towards dresses, but now that she's in kindergarten she got the memo that running and climbing is easier in pants, so that's her look at the moment. I know all kids are different, but Orion really did love dolls and playing 'mommy' and could care less about trains, no matter what we presented her with. But today she loves to wrestle with the neighbor boys and play princesses with girls from school and she's a master in the wood shop."
"And Vega, oh geez, the truck and train thing mystifies me, but it is very real with him. But he also recently became obsessed with a baby doll—he sleeps with her and feeds her and makes her go to the potty. It's pretty adorable. He wears a lot of his sister's hand-me-downs (a gender-neutral plus) but he looks like a little dude because we keep his hair short. Less because of his gender and more because he wasn't blessed with the best hair texture, so it's easier to keep it short, and he actually loves having it cut. But I always want to emphasize, especially with Orion, that there is nothing wrong with being 'girly' and wanting to get dressed up. And if you want to climb trees in a dress or wear head-to-toe pink, go for it! Sometimes it feels like we can try so hard to ungender that we make certain tastes commonly associated with women seem like the unempowered choice."
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- "Having a very, very involved partner. Danny has been an early childhood educator for twenty-plus years, so not only can he build a house, but he can raise the hell out of some kids. He started his business specifically so he could raise our kids, versus us having to depend on outside child care. And so far in our life as parents, things have worked out—our professional demands have ebbed and flowed, so there were chunks of time when I was working part-time and with them more—like when Danny was really getting his business, The Butterfly Joint, off the ground 4 years ago—and then times when I have gone back to work full-time and he has done the bulk of it. But being with our kids and our family life has always taken priority over making tons of money or climbing some professional ladder, so if a kid is sick or there is an event at school, one of us is always available to be there. Because Danny is as involved as he is, I never worry about being there to put them to bed if I have an event or want to catch up with friends. Currently, Danny is the only one who can get Vega quickly and peacefully to sleep, so stay tuned for what happens the next time he goes out for the night...."
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- "Yes! I've gotten a little spoiled with my design requests for the house—I would often text Danny ideas or modifications when I knew he was in the middle of working on a piece. For our bed, I said I wanted some kind of subtle inlay in the headboard to make it unique. He figured out the morse code pattern for 'you and me'—the tattoo I got for him after we got married—and inlayed it over my side of the bed."
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- "We are both incredibly fun, incredibly loving, and incredibly structured. As I mentioned, Danny is a professional educator, but really, I have never met someone who has the skills with kids that he does. So, I have learned a lot as a parent from him, and have seen the benefits of strong boundaries and behavioral expectations—like no whining, being polite, and alway being respectful. The differences are really just in our personalities—I'm the one who will encourage the kids to get covered in mud, or paint with their hands, while he is the one who has the patience and the skill to teach them to ride bikes or build something in the wood shop. So, it's a good balance I think."
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"First off, I think it's 70 square feet, so we didn't have a ton of options for going wild with the design—it was all about fitting two kids and all their stuff into a tiny space. But, again, thankfully Danny can build whatever we dream up. The crib he built for Orion when she was born and has tons of storage underneath. She actually helped build and paint her loft bed, and we teamed with California Closets on her closet and desk area underneath. I wanted to carve out a little space that she felt was hers. And the art just accumulated, as anyone with a kindergartener will attest. We had to put it somewhere!"
Signature Sleep Honest Elements 7" Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, Twin Size, $539, Amazon.
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"Buying all the baby stuff when I was pregnant with Orion was the first time I got really serious about what things were made of, and avoiding chemicals and off-gassing was a huge priority. Mattresses have always been incredibly tricky because of all the fire retardant requirements, so as new products have come on the market that offer something better and cleaner, like the Signature Sleep mattresses in twin and crib sizing, we didn't hesitate to upgrade. Another thing I love is that the crib mattress is actually comfortable! So many that we looked at felt like bricks—I just couldn't imagine my baby sleeping on them. This one is firm but has a nice, cozy give to it, and is covered in soft fabric. A comfortable toddler is a sleeping toddler!"
Signature Sleep Honest Elements 7" Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, Twin Size, $539, Amazon.
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- "It was really a treat for the whole family, because it's one of the few things we didn't build ourselves. The designer from California Closets worked with Orion to get all the details right, from the length of her dresses to the height of her desk. She's a collector, so the shelves are constantly being filled with new treasures. Having a place to put all her stuff away was really important, obviously, with such a small space, but I love that she can still see it all, so we are less likely to have the situation where a begged-for toy or book gets thrown in a drawer and she forgets all about it."
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"We were just happy not to be sharing a room with them anymore! No, I love the idea of siblings sharing a room and having to negotiate each other—be that sleep schedules, toy real estate, or private time. They love to play together, so I love when they run in there and shut the door and you just hear mischievous squeals of delight from the other side. But the current issue is Vega's desire—and newfound ability—to climb the loft ladder. It's not something we want him doing, especially unsupervised. He is of a different opinion on that matter."
Signature Sleep Honest Elements 7" Natural Wool Mattress with Organic Cotton and Micro Coils, Twin Size, $539, Amazon.
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- A look at Vega's new Signature Sleep Honest Blossom Crib and Toddler Mattress, which is constructed with a coconut coir interior to create a firm surface for babies and toddlers to sleep on, while also providing soft, supportive comfort. Made with organic cotton and chemical-free natural wool, the mattress offers a range of benefits, including temperature regulating properties, a two-sided reversible design, and an organic cotton mattress cover that's waterproof and machine-washable.
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"We had to be disciplined on the sleep thing because we started out as a family of four in one bedroom. So, we sleep-trained them both, Orion around 8 months, Vega around 5 months. I take my sleep seriously, plus I can only imagine sleeping through the night is what they want to be doing, too! It wasn't easy—with one bedroom, sleep-training meant a lot of nights on the sofa for Danny and I. In this place, we had Orion sleep on the floor in our room while we sleep-trained Vega. Now everyone sleeps through the night 90 percent of the time (pending illnesses, nightmares, and whatever potty training will throw into the mix). Vega goes to bed around 7:15—he nurses with me then I hand him off to Danny who sings to him and puts him down. Orion goes to bed around 8. We read and enjoy the peace of a Vega-free living room, then she tiptoes into her room ('Don't wake up the wolf!') and she goes to bed. They know we don't mess around with bedtime, so we only see or hear them again if there is really an issue. From 8 pm on, that's grown-up time. Vega is up around 6:15, which is still about 30 minutes too early for my tastes, and Orion is up at 7. She sleeps right through his wake up."
Signature Sleep Honest Blossom Crib and Toddler Mattress with Organic Cotton, $359.99, Amazon.
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"I love being all cozy-ed up with my family. I like them, and so I like to see them all the time! But really, I also like how it forces us to engage with the world outside. The park, the buses, the beach, the amazing museums—they are all like our extra living rooms. And from a design standpoint, I enjoy being presented with really specific parameters and then meeting the challenge of making it all work. I love how small-space living keeps me ruthlessly purging, and consuming minimally. It's more important than ever that we all change our mindsets about what we think we need versus what we really need—the future depends on it—and I think small-space living reinforces that for us and our children."
Signature Sleep Honest Blossom Crib and Toddler Mattress with Organic Cotton, $359.99, Amazon.
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"Block out the noise from others about what you need. Your success as a person is not measured by how large your home is or by what you own. And if you have the resources, customize, in order to ensure each piece of furniture is pulling its weight and is just right for your space."
Signature Sleep Honest Blossom Crib and Toddler Mattress with Organic Cotton, $359.99, Amazon.
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"I am incredibly excited to be speaking to a audience of women and mothers at this fraught time in our history. Our rights are being eroded, and racism and misogyny have found a warm, dark place to thrive in our government. It's more important than ever that we don't follow the status quo when we parent—we have to actively fight against ingrained racism, recognize the habits informed by our privilege, and advocate for those who do not have a voice. I am excited to continue to inspire with stories of incredible women doing the work to make our world a better place. Coming up we have stories on the black maternal health crisis, the varied faces of queer parenthood, immigrant mothers at the Mexican border, and so, so much more!"
Signature Sleep Honest Blossom Crib and Toddler Mattress with Organic Cotton, $359.99, Amazon.
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For more on Erin, her home, and her darling family, follow along on her Instagram feed, and keep reading her work right here on Mother.
For more on the Signature Sleep Honest Mattresses shown in this feature, click over here.
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Wow!! Gorgeous house!! I love that headboard with the sweet message. We have 3 kids that share a bedroom too. We have more bedrooms but they’re very young and so close in age that they wanted to sleep all together. I think it provides a level of comfort for each of them. They are 3, 4, and 6 years old.
Also, thank you….I mean THANK YOU for this “And if you want to climb trees in a dress or wear head-to-toe pink, go for it! Sometimes it feels like we can try so hard to ungender that we make certain tastes commonly associated with women seem like the unempowered choice”
It’s ok for girls to like the color pink and boys to like trucks. It’s OK!! Thank you for saying that.
Curious what brand and/or store Orion’s dress is from. It is very cute!