What $6,000 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 is another person's townhouse? Today's price: $6,000.

↑ The towering centerpiece window in this two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath Potrero Hill condo isn’t thin enough to qualify as a lancet window, but why split hairs when it creates such a graphic statement right smack in the center of the home? The two-story portal, that very nearly turns the place into a loft, is just the beginning of some of the unlikely but compelling geometry holding this Rhode Island Street unit together. The deal here is $5,995/month, and the lease allows for either cats or dogs, but only one in total, so hopefully renters are keeping minimal menageries.

↑ Speaking of unexpected angles, the deep yellow exterior of this Russian Hill building with its clusters of bay windows at the corners is a challenging yet bright sight from the street. Head upstairs and the resulting bulb-out style of the floor plan in this three-bed, three-bath corner apartment bifurcates the center space in such a way that it’s almost hard to stop looking at it. Indeed, it’s a trip. As is the $6,000/month rent price. “Pets considered,” notes the ad.

↑ This two-bed, one-bath North Beach duplex has no particular shocking or unexpected architectural element. And indeed the glistening white interiors, though arresting, are par for the course in these kinds of homes. It’s the garden that proves most interesting spectators this time, bristling with so many hedges and paths that, if it’s allowed to grow too tall, one might never find their way out. A gorgeous sight in a city where most yards sacrificed greenery for water conservation some years ago. It’s $6,000/month here, too, even with the relatively lean 900-square-foot floor plan. Also, no pets allowed either.

↑ The ad for this two-bedroom, two-bath apartment in a “classic shingled Victorian” at Lyon and Washington in Pacific Heights dubs it a “unique penthouse flat.” Although there do appear to be several old homes in the same style lined up in a row next door. But that’s hair-splitting again, as things like the atrium windows in the kitchen and the way the ever-changing ceiling shapes seem to make the apartment seem larger than it is. The deal is $6,000/month, “no pets or animals PLEASE.”

↑ Finally, here’s a three-bed, two-bath duplex in the Inner Richmond that’s still fresh off of a big renovation of its original 1913 design. The new look has left it as a showcase of “modern living,” as the ad puts it, frosted glass doors and corner fireplace and all. It’s $6,000/month, and this time not even a please when they say no pets.