With its background of diversity and industry, the Bayview District of San Francisco holds a unique place in Bay Area history. From the shrimp industry to the naval shipyard, this community has drawn blue collar workers and provided an affordable place to live and work. In the past few years, however, many changes have come to the area, giving it a renewed sense of neighborhood, where people talk to each other on the street and exciting new eateries are opening. Long a refuge for artists with its roomy warehouse spaces and comparatively low cost of housing, the Bayview District is becoming a place for city professionals to purchase affordable houses on the Peninsula and young families to own into their own homes. Homeowners can get in on the ground floor so to speak, with affordable housing in an up-and-coming neighborhood. With ownership come the myriad decisions about organizing and storing your belongings. This is where Valet Custom Cabinets & Closets can take you from simply living in your home to delighting in it with custom closets designed just for you.

The new California laws that went into effect in January have lessened the difficulty and cost of adding a so-called granny unit, now dubbed Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), to single-family or multi-family dwellings. San Jose has gone a step further in their attempts to ease the housing shortage that is causing rents in the Bay Area to skyrocket. San Jose’s removal of barriers for these small rental units; by lowering the total square footage of the lot needed for an ADU and increasing the maximum square footage of the unit itself to 800 square feet, can create a great opportunity for you - the homeowner - to benefit. While it may not be built for resale, you can rent this unit out to increase your monthly income. It can also be used for multi-generational living, for instance with boomerang kids or aging parents. It can even be used as a short term rental (STR) like Airbnb.

As summer enters full swing, it is time to get going on those home décor projects that have been put off all winter. Longer evening light, lessening of school- and work-driven agendas, and a feeling of anticipation all contribute to the desire to tackle the redesign or update of that room makes us sigh each time we walk past it.

This is part of a series of "Ask Valet" blogs featuring tips for your home from the design team at Valet Custom Cabinets & Closets.

We asked a few designers at Valet Custom Cabinets & Closets what they felt all guest rooms should have to ensure the comfort of their overnight guests. Here’s what they had to say:

One of the best things about living in the East Bay is the relative ease of traveling to Tahoe for skiing on the weekends. Yes, you have to put on chains, deal with traffic slowdowns, and find your own parking—but when you can access a full day of fresh powder within just a few hours, I honestly don’t know why you wouldn’t pack up your boots and head north.

East Bay residents are heading out in droves to Tahoe for skiing/boarding this time of year. Snow is still abundant, and ski gear lives perpetually strapped to the rooftops of cars all over the area. However, when the cold finally breaks at the end of yet another ski season, there's a better way to store your gear: custom garage cabinetry.

The KonMari method of organization has become wildly popular around the nation this year—especially in San Francisco, where Marie Kondo gave live seminars and trained her first consulting employees. Even Ellen featured this tiny organizing powerhouse on her show to experience the Japanese art of decluttering in person. From folding to hanging and everything in between, the KonMari method helps each of us treat our belongings with more care.

I’m just going to come right out and say it: I love Oakland. Whenever I visit SF’s unique (and somewhat cooler) older brother, it inspires me to use more color in my everyday life. To be more loud with what I’m passionate about. And, above all else, to make a statement where a statement is necessary (because around Oakland, it’s always necessary). Living in the suburbs, it can be really tough to give up the culture and vibrancy of the bigger city when you go back home—but there are still things you can do in your own place to make Lafayette feel a little less like a suburb.

There are few pastimes as exciting as choosing a new home for your growing family. Walking through empty rooms full of potential, imagining a Star Wars nursery, planning for all the little and big kid furniture, and dreaming about extra floor space for Legos and Mr. Potato Head are activities that tend to consume new parents on the house hunt. If you’re planning on raising a family, you’re likely wanting to settle down with the careers and the companies you currently have. Unless, of course, you’re starting out in San Francisco.

When some people picture a wall bed, comedic scenes from silent movies come to mind. Charlie Chaplin, the Three Stooges, and even James Bond have used these beds as comic props at one point or another. I love a good gag as much as the next person, but things have really been looking up for Murphy beds in the last few years. This isn’t 1900 anymore, and the wall bed is making quite an amazing comeback in modern homes across the country. Bay Area professionals in particular are utilizing this innovative strategy to maximize limited floor space in condos and homes across the region.