Name: Alan Shull, owner of Patina
Location: Andersonville, Chicago
Size: 1400 sq. foot loft
Years lived in:4
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Early this year, we stopped in at Patina, the new-ish antique and home shop that Alan owns. Located up on Damen, it's a cozy ground floor space filled with very good finds. Alan does all the searching for the shop, bringing together a well edited mix of vintage items from auctions and sales across the Midwest. It was obvious that he has a great eye so we asked about his home, hoping to possibly share it with the AT community through a tour. As you can see, it all worked out (it turns out he's very nice, too!).
When we asked about the tour, the first thing Alan said was that the loft decor was quite different than the style you see at the shop - and after seeing them both, we'd agree - to a point. The loft is a bit edgier and glamorous, maybe a touch more urban, but the love of found objects, curiosities and a very American type of vintage design is evident in both of the places that Alan has designed; his shop and his home.
Great vintage pieces and a focus on textures and materials such as glass, stainless, wood and organic materials exist in both, along with a sense of humor and the ability to celebrate simple objects and raise them up to a new level by treating them as art. Along with his skills in choosing pieces, Alan did the paintings you'll see in the loft and many DIY projects throughout, such as the horizontally striped paint treatment in the bedroom and the leather fireplace.
We premiered this house tour at our last Design meetup, and Alan was there to answer questions and meet some of the AT community - if you missed the chance then, be sure to drop by Patina to say hello.
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AT Survey:
My style: A mix of modern and vintage
The Inspiration: Designers Kelly Hoppen, Darryl Carter, and all flea markets
Favorite Element: High ceilings (22± feet) and natural light
Biggest Challenge: Having no walls between rooms can be a problem--especially when having overnight guests.
What Friends Say: ““Where’s the gin?”
Biggest Embarrassment: The master bath which still has the worst white laminate cabinets and cheapy Home Depot tiles—but to be fixed soon! Thankfully, it’s not shown here.
Proudest DIY: I just redid my fireplace mantel and upholstered it in leather. Love it!
Biggest Indulgence: The Italian glass tiles from Waterworks in the bath.
Best advice: Edit—But buy what you love (you’ll always find a place for it).
Dream source: Kelly Hoppen (London), John Derian (New York), and the flea markets at Broomfield, Massachusetts
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Resources:
DINING ROOM:
Glass Table: Ikea
Wood Chairs: Arne Jacobsen Series 7 (vintage; purchased at auction)
Aluminum Chairs: EMECO (Design Within Reach)
Primitive Wood Vessel: Sandwich flea market
Deer Head: ID
Religious Sculptures: Closed church from the south side
Gold Pig: ID
Oil Paintings: Me
HALLWAY:
Fornasetti Plates: Barney’s
Cuckoo Clock: The Conran Shop (NYC)
KITCHEN:
Stainless Steel Island: Design within Reach
BATH:
Tile: Waterworks
Sink, Fixtures, Toilet: Max Gerber
Vanity: Custom design
Mirror: Custom design
White Cross Medicine Cabinet: Conran Shop (NYC)
LIVING ROOM:
Bar Cabinet: Design within Reach
Accessories on top of Cabinet: Glass oil lamps (ID), dart board (Patina)
9-Drawer Sideboard: Thrift Store (vintage; $10; refinished myself)
Garden Orbs on Sideboard: Sprout Home
Crystal Skull: Vintage; 26th Street Flea Market (NYC)
Oil Painting and Rorschach-inspired Prints: Me
Sofa: Urban Nest
BRNO Chairs: Vintage, at auction
Bertoia Diamond Chairs: Vintage, at auction
Stainless steel coffee table: Custom design
Steel end table: Marshall Fields
Wood side table: Rothschild Antiques (St. Louis)
Stainless Steel Dental Cabinet: Vintage, Pavilion Antiques
White Table Lamp: Crate and Barrel
Accessories: Ostrich/wood tray (Lille), ashtray & Lucite lighter (Kelly Hoppen London), Fornasetti coasters, dish, and vase (Barney’s), slate & leather boxes (Armani Casa), acrylic spider (John Derian), pottery (Jonathan Adler), gold skull (Collier West, Columbus), roe deer trophies (vintage; flea markets), Indian clubs (Patina)
BEDROOM:
Bed: Marshall Fields
Pillows: Paul Smith
Side Tables: From my optometrist’s office (given to me after he closed)
Lamps: Ikea
White Hand: Vintage, tiny antique shop in Duncan Mills, CA
Sunburst Mirror: West Elm
Resin Artwork: Las Manos Gallery
PAINT COLORS:
Living/Dining/Bed Rooms: Grange Hall (Ralph Lauren) & Cathedral Gray (Ralph Lauren)
Kitchen Cabinets: Cameroon Green (Ralph Lauren)
Thanks, Alan!
Photos: Janel Laban
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ERROR: unable to load page :((((((((((((((
thanks, masik - it's fixed now
This new slideshow format still isn't working for me (I'm on Windows/IE at the moment). I have to continually go back one and reclick to the next photo to see anything and it's just not worth the work. What's the prob?
apologies for the slideshow issues - improvements/fixes are in the works
Great space!
I especially like the dining room.
What kind of sink did you use in your bathroom?
Can we (that is you, AT) go back to linking to the "All Thumbnails" or something, I hate the auto-slideshow.
randomname - i added the thumbnails link
Very nice! I loved the little dog in the photo. I wondered why the kitchen appliances were white too.
Thank you!
Pictures not working for me :(
so gorgeous.... this is so inspiring! and is exactly what we're trying to achieve, maculine and sciencey with interesting things everywhere.
well done!
I LOVE!
I've looked at nearly every house tour for the past 2 yrs and this is in my top 3. WOW. What a great collection that really flows together. Kudos also for the IMMACULATE place. I know it must take a lot of effort to have it looking spotless.
Wood burning fireplace . . . sigh.
I want one.
Extremely polished....neat space. The dining room with the wood deer head and bowl is like an illustration.
janel - thanks. Looking forward to the fix.
Awesome, although I hope the dead-animal-head party will be over sometime soon.
I love this loft, did Alan make the prints about the couch in the living room? I would love details on how to make these, they look fantastic! Really great apartment!
the white appliances are so bad. throughout the space, he has punches of white. i love how there are books all over the place incorporated into the design. this is my fav.
i meant to say....the white applicance ARENT so bad.
I love the medicine cabinet and the use of a canopy bed in a space that it really works!
Lots to love here -- but in particular the Fornasetti plates and the Rorsarch blots as art are outstanding examples of great style... bravo!
Oh My!! This is fabuuuuu!!! I love it, commercial meets sleek!! The dog photos personal fave!!!
jodie, i think those prints are old-school rorschach tests. i never thought of using them as art, but they look really stunning clustered as a group. while this is style is not my daily life taste (a little too severe and symmetric), it's really well done and balanced throughout. i love love LOVE the pairing of grey and orange in the dining room. the art collection as a whole creeps me out a little...the gilded piglet, pinhole camera looking photo, spider, etc. cool to encounter in a friend's home, but i think they'd spook me out to encounter during a midnight snack attack.
as a follow-up to my last post: for anyone with more money than me, you can find some rorschach blots on sale on ebay (albeit color ones): http://cgi.ebay.com/Rorschach-Test-psychodiagnostics-plates-blank-forms_W0QQitemZ150253552844QQihZ005QQcategoryZ29223QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This is cool. Saw your bedroom space on HGTV RMS, nice to see the rest of your home. Beautiful!
Amazing space! As others have mentioned, the colors, materials, and aesthetic is very masculine and industrial, yet several well thought out touches manage to make the place as a whole seem warm and inviting, IMO. As for the slightly "creepy" accessories, I think they sort of go along nicely with the sense of humor that has been woven throughout. I wish my loft looked like this, thanks for the inspiration.
Oh, and that cross medicine cabinet...brilliant!
Thanks littlebunnyfoofoo!
It's one thing to pick on a pet as being a bit of a cheap shot in a home tour [because pets are always cute!], but The World's Gayest Little Dog? How unfair! I think the fact that the dog doesn't quite match what you perceive to be Alan's design philosophy makes him more of a real-life pet. This home is beautiful but, in a sense, everything is just so spotless and perfect that a funky little dog helps to humanize the home a bit.
I love this place - looks so much larger than 1400 sq ft. And I love the dog! (I'm an owner of two chis).
I love the architecture of this space! I've loved the barrel truss ceilings w/ the skylights and everytime I see a store or building like that I wish I could find one to make into a home. I guess there are a few out there...
Thanks everyone for the compliments! I agree about the white appliances (hideous)--just got around to replacing the oven, and planning to replace the fridge soon. I painted the Rorschach prints myself.
Suzygirl-For the fire place, I just built the surround with 2' X 4''s, painted them. Inside I put plywood panels wrapped with leather and then added the nail heads. Also, I redid the cabinets with paint and new hardware (they were horrible white laminate when I moved in)
WOW. just, wow! creative and yet controlled. amazing.
and where in the world are people getting these thrift store deals? alan, can you reveal where you found that sideboard for a screaming deal?
Beautiful.
This home is such a great inspiration for all of us in the process of decorating
I dream of living in a loft. Nice to know that some of us can actually live the dream; and what a beautiful space. Some of the accessories wouldn't be my choice, and it is a little too masculine for me but overall nicely done. I'm loving the leather treatment on the fireplace and the canopy bed is great too.
An amazing place, I am sooo jealous. Can you tell me where you get that black wallclock? Thank you Allen for sharing your home with us.
Nicely done for what it is.
Like the 'art' hanging behind the orchid.
when oh when is the slideshow/thumbnail issue going to be fixed? you've (the royal you) have been promising to fix this atrocious "improvement" for weeks now. Still no slideshow capability, and there's no way I'm going to click "next", click click click arrow down, click click click arrow back up to hit "next" again...sorry if that sounds peevish, but there's only so much time one can devote to this, so bravo on getting the tours sponsored but the advertisers are losing multiple eyeballs because people are simply choosing not to view the tours because you've made them impossibly clunky and awful to use.
*climbs back off soapbox*
You can click the photo to progress to the next, thisissofrustrating.
Regarding the dead animals, everyone has either read or made a complaint or two about them for the past six months or so... that as a trend they're over, etc. While it's true that anyone can buy a rack of antlers or an animal skull from a retailer for style points, occasionally those dead animals hold meaning for the home owner. Maybe it was a rack a beloved grandfather shot just before he died in a tragic car accident; you never know, right?
I have a small raccoon skull in my apartment at the moment, the relic of a childhood home. I found it (and others) during a spring thaw on the banks of a nearby stream. It is one of the few items I own with a direct connection to my childhood. No photographs, but I've got this skull. The rack in Alan's super-cool dining room looks fabricated, but it (and the other formerly living trophies) might have some small significance for him. Complaints about someone's personal items is SO last year.
great space. what kind of carpet is that? i am in the carpet buying mode for a concrete floor in our loft and it looks nice!
I was wondering about the carpet as well? Thanks
Does anybody know, where those nice wooden sofa-table-cubes (first picture, in front of the grey sofa) can be bought? Thanks!
Your place is too perfect for me. I can't breathe in places that are this neat!!! Everything is so crisp and clean. I really like the fireplace but the tarantula on the table is creepy.
Very nice
Sleek decor with a sense of humor (the tarantula)
The mantle is splendid.
Color me impressed!
This house is a like a complete collection of all design trends I dislike (animal heads - real or fake, hide rugs, plates on the wall, all neutral tones...) and yet, I LOVE it. I can't explain it, but I hope their design services are available for hire.
P.S. I miss my pet tarantula. RIP Smear!