The equation for the Tribune reporter Kevin Tang was a pretty good one - he agreed to get rid of all his old furnishings when he moved into his new (first!) home, an Edgewater condo. In exchange he'd get the help of David Cieslak, Pret-a-Habiter designer, pro bono. A small budget and short deadline did not deter...
...the team of Tang and Cieslak - they stuck with it and wrapped the project on time and under budget.
The one bedroom condo is under 900 square feet and for step one of the project, David made up a floor plan. This ensured that all the shopping would be for items that would actually fit well in the space - the floorplan and a measuring tape were always on hand.
Step two was to figure out the "Kevin Look" - his homework was to identify and clip photos that showed off the style that represents him. In the article, David says, "A lot of people just have a hard time understanding what their options are in terms of style. Someone might think, for instance, that 'contemporary' means very stark, maybe just a single chair and lamp. But there are so many other ways to go." Kevin says, "You've got your Crate and Barrel and your CB2, right? I'd describe my style as CB1.5."
And then, of course, there was the the budget to consider - under 5,000 for the whole place. Some money saving strategies from the piece: Search Craigslist the last Monday of each month, as renters prepare to move, buy floor models vs. custom orders, carry home purchases to save on delivery fees, look for pieces in stores and then search for it with possible markdowns online, and repurpose collections and special belongings into displays instead of purchasing new artwork."
Check out the whole article here, along with related features on David Cieslak (who we just met when he attended our recent AT Design Meetup) and Pret a Habiter.
Images: Chicago Tribune
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Comments (23)
It took a designer to choose an IKEA bed and place an IKEA desk next to it?
i love the first photo!
oh what I could do with $5,000! And I would donate the Pret-a-Habiter consultancy fee to Apartment Therapy instead - I'm not particularly impressed by the finished product.
In two weeks I am moving out of a shared apartment where I don't own a single thing besides my clothes, and into my very own 1 BR apartment. I am hoping to furnish the whole place for $2,000. Well, maybe $2,500.
That's disappointing that they have only 2 photos of the finished product, neither of which are at all impressive.
I love the vintage guitar-hero move, circa 1970's stadium rock... mind if I borrow that? :)
I've always wondered why manufacturers can design such thin tv's but can't manage to design less-obtrusive, half-decent looking tv stands.
That tv would look great on a swiveling, adjustable wall mount so that it floats in the corner a little higher than where it is now... then it could relate to the nicely composed cd's and it would open up the space.
I wonder how much of the budget that TV ate up. :)
The "Kevin look" is pretty bland and uninspired. I second the comment about "a designer was necessary for this?"
Give the guy a break, they only had 4 weeks! It takes time to develop a more personalized look. (It took us 2 months to find a couch we liked! But then, we're not known for being decisive...)
Wow, good job!
For you naysayers, I personally do not know anyone whose first place looked like that within 4 weeks, or even 4 months. I'm sure that over time, it will only become better.
dovetailing off a previous post, can you guys do a feature on TV stands, AT? I need to replace mine and all the inspiring photos on this website don't have TV's in them ;)
I'm always amazed when people who live in great cities and have access to super-cool stuff end up furnishing their places with the same bland, poorly-made crap from big chain stores that people in the suburbs buy from because they have so little choice.
Hey, city people, what about flea markets? Antique stores? Thrift shops? Craigs List? Funky little stores that make city-shopping so much fun?
The ironic thing is the stuff from the chain stores isn't even that cheap, considering it's poorly made and will fall apart in a couple of years. Enough with the particle board covered with formica! (It's also full of formaldehyde and other chemicals.)
All right, that's my rant.
Put me firmly on the naysayer list. If I have a "small" budget of $5000 to blow on my first place (I assume we are talking about owning, not renting), I assure you it will not be this bad, even at 4 weeks. Especially if I have less than 1000 sq ft to tackle.
I don't know if I'm supposed to be more disappointed with the designer or the homeowner, but yeah, bland and uninspired is right.
Kevin says, "You've got your Crate and Barrel and your CB2, right? I'd describe my style as CB1.5."
CB1.5 = the uninspired side of Ikea.
I'm not going to be as overly harsh as everyone else. I think the place has been designed a very clean, simplicity. Sometimes, less is more.
I am surprised they didn't paint at all.
wow. i know i can't see the whole house... but i don't think i'd put this in my design portfolio if i was the designer. it's a yawn fest.
budget:
television/playstation/guitar hero = 3500
ikea furniture = 1500
and seriously, they couldn't make the bed a little better than that for a photo shoot?
wow people. i would like to see some more pictures, as these two pictures don't really show a whole lot, but this place isn't bad! it's clean and simple. looks like they did paint, but in very neutral, soft colors.
It all reeks of bachelor-pad-on-a-budget to me. It's so brutally devoid of color or softness, as if the owner is boasting, "I'm so macho that no sissy color stands a chance in my crib."
This place could use some more color on the walls...but maybe after the furniture purchases, they didn't have it in the budget. The place isn't all that bad, it just needs some personal touches.
I really like the idea of Pret-a-Habiter, but yeah, it is kind of bland. But you know what? From the full article, I get the sense that Kevin (the homeowner) is kind of bland.
Wow - I'm amazed at the harshness this post inspired.
For some reason a lot of you guys think that everyone likes painted walls. To me, it's unatural. I like my walls WHITE. That's what art and furniture are for.
Yeah, but I suppose my objection is that that isn't a beautiful white - that is straight from the developer/contractor white paint.