Curbed Comparisons: What $7,000 rents you in San Francisco right now

Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a regular column exploring what you can rent for a set dollar amount in different neighborhoods. Is one person's studio another person's townhouse? Let's find out. Today's price: $7,000.

↑ Modern San Francisco renovations often lead to white boxes interchangeable with each other, but whatever they did to this live/work in South Beach from 1917, the results are not dull. It’s hard not to love those windows, that brickwork, the exposed beams, and even the “reclaimed barn wood” table that comes with it. The $6,950/month rent may not be quite so lovable, but it’s hardly a bargain neighborhood to begin with. Amazingly, the barn wood apparently isn’t suitable for any additional animals, as no pets are allowed.

↑ On perhaps the extreme aesthetic pole from the South Beach loft, here’s a two-bed, one-bath house in Bernal Heights (which itself used to contain a fair amount of barn wood) that comes not only furnished but positively packed to the gills. It’s a unique looking collection, matching the antique look of the place, with its gold-painted beams and gleaming wooden trim throughout. The price this time is the full $7,000/month (at least the deal includes an ottoman for the cost), but again no pets.

↑ Those with a Victorian hankering can cut their teeth on this two-story condo in Ashbury Heights (Clifford Terrace) from way back in 1898 (a rare case of a home the city specifically dates to before 1900). The space weighs in at three beds, three baths, and over 2,000 feet, so at least there’s no question about where the very specific $6,888/month rent goes to every month. It sports a classic interior, wainscoting, built-ins, and decorative corbels in the doorways. Pets? In a word, “NO,” as it turns out to be for all of these. Have a heart.

↑ Keen observers may notice that, by a grand coincidence, almost every listing in this Comparisons features a box beam ceiling in at least once room. Apparently it’s almost standard at a certain price point. Potrero Hill continues the day’s trend of classy older buildings in the $7,000/month range with its De Haro Street addition, a three-bed, two-and-a-half-bath house from 1915. The tile throughout could use an update, but the woodwork in all of its many incarnations remains a glorious highlight.

↑ This last home in Laurel Heights is the odd one out when it comes to ceiling styles, although that does leave room at the edges for the old Edwardian moldings. Three beds and two baths from 1919, with twin fireplaces and a deck bigger than many people’s entire home. Every square needs to impress for $7,000/month.