What $6,900 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 is another person's townhouse? Today's price: $6,900.

↑ The ad for this two-bed, two-bath Mission apartment on 15th Street dubs it a “top floor penthouse,” which is, of course, a dubious claim. It also promises “private elevator access directly to your home” and “expansive private patio.” But in truth the most notable luxury of them all might be that the building allows pets, albeit at the price of $6,795.

↑ And this fetching Marina number is also a two-bed, two-bath, top-floor apartment, located inside a circa 1935 home on Bay Street asking $6,900/month. The ad pushes its preserved 1930s charms, including “custom-designed oak floors, decorative ceilings, moulding, wooden framed-windows, arched doorways,” and particularly the pentagonal ceiling in the living room. The marble bathroom in the master bedroom is a new addition, while the pet-friendly lease is a classic that never goes out of style.

↑ Renters with a hankering for something new can turn to South Beach, in this case for another condo in Lumina, a 2016 tower so contemporary that it has its own pilates studio. Note that this place breaks the streak of dubious penthouses by landing on the sixth floor. Again the arrangement is two beds and two baths, this time at $6,800 but promising “sophisticated elegance” via “wide plank floors and Cesar stone countertops.” Whether the tiny photos are just an eccentricity or a bid to lure apartment hunters in for a closer look in person isn’t immediately evident. The ad doesn’t say if the lease allows pets, although the fact that it specifically advertises Lumina’s pet spa means it really should.

↑ Those looking for a little more space with their contemporary home may turn to Alamo Square, where $6,899 nets three beds and three baths (each bathroom is en suite) loaded into an advertised 1,200 square foot apartment two blocks south of the park on Fell Street. And here’s an amenity that’s never before popped up on Comparisons: video doorbell. Pets are permitted here too, so that park access won’t go to waste.

↑ And finally, there’s one actual, honest to St Francis single family house renting for $6,850/month in Bernal Heights—a three-bedroom, two-bath detached home spread out over four stories. The ad bills it as “classically-styled” while featuring a “contemporary and modern interior.” Apparently that means walnut floors, the addition of some hovering, UFO-like lighting fixtures, and an Escher-like predilection for stairs. The catch? “Sorry, no pets.” Alas. Guess there’s no such thing as a perfect day.