sharing a home

We believe meaningful relationships are at the core of a life well lived.

where do you belong?

A crew. A squad. A team. A family. A tribe. A nation. For millennia, people have lived in tightly-knit groups. But all too often, modern life has left us isolated. Now, people everywhere are reclaiming the social bonds that make us more human.

Over the past 5 years, we’ve been blown away by how much heart and soul our residents put into creating an inspiring, safe and unique environment. Through living in our houses ourselves, we’ve learned to be better communicators, more proactive dish-washers, and better at dad joke competitions. For many of our residents, shared living can has one of the most impactful experiences in their lives. 

Like all relationships, real community requires effort, participation, contribution and creativity. So if you do end up joining one of our houses, we invite you to bring your unique talents, your big scary dreams, your weird style and your nit-picky organizational skills. It’s each of us bringing a piece of the puzzle that makes the magic.

Ben and Jay,
Co-founders

How it works

Each of our houses follows the same community-building process that enables a rich social experience while making the details of group living easier.

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DESIGNED FOR COMMUNITY

Our homes are specificly designed for community living. We've put years of experience and unexpected detail into the design and development of each home.

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Private Bedroom

Each resident rents a room directly from us. Most of our residents bring their own bedroom furniture and stay for at least a year, but we have furnished, shorter-term rooms as well.

Furnished Common areas + Kitchen

It's a shame when Jimmy moves out and brings his cool couch with him, so our homes come with stylish furniture, pro-quality kitchen appliances and domestic details like bathroom trash cans and spice racks.

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shared food program

Food is the core of community, so all our houses have a time-tested shared food system. Save a fortune and eat like a king by cooking with your housemates.

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COMMUNITY BUILDING FACILITATION

Healthy culture is easiest when it starts right. OpenDoor hosts foundational workshops ranging from group decision making to healthy communication.

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Organized systems 

We want to make it easier to live together. From billing and repairs to cleaning and chores- we have geeked-out on perfecting systems that work.

Cost Breakdown

oakland

Shared Apartment Studio logo_text_only_300_black
Rent $1,300 $3,100 $1,400
Common Furnishings $100 $100 included
utilities $90 $100 $80
Wifi $40 $60 INCLUDED
Groceries $300 $300 $170
houseWares $60 $60 INCLUDED
Totals $1890 $3720 $1,650

How to join

We believe that real community cannot be manufactured. That’s why our existing residents are deeply involved in the selection of their new housemates. This means people apply directly to specific houses. Click below for more information about each of our homes and how to apply to each.

March 24, 2020

Adapting to Coronavirus

General

As we enter the second week of social distancing measures in the United States, we’d like to share an update of how we’re adapting to the situation. We would also like to share some reflections on what’s emerging in this unpreceden…

March 20, 2017

OpenDoor in McKinsey housing report

General

Half of California households cannot afford the cost of housing in their local market. These people are paying more than 30% of their income toward housing. McKinsey put together a report on solutions to California’s housing supply sho…

August 17, 2016

Our talk at the Federal Reserve

General

Last Friday, Jay was invited by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to speak on a panel on innovative solutions to housing affordability. The event focused on practical ways to increase the supply of housing- to build more housi…

March 31, 2016

Video – Live Better Together

General

We worked with the multi-talented Kurt Zhuang over at Feintly to put together this video to capture the essence of coliving. We wanted to create something that would touch people, a reminder of why people are all that matter in life….

March 31, 2016

Hack the Hood moves into Blueprint

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We are very excited to announce that the Blueprint workspace is now headquarters of Hack the Hood! Hack the Hood is a non-profit that trains low-income youth of color in technology and marketing skills, providing an on-ramp to get invol…

February 2, 2016

Rules vs. Culture

General

In creating well-functioning, happy healthy communities, when should we create formal rules? When should we avoid formalities and fan the flames of self-managing cultures?…

March 31, 2015

OpenDoor Manifesto!

General

Jay and I just got back from a great team retreat visiting the Downtown Project in Las Vegas, as part of their monthly Catalyst Week. It was a powerful experience that reconnected us to our driving purpose, and we feel we were able to …

November 20, 2014

Creative Space Planning Event Was Great!

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Last night we had a fun, idea-filled evening of scheming, dreaming, snacking and planning for what’s to come on the ground floor at The Canopy! Outcomes and next actions: Follow-up working meeting in 2 weeks to continue making it happen!…

November 6, 2014

No dishes in the sink!

General

  Our amazing residents at The Farmhouse , Pam and AJ, have created some laser-cut masterpieces.  For those of you who have lived in a coliving house before, you will greatly appreciate this… Doing the little things well…

October 25, 2014

Popup Creative Space this November in Oakland!

General

How can a physical space be used to best support knowledge sharing and creative empowerment in a neighborhood? How can community living integrate with economic & artistic production, and strengthen the local culture & economy? How can…

August 6, 2014

We bought our first building!

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Project Code Name: HomeMaker We are inspired by people who create new solutions, who build things that move the ball forward in the world. We are excited to assemble a bustling mixture of designers, makers, artists, hackers, community or…

March 8, 2014

Farm House Berkeley is born!

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Announcing Farm House Berkeley, open April 1st!  The Farm House is our newest addition to the Bay Area Embassy Network – a sprawling 6300 sqft, 19th-century Victorian Mansion that has been specifically remodeled for community living.  …

February 8, 2014

Coliving grows up: a 230 bed development in SF

General

Up until now, we have been hacking coliving spaces together using existing properties that were designed to be single family homes. As coliving matures into an attractive, recognizable lifestyle, developers are taking note and looking to…

February 3, 2014

So what exactly is coliving?

General

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard people say something along the lines of “don’t you live in some kind of commune?” or “how is your cohousing projects going?”  After biting my tongue for a moment, I typically…

January 30, 2014

Structural Drivers in Communities and Companies

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Structural Drivers in Communities and Companies After a weekend retreat with the Embassy SF this past weekend, a discussion arose around efficiency of communications and meetings. What are the goals of our collaboration? Comparison with …

January 25, 2014

Open Source Business Strategy

General

In order to facilitate effective collaboration and build smart & empowered partnerships, we want to make our company vision, goals and strategy visible to the rest of the system. Four Realms: Art, Philosophy, Science and Math I used Jean…

November 16, 2013

On Finding Properties and Supporters

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We’ve been meeting with some very kind and experienced individuals in the urban development space. I thought I’d document some insights I’ve taken away from talking with them, as we slowly begin to learn more about this new world w…

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