apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

OK, I hate to be the first to say it, but this home shows nothing but a slavish devotion to MCM "icons." Sad, especially considering that it's in Oak Park. Why even bother including a list of the furniture and lighting? We all know what each of these items is by now.

i think it looks great. my favorite part is the exterior. by the way...do you happen to know the name of the blue/gray color that you painted the walls in your living area?

Love it!

I have to agree with madsarah on this one. I had the exact same thought when I reached the photo captions -- anyone on DWR's mailing list knows what each of these items is.

I like some of the art and LOVE the blooming tree out front, but I wish there were more individuality shown overall. There are some covet-worthy pieces here (I mean, I'd KILL for a womb chair!), but when everything, down to the throw pillows, is easily recognizable from DWR/Modernica/Velocity, the space feels more like an impersonal showroom than a couple's home.

I have to agree w/ Mad Sarah.

If they'd tossed in just one or two things that weren't so obviously MCM - say a semi-antique Heriz carpet instead of that drab grey rug, or a seascape in an ornate gilded frame rather than the pseudo-Rothko...

...or went whole-hog 50's with a reproduction Philco Predicta, vintage brass pole-lamps and gravel-art - I could see that they have a personal sense of style rather than a Knoll catalog.

Just wondering...I'm in the market for a new coffee table and I love the Noguchi fin table that's pictured above.

It's WAY out of my price range, however.

Does anyone know of a table that invokes the same kind of lines/feel without being a flat-out knockoff? (I'm looking for something in the area of $300 or so, which I know might just be extremely wishful thinking.)

Like the color splashes throughout. Cool purple wall.

A lovely exterior, and a nice collection of MCM icons.

Ok, MCM haters. I love it. I think it's beautiful and clean and spare. I'd take it over my crazy, no plan, toys everywhere, old Pottery Barn couches and zero art on the walls any day! I only WISH I had that good of an eye for color and space.

Very nice, with a very fine-tuned and thoughtful eye.

I 2nd the prior comment. I appreciate the non-Pottery Barn / catalog look, or the "I got this from Grandma's attic" look.
(which is fine, don't get me wrong), but this is a classic modern presentation. Nice!

I like the color and the art. The white pendant lamps look good great against the purple wall, and I think their placement is rather original. I also give them credit for choosing furniture that looks like you could sit on it and not hurt yourself.

The tree outside is beautiful. The apartment has zero personality. Looks like a catalog.

As much as I love MCM, I still have to agree with Madsarah. Even with such wonderful pieces of furniture, it seemed to lack the personality of the owner. This left me a little cold.

suzy8track, Brian and Tina are friends of mine, and let me assure you their house very much reflects their personalities. They are fun, wacky people with laser-sharp eyes for design. This is truly how they live. Though the house looks spare in the pictures, B & T tuck clever and fun stuff all over their house (again, jealous of Tina's Blythe doll collection!), they are just brilliant at being both minimal and collectors of stuff.

easy there, tigers! - if you read the accompanying text, it says they 'collected those items piece by piece over the years'. it's not as if they suddenly came into a bunch of money and said:

"honey-bunny, let's buy a bunch of recognizable MCM icon pieces and turn our home into an impersonal showroom! yeah!"

so they are able to buy covet-worthy goods...
so they find stuff they like at DWR/Modernica/Velocity...
so what!? why are you faulting them for it? AT and Chicago Home&Garden obviously approve.

this is exactly the type of negativity and snobbery that has me afraid to submit pics of my own place. as much as i'd like to, i just don't think i could take the criticism of something i put a i'm sure their home is personal TO THEM. whose isn't?

There is something a little off about this place from the photographs, but that doesn't mean it isn't a pleasure to be in - in person. I think the mauve accent wall and place mats and the greys that flow into each other in the living room lack the contrast to keep things interesting or even highlight the beauty of the furniture.

I think what puts people off immediately is the first photo. I didn't realize the womb chair was blue until in later photos. That first photo sets a really cold gray feel that is hard to break through so you can see some really nice stuff in later photos. It really is funny to see how bad lighting can change people's perceptions of a space.

Personal and personality is in the eyes of the beholder.

Perhaps minimal, streamlined, classic, with touches of bright color and thoughtful accent pieces is a reflection of the homeowner's personality.

I, too, thought the womb chair was gray in the first picture! I liked the splashes of colour everywhere - but they seem very muted because of the wall colour. I'd prefer a lighter colour on the walls, but the place is very nice and calming as is!

For the record, I am not an "MCM hater." My house is MCM and so are plenty of the furnishings in it. The thing I think people forget is that even in the MCM time period people also had other things in their homes. They didn't just wake up and say, "Cool, the war is over, let's go get a bunch of Eames and Noguchi stuff and throw out Uncle Ralph's club chair and those glass lamps from the old house and be all modern and cool." For most people, then and now, the realities of life and money forced us to combine what we had with what we wanted.

It's possible to pull off a modern vibe without only using modern furniture. There is nothing un-tasteful about this home--it's just incredibly predictable, in my opinion. The owners at least share an aesthetic for simple, streamlined, and soothing spaces. And they have some nice art. There, I said something nice.

And Tenderoni, if you can't face criticism you're right--you shouldn't post your house.

People are getting NASTY on this thread. What's with the continuous MCM bitchy comments? Love it & enjoy it or hate it and let it be.

I absolutely love it! They did a great job.

Thank you for listing the items; I am not a fan of MCM however I am a fan of good design, regardless of the style. And this place looks great. I love the clean, spare look, the continuity of style from room to room, the bold colors, etc.

As for comments, I think you can appreciate good design and style regardless of whether or not it's your personal choice. It would be a very boring world if everything was decorated the same!

This is good design and good color choice. I love the purple. LOVE the art choices and the little personal touches.

My problem is with the photography. The lighting could be better and instead of several up close shots as much as I like them, I would rather more shots that show the entire space, there just isn't enough. I want more!

It doesn't feel warm and 'lived in' to me. Having said that, it IS beautiful. The colours, lines and simplicity. Love the orchid, the dolls, the tree.

Agree with Madsarah.

I dont know these people so I can only comment on the pics that I see.
It's great that they and their friends enjoy their place.
Do love the tree in the front.

there is nothing wrong with having something that looks like it came out of a Knoll catalog....

Perhaps the images aren't doing enough justice, but i see a very clear sense of style and personality.

don't hate, appreciate.

they were gracious enough to share their home through images with us and then they get comments from the haterade cup.

Whether you are a fan of MCM or not, you can at least see that they have very clean lines through out the house.

i would like to see the houses of those throwing stones...just to be fair

WOW! not my taste but, what a beautiful use of colors!!!

To millcitymodern, perhaps if other photos were chosen, such as those showcasing Tina's blythe doll collection and other collections throughout the house..as you mentioned, more people would have warmed up to this. I always appreciate quirky collections and would have loved to see what they had that wasn't shown in the photos.

They're well done period rooms. While I personally prefer a mix, lots of homeowners do try to create period rooms (Arts&Crafts, MCM, deco, etc.), and they did a good job.

I like it, perhaps in part because I'm sick to death of Craftsmans.

It's clean and spare and a little bit Jetsons-y. I like the orange accents in the living room, and the use of purple and gray.

I actually think it's warmer and more inviting than a lot of modern places. I'm not really into MCM that much, and I would feel totally comfortable hanging out there.

I ride the Green Line as well and have never seen worthwhile pieces in the numerous dumpsters we zoom past. Guess I need to get my head out of my books. I really like what they did with the exterior, the combination of materials and colors. I wish I knew where they were approximately in Oak Park so I can stalk by and see for myself. While I love the abundance of beautiful but more "vintage" architecture in Oak Park/River Forest, I can really appreciate what Tina and Brian have done here. It's certainly 10x better than the McMansions that have popped up in the area.

I think all the items in this house are beautiful but for some reason they just don't work together, it looks like a furniture showroom.

Those of us who recognize every item in this home are clearly not MCM haters! Quite the opposite.

If the photos included some personal touches from the owners' collections, or few quirky (non-iconic) thrift shop finds, then this home would have been portrayed entirely differently.

But no kidding... In the photos shown, I can literally name (and price!) every single item. From the furniture to the lighting to the throw pillows to the house numbers. Maybe that's *my* issue... ;)

I do love the colors. Overall, it's a lovely home, filled with lovely stuff.

Peace.

They did a great job on the exterior! gorgeous!

But...


I am afraid that I too have to agree with madsarah -- the same thoughts were crossing my mind when I was looking through the pictures.

The problem is that there is no texture, and everything, but everything, looks machine-made and brand new. If as suzy8track wrote, we were shown the quirky bits, probably everyone would have reacted differently. Although there really do seem to be too many A-list designers in a small space...

What is disappointing about the way that the current incarnation of MCM is being interpreted and executed is that people forget the designers were influenced by other things in their own homes. For example, Charles and Ray Eames had Persian rugs, which I think would look great instead of the grey IKEA rug in the picture above. They also had plants in their home, so it felt alive. They had lots of books around, art made by friends, and other personal touches.

Mixing it up is important -- all one era, all factory-made, makes it feel rather dead. (and the colour doesn't help).

I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking this is generic and colorless. A few modern or antique pieces would make it more "real". Great analysis of their place everyone!

The big old tube TV cracks me up. They're probably saving to replace it with a plasma or something but I kind of love the "one of these things is not like the other" vibe it lends.

i love the color use!

i cant hate on the mcm, i have alot of it myself (as do most of you i am sure!). but i do also have my very well loved garage sale/thrift store finds that i think are awesome and i wont be replacing any time soon.

anyway, great place tina & brian!

wow. thanks for the comments good and bad. my husband contacted AT and they chose the photos and did the list of items. i never thought photos of my home would inspire so much hate! yikes!!! after all, they are photographs and can only tell part of the story.
we are hardly a "slave" to anything, but have collected and surrounded ourselves with things we love, period. we do have vintage finds mixed with new modern pieces and some contemporary accessories . we do have books, plants, local art and alot of color throughout the house, with each interior wall painted a different color. it is a fun place with alot of personal and whimsical elements so i just wanted to comment to supplement what the pictures don't show.

Compare the photos in this AT feature to those in the Chicago Home article:

http://www.chicagohomemag.com/Chicago-Home/March-April-2009/Urbane-Renewal/Photo-Gallery/

The home appears so much warmer in CH's version. Just goes to show you how photography & editing can shape things!

wow the Chicago Home pics almost look like a completely different place! so much brighter!

HOLY COW those Chicago Home pictures are gorgeous.

like i said...

Don't hate, appreciate.

The house is fresh. and the images from CH SHOW IT!

brian & tina, you guys did a great job.

don't mind the haters.

Hey AT, whats up with your photo editing? ya drop the ball on this one.

As I looked through the first set of photos, I felt like madsarah before I even saw her post.

It wasn't that I disliked any of the pieces, they are all beautiful however; after the first two pics, I knew what chairs to expect at the table and what clock would be on the wall and so on.

I guess when we look at people's homes, most of us want to be surprised and ask question like, "Where's that from" or "How did you do that". Here, we didn't need to because we had all the answers.

Unlike some others, I like the colors. Almost every piece individually is on my list of furniture I might consider buying (e.g. if one came up cheaply on craigslist or if I found a perfect spot for one of them). But taken together, I think it's a bit much. E.g. the coconut chair really doesn't add much, other than another famous face. If this were my place, I'd replace the Eames and Saarinen tables and side tables with some less well known designs and move the coconut chair somewhere else. At this price point (assuming we are not looking at knock-offs) there is an incredible selection of modern, but less ubiquitous, design available. OTOH, starting from what some of us consider a surplus of great furniture is not a bad thing...

Well done, but I agree-- its too cataloguey. I think it would be less off-putting if they didn't stick quite so closely to the well known, easily recognizable designs and mixed in contemporary items with minimalist lines or mix in designs from other eras or use less iconic designs.

Personally, I don't think the Chicago Home photos are any better. They have pictures of different stuff, but it still feels like MCM overload.

I don't mean to hate, because I think it is overall a very well put together home. The colors, the use of flowering plants, and the furniture arrangement work very well. I give it a C for furnishing selection and an A for execution.

There's just too much for that size of room.

I agree that the editing of the photos has skewed our view of the house.

However, I must say I don't quite understand the fixation of so many here on MCM pieces when so much wonderful design followed it, design that is much more appropriate to the way we live now.

I don't see much difference between the way the house is presented here on AT and grandma's fusty Victorian.

Both are antiques and both dwell unhealthily on the past.

I'm sure the Eames, Pantons, Noguchis etc didn't expect design to suddenly stop with their early work, and that they would be disappointed by the way their work is used now.

The problem is that there is nothing surprising. Anyone with even a rudimentary sense of MCM knows every single piece in this home. The second slide show doesn't change that.

Go out and buy something we don't recognize. Make us THINK. This was an era of furniture that made people think. Your collection doesn't.

While I certainly don't dislike the place and would love to have half the gorgeous stuff they do, it does have a certain feeling of a trophy cabinet of designer pieces.

Call me cynical, but I'm left wondering if the owners really love all these pieces they've collected, or if the apartment has just been dressed to impress... Or am i just a jealous b****?

That's funny, I know this living room from Flikr! Love everything, especially the wood exterior. NICE!

whoooeee...whatta ruckus. I like seeing other people's stuff.
Especially when it is so very different from what I like, or would put together. Aside from good ideas from all over AT,
I visit a lot for the whack on the head of seeing things that make me think "huh. Well how about that. hmmmm."
Thanks for sharing, Tina & Brian.

What's wrong with the photo editing? I was inspired by the art and love the kokeshi dolls!

i was so happy to see the chicago home photos! it felt kind of cold and grey to me as well (and i LOVE grey), so i was a little disappointed... but the texture and beauty that comes out in the other photo shoot (hello curtains/marshmallow sofa/brindle puppy!) made me fall absolutely in love with the house.

ultimately, when my apartment is finished i do hope to submit it to AT, haters or not, because i think that when people have something to say other than "ugly and trashy," it engenders a conversation.

this is clearly a site chock full of people who are fond of their own opinions - me included! - and while i do think it would be great if we played nicely together, i don't think any home owner with a place as beautiful as this one has anything to fear from angry AT sulkers.

I like the pieces, but not together in the same space. The owners played it safe, and that's great. It does photographer better in the publication, the lighting makes the space feel lived in. Cute.

I really loved the first shot, and it didn't matter to me a bit that I recognized some (not all) of the iconic furniture. My first thought was, "Gee, I didn't realize a Coconut Chair could look so right!" I just liked the shapes and the grays and I thought it was cool.

For me, the house went down from there. I didn't like the paintings, the kitchen looked like it might be pre-fab MDF, and I am not a fan of knick-knacks like wooden Chinese dolls.

Who could hate the fuchsia flowering tree outside the house? It's spring, and flowering trees and blooming flowers from bulbs are part of the magic!

i like the kokeshi wooden dolls. i have a few myself.

*sigh* the negativity this house has gotten is ridiculous...very sad.

again, i would like to see the houses of the naysayers.
tit for tat.

thanks for the compliments!

cb board- the name of the grey color was porpoise, it was behr paint, sorry that is all i have on it

austinsarah2- that tree should be blooming again soon! the kitchen cabinets are all birch

anastasiabeavershausen- we do love every bit of it, or we wouldn't bother collecting it. i don't know if you are a jealous b**** or not, i am hoping not. it would be a terrible waste of energy

scoobydubious- the only thing we ever bought from dwr is not MCM, but was a bed and nightstand. we do have alot of vintage finds we restored some even rescued from trash bins, (i wish the magic eraser was around 20 years ago when i started collecting), but we are pretty clueless about that credenza

speaking of that...

the brad seed (or any other expert) since you can name every single piece in our home, can you please tell us more about the danish modern credenza we picked up and lovingly restored? we have no info on it. we just liked it and added it to our collection.

TT - I haven't read all the comments, but I get the gist of them, and I would just like to say that I appreciate that you didn't get mad about the criticisms but just kindly responded to the people who had questions and even asked the critics to provide YOU with information (very clever!). You have a nice attitude. =)

Well I stand corrected! In that case congratulations on your excellent collection, and I wish you many many years of pleasure in your stylish home. Sorry for questioning your sincerity.

Maybe you should think of adding a few "non-designer" pieces that you love... just so that b****y people like me don't have ammunition to call you a show off :-)))

well played tt. you kept it classy with the response.
unlike some of the comments.

:)

Lovely and I am not a fan of MCM. I was a youngster during it's moment and everyone I know, my age, couldn't get rid of the "stuff" stored in their parent's basement fast enough. Who knew it would actually make a comeback. I do enjoy seeing it being used in contemporary design. Tina and Brad, your place is fun and looks like a happy space. I hope you will continue to collect what you love. I also like your fearless use of color. Very nice. What is that saying "everything old is new again"?

Ooops! I meant Tina and Brian

I love MCM but somehow this seems devoid of personality. You need to put something in your home that shows that you are multidimensional.

This home doesn't feel very authentic to me.

bellaknollie, i'm so with you on everything.
especially about wanting to see the houses of those who are throwing stones...
...but i imagine it would be have to photograph their glass houses.

oops...meant to say it would be HARD to photograph their glass houses...screwed up my own smart-ass comment.

i cannot believe how awful people are reacting to some pictures. as sad as it is, i feel a lot of those comments are based on jealousy. TT obviously have priorities and making their home exactly how they like it seems to be high up there. if you are reading this site it is obviously a goal of yours too, whether you be into MCM or not. anyway, nice house guys! thanks for sharing.

The endless "OMG, they got it all at DWR" comments on every single post with MCM furniture are really getting tedious. Find something else to complain about, people!

From the seven interior pictures alone, I feel most of the furnishings are too disproportionate - both to the room they're in and their surroundings. Although the pieces are light and airy, the rooms all look cramped and awkward. Of course these are photos, and I'm not sure how it feels to actually experience the house. But then again, that's not what these house tours are about.

And it's a great collection, of course, but that's another thing these house tours are not about.

I love the art work and the purple wall. The photos in Chicago Home & Garden do show off the couples personality much more than the AT photos. And the front of the house! Well done. Thank you for opening your home up for us to see. It's lovely.

While I agree that is a bit magazine-ish, I love this use of primary colors over the way people normally think it has to be done. They included them without making me feel like I was looking at a preschool playroom, so kudos.

Overall, I liked it a lot. I wouldn't be able to put a room together that looked like it was from a magazine so good for them.

I think the living loom looks a bit crowded, in a knee-bumping toe-stubbing kind of way?
But of course the pieces are super nice on their own.

I really like your place. The gray really brings everything together nicely. You can really tell that you've given a lot of thought to everything: colors, furniture, arrangement, and art pieces ... it feels like a really liveable and enjoyable home.

what lovely pink trees you have.

I love your place, and I loved it when I first sat down with my copy of Chicago Home and Garden a few nights ago. I just went back through the magazine last night, and cut out your pictures for my "save" book (and I don't do a lot of that.) Then I go to AT today, and there you are! I loved the fact that you really worked at creating your collection. I agree that the pics in Chicago Home show off your home really well, but either way - great, and congratulations on the magazine spread.

Yikes, y'all. Have a martini or six.

I have been in this house....and let me tell you - officially for the record: PHOTOS DO NOT represent the warm, fantasy-like, Alice-in-MCM-Land, super comfortably quirky feel of this home. The photos are flat, one-dimensional images that do a rotten job of representing what it's really like to hang out with Tina and Brian in their fabulous crib. Personally, the only thing anyone has a right to get their undies in a bundle about is the fact that there aren't more pix of their adorable doggie, Guinness. So ha!

Sure, it's jam-packed with lots o' iconic pieces we all know and love but is that.......really a bad thing? Seriously? It's a dream for many of us to own some of this stuff, and these cats live the dream for real; and much of it was achieved by salvage and good old punk rock DIY. Their home is properly full of great stories to back up their cool stuff, and remember a photo spread on a website doesn't necessarily capture that.

Ok guys--to start off, I will admit that I had to look up "MCM," since I had no idea what that even stood for. Yeah, I'm really that new.

I may not be an expert on interior design (understatement of the year!), but it is obvious to me that A LOT of love and effort went into this home. I think the first photo in this set looks pretty bad, particularly the lighting, and that this first impression is having a big impact on many people's opinions.

When I looked at the other photo set, it was like looking at an entirely different home! I really was impressed. I particularly enjoyed the way you displayed the Dunnies, and the quirky, colorful collections on the bookshelves.

Also, as someone who lives in Oak Park, I also want to know which dumpsters are most likely to contain Eames rockers. Wow.

I been looking for a small micro-oven that can fit on the kitchen cabinet like the one they have. Does anyone knows which brand it is?

This is what an unlimited budget and lack of imagination can produce......color me unimpressed. YAWN.

I would never have considered myself a MCM-hater in the past, but the more I see these MCM-icon-only homes on AP, the less I want any of those pieces in my own home.

I'm not going to pretend that this is a vapid, soulless house just because fairly unimaginative, but I'm equally not going to pretend that this is any kind of design coup worthy of note... just like I wouldn't laud a well-dressed person that dresses only in Gucci, Prada etc. as having any enviable sense of style.

If MCM isn't your bag, maybe being polite and moving along about it would be a refreshing and novel approach. Seriously....all you MCM haters come off as pretentious and full of shit.

Really nice home and nice selection of colors as well ....for the people who dont like the home ,please stop expressing ur views here .. it might really hurt the owner ... btw how many of u have ur home featured here ?? I do agree with Tenderoni that this is what exactly prevents me from featuring my home here ... I cant take such sh**!!! I treat and decorate my home with lot of love and affection and treat it like a baby ...
such comments will sound like
"u have one little ugly baby ".....too for me or infact anyone to take .... IF dont like it ,just carry on ......