Name: Susannah, Artist and Interior Decorator (former Structural Engineer) and Jeff, Architect and Jazz Drummer
Location: Hyde Park
Size: 550 sq. foot Vintage Condo - circa 1907
Years lived in:1.5
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One of our favorite things happened recently - we got an email from a reader, offering to share their home with the AT community. Susannah and Jeff's southside condo (our first Hyde Park tour!) is warm, unique, filled with artwork , interesting pieces and lots of good karma.
Transplants from South Carolina, the couple seems to have settled into a chilly city by making their small corner of it warm and cozy, summed up wonderfully by Susannah: Two rather tall people with way too many books and a love of dinner parties sharing a tiny space with a Great Dane...
More from Susannah on their place and philosophy: "Because of our respective professions, we'd turn our ˜dream home" into a construction site within a week of purchase so we bought this place because of its potential. The kitchen was practically unusable, the bathroom, scary. We did all of the work on this condo ourselves from design to construction. Small can be beautiful and functional, but it requires a lot of planning. Our furniture comes from a variety of sources: craigslist, garage sales, ebay, thrift and consignment stores. We wait until the right piece comes along - desperation and instant gratification are expensive! We believe that imagination is more important than bank account and try to live below our means."
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AT Survey:
My/Our style: Danish modern, mod mixed with Eastern and Moroccan antiques
The Inspiration: Two rather tall people with way too many books and a love of dinner parties sharing a tiny space with a Great Dane.
Favorite Element: The kitchen - we rarely eat out!
Biggest Challenge: We moved from a 2,000 sq ft house in South Carolina to a 550 sq ft condo in the Southside of Chicago and wanted to keep most of our stuff! Turning a former butler's pantry into a useable kitchen.
What Friends Say: “Do my house next!" (Greatest compliment EVER!!)
Biggest Embarrassment: The dog bed is huge! The dog is huge! And he cries if he and the bed are not in the same room with us.
Proudest DIY: Gutting and creating a kitchen from scratch. The kitchen floor was covered in huge, broken, white, ceramic patio tile; we went down to the original hardwood floors, fixed the water damage, sealed any cracks and painted with layer upon layer of porch paint and poly. Unfortunately, nothing from the kitchen except the stove could be salvaged. We took down three unmatched mdf cabinets and ran alder hardwood shelves all the way to the ceiling. The appliances were selected with great care so that every inch of space could be maximized. We filled an old doorway with shelves and a drawer with an added pullout work surface. The tiles, bar-sink, and pre-fab maple cabinet were purchased from Lowe's. We customized the grout to get a deep espresso color.
Biggest Indulgence: Upholstery and curtains. We reupholstered the daybed and the couch in a vintage mustard mohair and added leather trim (it helps to be from the heart of textile manufacturing country!) The underside of the daybed and the pillows match the heavy tapestry curtains, which provide color and amazing insulation in the winter. Susannah made the curtains, complete with leather tiebacks. The daybed and couch were done professionally and made a set out of disparate pieces.
Best advice: If we got it wrong, no big deal! We tried again; it took several tries to get the right living room color, since the light for the room is filtered through the courtyard trees. Since it's not for a client, we can treat our space as a laboratory - an opportunity to learn about our tastes and needs. It's not brain-surgery; no oneâ's going to die. It's just paint, wood and fabric. Oh, and we try to avoid credit cards.
Dream source: Wright Auctions, Chicago
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Resources:
Living Room:
All of the artwork in the apartment is by Susannah
The antique Turkish lanterns are from a consignment store in South Carolina
The Danish couch was actually found in a thrift store ten years ago and reupholstered to match the daybed, which was bought at a yard sale about three years ago
The rug is from Marshalls
The vintage Lane credenza and vintage Lane desk came from estate sales in South Carolina
The Eames/Herman Miller chair came from craigslist
All of the wall mounted shelves are either alder or painted birch plywood, custom made for the space by Susannah
All of the upholstery and curtain fabric came from a South Carolina textile outlet
Dining Room:
The vintage Danish china cabinet is from ebay
The Saarinen tulip table and Saarinen for Burke chairs are from the 60's, found in a thrift store in South Carolina about ten years ago. The chairs are spray-painted a light yellow because the finish had been destroyed by primer and sun damage
Kitchen:
All of the shelves are painted alder
Sink, maple cabinet and cobalt tile from Lowe's
Blue rug from Crate and Barrell
The clock came from an antique store
Bedroom:
The bed is from Right On Futon, Chicago
The bedding is Ralph Lauren (a ten year old wedding gift!)
The vintage Rya rug and 50’s lamps are from craigslist
The art deco era, English vanity and antique red Chinese chest are from a South Carolina antiques store
The fake Eames lounger was $20 at a thrift store
Bathroom:
Susannah retiled the bathroom walls and added shelves and mouldings; the existing tile were the color of iced oatmeal cookies
(Thanks, Susannah and Jeff!)
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Photos by Susannah Olmert
And check our archives of past house tours HERE
these people might have the perfect life...
artist, designer, architect, jazz drummer....
what cool people!
view andrasklang's profile
More doggy photos! Pronto!
Also, is it that yellow in person? Or just the white balance in the photos? It looks nice, and I like the integration of classic pieces with a more eclectic style. The painting above the couch in the living room is what is grabbing my eye; it's fantastic.
view dannyNYC's profile
just shows what good design can do. this house is 200 sq feet smaller than mine, and that dog is twice the size, and yet we feel cramped...
This apartment is my new inspiration!
view graykittie's profile
Really nice. I'm not sure where all the books are but I am totally inspired. Thanks for sharing.
view mdeathstar's profile
I love your place! So happy, fun and inviting. And your sweet dog is AWESOME. Thank you so much for sharing your space!
view darcidoodle's profile
Love the artwork Susannah. Just curious, why is all hung very high?
view Lourdes's profile
"...this house is 200 sq feet smaller than mine, and that dog is twice the size..."
Is the dog twice the size of your dog, or twice the size of your apartment? 'Cause I could believe either! ;)
view Molly Margarita's profile
Love this space. Coming home must feel a bit like stepping back in time. Lovely. And it looks big.
T8
www.strangeclosets.com
view t8's profile
Congrats on having a lovely space and an even lovlier dog. I live in 561 sq. ft. with a German Shepherd Dog and she has two beds to my one. We love each other and our small space.
view toniannette's profile
Art, design, style...on a budget, with 550 square feet.
We just moved into an apartment with the same square footage, with very similar character...
Inspiring, indeed!
view lilithslair's profile
I seem to be in the minority, but this is a little TOO steeped in the past for me. Still very nice, but not my style. It does feel huge though.
view sixfive's profile
Looks very nice but it really bugged me that it looks so yellow... (I know it's the pictures but it probably does not do justice to the apt)
view Emmm's profile
Beautiful apartment, but I REALLY love your dog! I grew up with Great Danes and really miss them-what a fabulous breed. Interestingly, my mother mentioned the other day that they are a great "apartment" breed as they are pretty sedentary and tend to be quite content with walks instead of a yard. Seems so counterintuitive that they would be a good fit with a small apartment :-)
view kittykatz's profile
oh, I thought this is one of those "guess the decade" photos.. it is so beautiful. I am so jealous of your tulop dining set.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful home.
view New York Muhtari's profile
Thank you guys so much for all of your kind comments! I've been lurking on this site for such a long time and it feels great to have so many people 'over' to our home. Kittykatz, thank you so much. I wish I could have grown up with Great Danes. I've never had such a good dog before. I'm completely sold on the breed. I really agree with your Mom. In our experience, Gentle (the Great Dane) has enjoyed condo living. He's a slightly fussy, very codependent couch potato who follows us around from room to room and sleeps about 16 hrs. a day. Thanks Emmm, the photos do tend to make it more yellow, but it is indeed, an unabashedly yellow apartment. The paint color is a slightly bastardized version of Ralph Lauren's 'Claude', we added some green and darkened the mix because the light in the condo is so wonky. Also, after one Chicago winter with the original white walls, we started researching Scandinavian design for inspiration on how to deal with dark, drab days. Lourdes, thank you so much for the comment! My husband is 6'8" and hung most of the paintings, also the ceilings are almost 10' and the Danish sofas have super low profiles.. and dammit, I should have painted much bigger paintings! Thank you Mdeathstar, the books are in the wall-hung boxes above the credenza, and in the credenza and under the couches and under the bed and in the storage room and we took boxes to the Salvation Army (about which my husband is very remorseful).
view susannah's profile
ooohh, that is some sexy light.
view rubydellson's profile
thanks for sharing all this, the lighting adds so much life, what a warm, fun place. i love those kitchen tiles!
view orangered's profile
The combination of styles work really well together!
The lighting and colors are so nice and cozy.
Love it all!
view polychrome1's profile
I love the yellow and red, the kitchen with the mushroom canisters way up top, and the bathroom. Lovely job!
view Splaine's profile
this is so inspirational...
thank you for sharing-- your home put a huge smile on my face-- and so did your dog!
great job!
ps, i applaud susannah for being such a diyer--- ever so gratifying!
view lolashowme's profile
For some reason I'm suddenly craving sherbet.
view nazrd's profile
More horse pictures-pronto!
view right angle's profile
i love your apt. it's so amazing - you did an incredible job. there is so much to love here. and your dog is soooo adorable!!! :-D
view little flower's profile
Fantastic - web design could benefit from your use of "white space"
view PVBees's profile
You win because the dog is so swanky..but I my dog is cute too. Your place is nice, a bit too yellow maybe just the lighting is bringing that out. Overall cute place, love the dog.
view LoriSF's profile
I am in love with the dog (Gentle?)!
Lovely warm home, just one quick question:
Where did you get the hanging fruit basket in the kitchen? Is there a manufacturer I can check on?
Fruit (and veg, especially onion and potato) storage is the bane of my existence in my tiny kitchen, and I have been looking for a hanging basket - this one seems different than the standard one which you find all over the place...
view monika1's profile
Looks nice, but I couldn't live in a place with such a kitchen. I like to cook and this one really feels more like a closet than a kitchen.
loki
view loki's profile
The place has potential but two things ruin the look and feel for me. First, all the wood furniture is almost the same color. This evokes feelings of uniformity and austerity which are at odds with what I believe is the intended effect of the overall decoration. Second, all the artwork is by the same artist in the same style, and unfortunately it is one that does not go very well with the rest of the apartment. It could though, if there was more variation in the color and texture of the furniture.
view Gustaf's profile
6'8"? wowee! well, that sure explains it. gentle (great name for a dane btw) must be like a lap dog to your hubby :) again, great place. congrats!
view Lourdes's profile
550 square feet? Wow. I thought this was a house. Great job making it look spacious.
view Lisa Hunter (Montreal)'s profile
Susannah here..
Guys thank you so much for all the positivity! I'm absolutely thrilled and grateful. Gentle the dog is definitely the belle of this ball, he's getting a super long walk if it doesn't rain - we just moved to Seattle. It's been a totally insane time - tried out the camera in January (thanks parents & inlaws, note to self: must learn how to get a passable color balance), sent the photos to fabulous Janel at AT. February, my husband got a job offer - being Twin Peaks fanatics we went for a quick recon - long story short came back to Chicago to throw dog in car and condo on craigslist and moved to Seattle in March. So goodbye wonderful friends and neighbors and Art Institute and Velvet Lounge and Ann Sather's. The upside is, my husband no longer has to rent space to practice his drums!
Thank you Monika1, the hanging baskets are from Crate & Barrel, the original hook lasted a week so a sturdy cast iron plant hanger spray paint did the job. I love to cook and invite friends for elaborate Russian dinners and having a kitchen the size of a lentil made for an interesting challenge, but it was kind of great to have everything within an arm's reach. Gentle the dog made it a bit difficult, as he insisted on leaning on the back of my legs while I worked on the pull out counter-top. Our condo was carved out of a much larger, 100 year old once-grand flat, so the kitchen is actually a former butler's pantry, I tried to preserve it's history and create space with open shelving. Also, using a bar sink instead of a full size sink gives you more counter space and is great for washing big, deep pots!
Orangered, thank you so much, the kitchen tile actually came from Lowe's and were a giveaway at about $2/sf. I doctored the grout with cement coloring to make it look like dark chocolate.
Lourdes, Jeff was traumatized by growing up with a tea cup poodle so now he has someone his own size to hang with.
Lisa, thanks for your comment, space was definitely an issue so I used all the tricks available to me - limiting the furniture to low lines and similar finishes and using a sofa and day bed to do double duty as seating and guest-sleeping and not having a bunch of arm chairs, and limiting the upholstery and curtains to only two different fabrics with fairly similar textures and using an almost monochromatic color for all of the 'public' spaces. As much as I wanted to include more contemporary 'stuff', I kept to the 70/30 rule of furniture styles, predominantly vintage Danish Modern and Middle Eastern accents like the curtains, lamps and antique tea pots.
s
view susannah's profile
I’m not seeing yellow as much as green (with envy!) and a warm glow, which all homes -- no matter how “designed†-- should have. Congrats on achieving that in this one as I know you have in every home you’ve not only renovated, but also reinvigorated. Can’t wait to see the new one in Seattle soon.
p.s. So pleased to read South Carolina has such fine antique, thrift and fabric retailers. I should be paying more attention to those roadside billboards!
view Palmettogal's profile
Susannah,
The place looks great! Can't wait to see what you do next.
view shixmix's profile
I think your artwork is really beautiful but it is hung akwardly high. It should be hung at eye level. I also like your Living Room rug.
view meleslecky's profile
This is a very warm, inviting space. Great job!
view Chris in Seattle's profile
I love this place! I also love seeing TONS of canisters, as in, do you have a weakness for them? I certainly do, or maybe I just have a weakness for so many vintage things, but canister sets are something that I covet and covet but think there's no need for so many... or IS there?!
view woodleyparkzoo's profile
Thank you so much for all the comments. Palmettogal, I know who you are and I love you very much! Although SC is not generally renown for it's love of vintage stuff - fake Victorian and traditional are more the norm - there is a small, obsessive and gently subversive population of thrift store/antique store addicts, I'll be happy to pass on sources (I'm afraid you won't find them by reading the roadside billboards). Meleslecky, thank you so much and my husband is now officially barred from hanging artwork. His eye level is about a foot and a half above most people's. Woodleyparkzoo, a weakness for cannisters is, I think, a sign of great spiritual and intellectual strength as well as intestinal fortitude! Especially the kind with mushroom caps. Who can withstand a happy forest of mushroom cannisters, daintily displayed on a high shelf? I only had a few to start with, but they reproduced in the dark. The aluminum cannisters in the bathroom hold all the unmentionables, or at least all the stuff that doesn't fit in the medicine cabinet like bandaids and cotton balls and shampoos and styling products that don't actually work but you spent entirely too much and maybe mall hair will come back?
Susannah
view susannah's profile
The pictures look warm, comforting and classy, exactly like it was when my husband and I visited the place. We had nice afternoon tea at that lovely table, talking about art and interior design. When we started to remodel our house, we asked for Susannah’s help. We soon discovered that Susannah was not only a real expert on Danish modern furniture and design, but was equally adapted to ultra contemporary styles. She helped us solve tricky issues, like working with the flaws of the house, and making it beautiful; creating storage space in areas seemed impossible. Unfortunately, Susannah and Jeff moved to Seattle shortly after our remodeling started. Since then, she has been guiding us through fabric, furniture, paint selections via phone calls, emails and pictures. Thank you so much for offering your expertise and your patience of working with us. We are very grateful!
view chic2007's profile