(Open Homes Photography)
TikTok DIY queen Tay Beep Boop's maximalist Mission District Victorian hits the market for $1.35 million
08 February 2023
The San Francisco artist and designer has been chronicling the over-the-top creative makeover of her Victorian condo, perched above Elixir in the Mission District, via social media since she purchased it in September 2020. She calls it the "Squiggle" home, and it's easy to see why.
Now complete and with her totally one-of-kind artistic styling, the house Tay purchased for $1.2 million during the pandemic is on the market for $1,351,351 and comes will all the curious and whimsical trappings, vintage sofas and tiki bar included. Think of it as a 29-year-old's perspective on a 120-year-old home.
As a single woman homeowner, Tay set out to make the three-bedroom, 1,600-square-foot home her happy place. She poured all her free time into DIY projects, sharing each individualistic step on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to a growing following.
While traditionalists might bemoan such a dramatic transformation of a Victorian residence, Tay says that aside from refinishing the Victorian stairwell ("hardest thing I'll ever do"), switching out most of the light fixtures, and adding a fireplace, "everything else was just a cosmetic change." The home retains most of its original door knobs and gorgeous bow windows but, as anyone knows, cosmetics can go a very long way.
The first thing she did was buy five gallons of paint in multiple hues, and ultimately had to find creative ways to make use of it all. Leaning into the abundance of vibrant pigments, she made each room a statement of its own, with playful squiggles and a retro-tropical vibe throughout.
The stair and hallway walls undulate in shades of teal and neon green squiggles, while lemony swirls dance over flamingo-pink cabinets in the kitchen where the island is painted a bright tangerine.
"I adore my green squiggle monster art gallery that goes down my staircase," Tay says. "It's the first thing you see when you enter and the last thing you see when you leave. I also added a gaudy and obnoxious self-portrait in the gallery as well and I find it so funny."
The art and wallpapers, all designed and made by Tay, are quirky and adventurous throughout. In Tay's bedroom, an accent wall is splashed with pattern reminiscent of a lava lamp and a bright blue hue crowns the ceiling. A second bedroom, currently used as a closet, has a lime green ceiling with marbled wallpaper and a faux living wall.
There are polka dots and animal prints and colorful gallery walls, and that's not to mention the furniture which will stay behind with the house. Pieces fuse midcentury and contemporary styles; the standout for design connoisseurs will be Mario Bellini's iconic orange Camaleonda sofa. Funkier types will appreciate a slew of quirky accents: a skeleton wearing a straw hat, disco balls, and hot pink storage lockers.
While she's poured so much of herself into the home, Tay admits she only uses half the house. "I'm downsizing my living space and also getting a little yard so I can get a dog eventually," she says, divulging that her new place will be smaller, with period details and the addition of a garage "so I can actually do wood-working projects without having to be sawing on my living room floor."
But her style is ever evolving, so her new space will "still be a really fun colorful maximal space, but more refined and upscale (in my opinion)." We're sure to see it on TikTok.
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Size: 1,573
Asking price: $1,351,351
// 398 Guerrero Street Unit: 4 (Mission); for more information visit marksrealtygroup.com;