Name: Alison and Joe
Location: Plainfield, Illinois
Size: 1,800 square feet
Years lived in: 3 months
Alison and Joe have only lived in their house for about three months but you wouldn't know by looking at it. The way their suburban home is so completely and tastefully decorated it looks like they've lived in their house for three years.
This is Alison and Joe's first house. After years of apartment dwelling, the opportunity to rent this single family home came up and they just couldn't pass it up. Alison admits that the house is not really their style - they definitely prefer vintage and urban. However, they've taken the interior of this new construction house and given it their own vintage style.
Much of the beautiful mid-century furniture in the house was refinished by Alison. Those refurbished vintage pieces are complemented by new items that are similar in shape and style. By keeping the silhouettes similar, Alison has successfully mixed the old and new pieces while still retaining a cohesive style.
The upstairs of the house is where most of the collections live. From books to Lego sets, Alison and Joe have a fun collection that, now that they're in a house, can finally be on display. And within this three bathroom abode, there's even a spot for Joe's novelty toilet seat.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My/Our style: I love Clean modern lines, organic shapes and textures, natural colors, and bold graphic prints. Our home is a combination of mid-century thrift store meets Ikea.
Inspiration: Mid-century architecture and design, browsing homes on Flickr, vintage blogs.
Favorite Element: I love our Ikea kitchen. It's the first real kitchen we've had - our previous apartments had about 4 square feet of counter space and no storage. I love the organized self-closing drawers.
Biggest Challenge: I inherited my mother's habit wanting to fill every square inch of wall space with art and every flat surface with knickknacks. There's a very fine line between collecting and hoarding (and we both have huge collections... of stuff). I have to fight urges to hang another picture or just fit in one more piece of pottery. It's a constant battle.
What Friends Say: I've had friends threaten to show up in the middle of the night with a truck and steal my furniture.
Biggest Embarrassment: It's a toss up between the exposed wiring that's waiting for surround sound, my husband's novelty toilet seat (clear with embedded fish & seashells), the too short curtains in the kitchen & family room, and the peel and stick tile in the kitchen. I work in the tile industry so when you spend all day surrounded by beautiful Italian porcelains and stones, it's sad to come home to ugly tile. I hope that if I ignore it enough, it will just disappear.
Proudest DIY: The credenza that currently works as our TV stand in the family room was a complete mess when I found it at Goodwill. It was covered in dust and cobwebs and clearly needed to be refinished. I cried and begged my husband and brother-in-law to pick up this disgusting piece of furniture and drag it up to our old 2nd floor apartment. I stripped it down and completely refinished it. It looks beautiful now. I have refinished quite a few pieces of furniture now and I have still a pile that's waiting.
Biggest Indulgence: Since quite a bit of our furniture came from Craigslist, I had a hard time spending a ton of money on a sofa for our family room. We purchased the Corona sofa from Macy's after searching for an affordable sofa that met all of our requirements. With three cats, we didn't want a 50 year old sofa to meet its demise in a week from their claws. A month after the purchase, we found out we were moving and would need a second sofa for the living room. By some stroke of luck, I found the same one in another color at An Orange Moon for half-price.
Best advice: Craigslist is always an adventure. If you wait long enough, you'll find it on there. I've had to bribe quite a few people with food for use of their trucks and man power to move heavy furniture. We've met a lot of really great people and even got to pet a couple of rescued coyotes at one seller's home. Also, don't be a snob with where you shop. Look for items at unexpected places- not everything has to be vintage or from only certain brands/stores. Some stores will surprise you with their merchandise that you wouldn't think as their "typical."
Dream source: A shopping spree at a warehouse full of Broyhill Brasilia furniture.
Resources:
Living room:
End tables, lamps, credenza: Craigslist
Coffee table: Flashbacks, Mountain Home, Arkansas
Sofa: Macy's Corona sofa, second hand from An Orange Moon in Chicago
Arm chair: Value City Furniture
Room Divider: The Atomic Home, southern Illinois
Framed photographs: Christa Thatcher Photography christathatcher.com
Curtains: JC Penneys
Pillow fabric: Etsy seller daisyjanie
Dining Room:
Table & chairs, buffet, and shadow box: Craigslist
Tripod lamp: Flashbacks, Mountain Home, Arkansas
Estate sale painting
Chair fabric: Premier Prints Blend Annie Yellow/Kelp from Fabric.com
Pottery: Mostly Haeger Pottery
Kitchen:
Cabinets: Ikea
Pendant Lamp: CB2
Table & chairs: gifted from friends
Apothecary cabinet: Ikea
Family Room:
Sofa: Macy's
End tables, credenza, side chair: Goodwill
Lamps: Pier 1 Imports
Bookcase & sofa table: Ikea
Coffee Table: The Atomic Home, southern Illinois
Sewing table & marble side table: Craigslist
Vintage clocks: rummage sales, antique stores, eBay
Pillow fabric: Amy Butler Nigella Ritzy Stripe in Forest
Pottery: Mostly Haeger with some unmarked vintage & Target thrown in
Bedroom:
Bedroom set: Craigslist
Wall Art: Pier 1 Imports
Lamps: Homegoods
Bedding: Tamara bedding by Marimekko from Crate & Barrel
Office:
Ikea furniture
Bird prints: OrangeWillow on Etsy
Guestroom:
Dresser: Craigslist
Bedding & Pillows: Crate & Barrel
Side table, lamp, and curtains: Ikea
(Thanks, Alison and Joe!)
Images: Jason Loper
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I'm in love with your extensive collection of Broyhill Brasilia pieces!
And such a nice home with well-edited collections - Not at all cluttered!
I have the same set of dishes- but mine are used every day & not on display. Love the kitties, too.
Love, love the cats. Also, love the bedroom lamps. I've been looking for lamps similar to that myself.
Cookie cutter outside - very cool inside! Add me to the list of people who would come with a truck in the middle of the night to steal your furniture. I also agree that your hubby's novelty toilet seat should go away. A clear seat is visually like no seat.
Cool - I have that same fabric on an ottoman in my l.r. that you have on your d.r. chairs. I think I ordered mine from a place in Canada. I'll bet Fabric.com is cheaper. Good to know!
This house reminds me of Mad Men. In fact it reminds me of Anna's house from a couple episodes ago.
I mean that as a compliment.
Also, I can attest that the Corona sofa is amazing. We've had ours for a little while now and it's really great. Very comfortable and very affordable.
Nice home- clean lines, good pieces of furniture. I love the first cat pic! Also, how has the Corona sofa held up for you? I'm thinking about buying it, or something from Room & Board.
@roxy72 - there's a huge price difference between the Corona sofa and Room and Board! The Corona sofa is made in the US by Max Home, if that helps at all. We've had ours for about a month and a half and it's doing great. The only thing I've noticed as being kind of amusing is that since it's a three-seat cushion and there are only two of us, we tend to sit on the ends and the middle cushion is a lot fluffier than the ends :) We just swap an end cushion with the middle one and in another month they'll all be even.
I'd paint some walls green and some walls yellow, especially the orange one(s), to lighten and brighten rooms with lots of brown wood. However, I go for brights more than most commenters do. Laugh off those pained by a humorously intended toilet seat. You're suiting yourselves, not competing for their votes.
Gorgeous decor! They definitely share my love for lamps.
Usually I find that attempts to make new construction/cookie cutter tract houses look vintage fail miserably. But this is definitely one of the better jobs I've seen. I think it's because you were fortunate to have extremely neutral floors, countertops, and cabinetry, and because you also kept your wall color choices equally neutral, which works well with your decor aesthetic.
Wow,3 months!!!! Great Job! Nice to see someone have a well put together house on a budget.
I am amused by the tile comment. I have some things around my rental that I keep hoping if I ignore it will go away as well.
I am incredibly impressed at what you've been able to pull together in three months. Your house is interesting, stylish, and unique. I love, love, love the color on your bedroom walls. Ah, what I wouldn't give to be able to paint my living room (in an apartment) that color. Beautiful job.
Well Done!!
Great job for such a short period of time. Where can I find a small basic home office desk like yours?
I too wish the orange/brown wall was another color. The tone of the wood pieces is very beautiful but fades away against such a similarly colored background. More contrast would give that area a needed lift.
It looks really gorgeous! I'm in love with the clock-cluster on the wall!!!I do agree the brownish/terracotta wall doesn't do your beautiful wooden furniture any good. A lighter or more grayish color would look better and make your price pieces pop more, I think.
Your cats are cute, the toilet-seat doesn't bother me and the carpet really seems to work here (I usually detest carpet).
I have one little pet peeve thing though: a whole row of books above the toilet?!? I really don't need to know you spend enough time on the can to read Moby Dick* cover to cover.
(*pun not intended)
Homeowner here: Thanks for all of the comments so far!
@Pi: I got the bedroom lamps at Homegoods. They have a fantastic (and really cheap!) lamp selection.
@mron73: The desk in the family room is my vintage sewing machine that I got from Craigslist. We use it for my husband's laptop a lot of the time.
We do rent this house and had a couple restrictions, especially re: the accent wall in the living room. The entire downstairs was recently painted and those were the only walls we weren't allowed to touch. I do like the accent wall color but I definitely agree- our furniture does blend in against it and it needs more of a contrast. We were very lucky to inherit neutral carpet (we moved from all hardwoods, which I miss style-wise, but not the cleaning) and a brand new Ikea kitchen.
And about that bookshelf and the toilet seat... where do I begin? Joe really, really, really, like I mean really wanted those two things in this house. I could have the rest to do whatever I wanted. He wanted a bookshelf in the bathroom and he wanted a weird toilet seat. (FYI, no Moby Dick- a short story or two should suffice) I'm a little embarrassed that we have not one, but two toilets featured here on AT- especially since neither of those rooms are significant design-wise and there were better rooms not really shown. It's disappointing that those pictures were wasted on toilets and Legos, yet there weren't overall room shots of the the family room, office, or bedrooms- which I definitely think have more style.
We have some other pictures on Flickr if you want to see more- picture quality isn't that great: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27144241@N04/sets/72157624447459570/with/4781743072/
love, love, love!!
@roxy72 - the Corona sofas are both holding up great. I definitely recommend flipping and rotating the cushions about once a week to keep them looking firm and non-saggy. The green couch is 7 months old and we bought the beige one second-hand. We have no problem falling asleep on these couches either. If I lay down, I will fall asleep.
I would *not* say that they are cat friendly though- we have to put Sticky Paws on them because their claws pull the fabric easily. I read reviews that people thought they held up well with cats. My husband expressed concern at Macy's that the cats would destroy the upholstery and of course, I said, "I read it on the internet- it must be true!" Who knew the internet would lie to me?
Another adorable kitty!
gor geous
I definitely think this was a fantastic job for living in it for only 3 months! This is not exactly to my taste - it reminds me a little too much of my grandparents' decor- but the fact that the place is so put together after only 3 months is motivating me to do better with my own place. Thanks!
I'm an mcm fan, but, like booya, this takes it too far for my tastes. I can almost smell the lingering smoke scent in the walls & fabrics when I look at the living room photo. I like more of a mixture of styles - some more contemporary touches or antiques and art from another era would transform this - from reminding me of my grandparent's house to an exciting, eclectic, modern living space. Some bright orange flowers might wake up the living room a little. It is an impressive collection from thrift finds in only 3 months. I love what you've done with the vintage clocks!
Too much of a good thing.
Splendid pad!
Not much of a retro fan myself, but your taste is just gorgeous. Where is that cabinet from that is in picture 17, the one with the clear circle middle? It's lovely! And beautiful,beautiful cats!
@ArtsyGirl - that cabinet is from Ikea Stockholm collection.
@cctax - It's interesting that you say that because all of the fabrics are completely new as well most of the art and upholstered furniture. The house tour definitely focused on the just vintage aspects of our house - you really don't get an idea of the modern things going on from the pictures and how they mix with the retro, because frankly- they just aren't shown.
As a fellow Illinoisan (15 miles from you in fact) I love seeing a cookie cutter home transformed within - and done with good taste to boot!
Living in mid-century, slab, GI housing rectangle of a box in Aurora, I have tried to defy the outside with a comfortable, lived-in, practical mid-century vibe inside. It is possible to do on a low budget in the burbs of Chicago.
Kudos on your place - i love it!
Way too thematic. Way, Way, much.
If it was inherited like this it would be out of this world... But deliberately produced, not so much.
I want the desk and the kitty cat.
that makes sense Alison. the write-up definitely made it sound like the more current touches were there - moreso than what i was seeing in the photos. you definitely have some great pieces - i wish i had your goodwill and your craigslist!
my lamp fetish was satiated.
however, i did notice that the kitchen is stark in decor, in comparison to the rest of the house.
also, that toilet seat has GOT to go. it was a beautiful bathroom, then you see the seat and you cringe a little.
thank you for sharing, alison! what a wonderful home you've created. i love your collections. i thought your sofa looked familiar!!! i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE AN ORANGE MOON (http://theculturalpsychologist.blogspot.com/)!!!! doesn't lynne have the greatest pieces?! i was on the fence, but, now that i have seen your end tables in "action" i'm going to AOM to get the 2 that she has now! she has some other pieces in the store now that your have in your home. nice to see how they have translated in your space!
The Kitchen is my favorite room but the sea of wood pieces is overkill.
We used to have a lot of that same furniture in our house when I was growing up. Love it all! What great finds.
Whoa. Time capsule.
I agree with the people who love the Broyhill Brasilia pieces. Truly fantastic. My boyfriend and I are going for a similar look: criagslist MCM mixed with hacked IKEA. We actually have a pair of Lane Acclaim end tables and a slatted bench coffe table ourselves. We were nervous about it looking like too much like a time warp in a bad way. But your place looks beautiful. It's proof that—as long as we tasefully place, decorate, match, and edit—we can keep on collecting for an awesome result.
Also, I am pro-silly toilet seat. The way I see it, if you have a sense of humor, so should your apartment. At least a little. That is why my shower curtain has lobsters on it.
First, thanks for the mention that you have my artwork in your home! orangewillow.etsy.com Second, where is it, lol? I saw it said office but I was unable to locate my print. I love seeing my work in peoples homes. I hope you can point it out for me. Lastly, I love...love... no really love your home. The couch and chair in the living room are fabulous me but what really grabbed me were all the lovely retro wood pieces. Great job!
Orangewillow- I saw the photographer take pictures of the office, but the one with your prints in it didn't make the cut. I'll have to send you a picture!
I love all the furniture and accents-- you have an amazing collection!
However, I have yet to feel comfortable even *looking* at pictures of vintage done in tract/new construction. There is something about the beige carpet and layout that clashes with mcm furniture. If a person put in hardwood and knocked down a wall or two- maybe. It might be that I grew up in these generic dwellings, and so am used to them looking/feeling a certain way. Mcm goes against the grain of that feeling- to me, at least.
I know you're only renting at this point, and I wonder if you're going to eventually get back to looking for a vintage living space. Your stuff is really gorgeous. The right construction could be perfectly outfitted with it.
Also, I really love the toilet seat! (Just sayin'.)
Also-- for only living there three months, it's definitely a homey looking place. I'd still be suitcases and boxes! Hehe.
love love love the home! it looks like you were very creative and judicious in your furniture choices.
i HAVE to know what is in that frame above the desk -- the one with the rainbow colored elements?
They are Queen Elizabeth stamps in the frame :)
Brooklyn- we definitely would love to live in a 60s ranch. Our last apartment was a second floor flat built in 1924 and our furniture didn't quite feel at home there either. Our current home really lacks any architectural interest because it's basically a box with beige carpet all over. If we owned it, I would probably put in hardwood floors downstairs, or even stone travertine planks.
We had those dishes when i was growing up! How funny to see them again!
Outstanding. Mid Century Modern is gold. Well done. I love it!!!
Love the mid-century vibe, but ADORE those kitties!