Angela Tafoya + Eric Bailey
Lifestyle editor Angela Tafoya and her husband Eric Bailey, a graphic designer and fine art painter, are two creative forces. The couple and their two children live in a beautiful 19th-century Craftsman in a bustling Inner Sunset neighborhood in San Francisco. The home has been in Eric’s family since the 1950s, but when he and Angela moved in, they gave it a much-needed makeover. It was important to them to maintain the home’s historic charm while adding fresh personal touches like beautiful artwork and thoughtfully curated treasures. And now they’re parlaying their talent for finding the perfect pieces into their next venture, Noomoon, a style-driven secondhand kids’ shop opening this summer! We sat down for coffee with this fascinating duo to learn how rituals and practices shape their daily routines.
Tell us a little bit about yourselves.
ANGELA: I am a mother of two amazing kids (age one and seven), a partner, and a lifestyle editor about to embark on a new journey of opening a business. I consider myself to be a seeker—I’m inspired by spirituality, nature, and love exploring the intersection of well-being and design.
ERIC: I am a father, husband, artist, graphic designer. I aim to enjoy and appreciate the simpler things of life in this ever technologically advancing whirlwind of modern life.
Do you have morning rituals? Tell us how you start your day.
ANGELA: I truly believe that how you start your day sets the tone for the rest of it—so I try to begin with intention. I try to start my day with as minimal outside noise as possible—so really not touching my phone for the first hour of waking up. That is super important to me. While most mornings can be pretty hectic (especially during the school year), there are a few things I have to do to feel grounded for the day ahead. I start off with a glass of hot water before welcoming a cup of coffee as well as setting an intention before I get out of bed. I typically enjoy a cup of coffee while I’m getting the kids fed, with them at the counter while they eat. It’s a nice way to engage with each other before we start the day. Before Alo was born I was an avid journaler and wrote a few pages every morning—but life happened and I haven’t been keeping up on it. I’m hoping to bring that practice back in at some point!
What has it been like transitioning from one child to two?
ANGELA: Now that Alo is a year old things are feeling so good and we’ve all really found a groove. The transition, especially within the first few months, was definitely just that—a transition. We’d been a family of three for almost seven years, so I think there was an adjustment period for us all. I also think going from having a pretty independent seven year old, to being back in the throes of the baby years was definitely a big one for me. Alo is simply the sweetest little guy and my daughter is truly the best big sister, and loves him so much. It’s been amazing to see just how much the love grows each day.
“ I truly believe that how you start your day sets the tone for the rest of it—so I try to begin with intention. I try to start my day with as minimal outside noise as possible—so really not touching my phone for the first hour of waking up. ”
What role does flowers and nature play a role in your home?
ANGELA: Flowers have the ability to energetically shift a room. When there is a beautiful arrangement on the table, it really reminds you to relish in the beauty and honor those small moments through nature. We love collecting relics in nature on various trips and outings and display those throughout the home. Eric has a pretty big green thumb and is always bringing in new plants which I am grateful for. It gives our home a sense of life and depth.
Your home has such an eclectic yet beautiful and calming aesthetic. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
ERIC: Thank you. Inspiration comes from nature, travel, classic but elevated. Objects are always coming and going and our home is always evolving in life.
Angela - Your career has always had a design focus whether it’s fashion, lifestyle or interiors - where does your love for design originate from?
I didn’t grow up in a house that had an emphasis on design per se, but from an early age I was drawn to it—arranging the furniture and decor in our home, asking my mom to take me to the craft store for decorations. I was gravitated toward the notion of beauty and design not just being something frivolous or surface, but something that can really shift the way you feel and engage with a space.
“Flowers have the ability to energetically shift a room. When there is a beautiful arrangement on the table, it really reminds you to relish in the beauty and honor those small moments through nature.”
Tell us about your newest endeavor, noomoon.
ANGELA: We are opening a style and design-driven secondhand kids shop this summer! Over the last few years I’ve been craving a return to something more tactile and community-driven. I’m also a huge secondhand shopper and am passionate about the circular shopping model—especially when it comes to kids clothes since they cycle out of things so quickly! The space is going to be a fun, whimsical space that taps into my love for design while offering parents a place to shop for cute stuff for their kids. So much clothing ends up in landfills every year and it feels good to support a more sustainable way to shop.
Eric - Tell us a little bit more about the history of this home? What does it mean to you to be living in a home that holds so many childhood memories? How does it feel to be re-planting your roots in this community and cultivating memories for your own kids?
ERIC: My Grandparents bought this home back in the ‘50s when my mom was just a young girl. Rumor has it that they paid something like 10k for it, which was still probably a lot of money for them at the time. So I have known this house my entire life. We frequently came to the city to visit my grandparents and explore the city. My brother and I were into skateboarding and SF was the skate capital at the time. There was always food on the stove and the aroma of Filipino cuisine in the air, the sound of my grandma bickering ( in a loving way) in Tagalog. Cartoons on the vintage television in the morning.The memories run deep.
Living here now with Angela and raising our family here has been great, and it feels good to be able to continue our roots in this amazing city. But with that said it hasn’t been easy. It’s an old house that really hadn’t had any updates since the ‘70s. So the house needed a lot of work and I have pretty much touched every inch of the house with my hands. Renovating, maintaining etc. I’m not sure I could do the same to any other house. I think the generational connection gave me the drive to do the work.
The house now is completely different than I remember as a kid… but every now and then a trace of history emerges. I have found a school picture of my mom, maybe in 3rd grade slide under the baseboard. Some old billing posters from the ‘60s stapled in the garage between the studs, probably from my uncle.
I’m happy that my kids will be able to enjoy this house and city. We have given it a second life and enjoy our larger family gatherings here as well. I think my grandparents would have liked it to be this way.
How do you find balance between family and work? Are there any routines you follow to maintain this balance?
ANGELA: I think after having a baby last year, I’m still actively working on this one. I do try to be intentional with my time, and when I’m with the kids, that is what I’m doing at that moment (and limiting distractions) or when I wake up in the morning, starting slowly to bring in intention for the day. I’ve been trying to reintegrate some of the tools I used to rely on like breathwork and journaling—those have helped me immensely in the past and for me, it’s about adding them back in again.
Favorite neighborhood coffee spot?
ANGELA: I love popping over to Tartine on 9th Ave but now that Third Culture is around the corner, it’s definitely been a regular for me. The caramel roasted matcha is SO good.
Go-to spots for family outings?
ANGELA: Damnfine pizza in the Outer Sunset. We love going on a Friday night, sitting in the back patio, and having some wine and pies!
