Name: D. Denenge Akpem
Location: Chicago (Crossroads of Uptown, Little Vietnam, and Andersonville)
Size: 550 square feet (1 bedroom next to historic Charlie Chaplin Essanay Studio)
Years lived in: 11
Denenge's apartment/studio mirrors the crossroads of its diverse neighborhood; a space to reflect and rest, the "magical" home also serves as a work space for this artist/designer, making it a definitive crossroads of work/home and a constant for experimentation. With a dining room converted into a sewing area and a...
... custom-made work closet (beyond the grand curtain) full of fabrics, files, and supplies running the length of the room, work and creativity rule the house. Forget a t.v. and sofa, this is where Denenge's ideas are born and made at every turn.
D. Denenge Akpem's small apartment has a sure flow, leading one from corner to corner and your eyes from top to bottom. No inch is left untouched or unnoticed. The small kitchen and dining nook combine functional kitchen with a gallery's worth of artwork, personal photos and objects, and a covered bench with many pillows for curling up with friends or a good book. The chalkboard paint in the hallway and partial dining room lend an extra space for fleshing out thoughts, ideas, and lists. This home is 100% Denenge, with anything painted, painted by her, anything built, built by her, anything repurposed...yep, repurposed by her (she opted for smaller rooms to make way for partitioned, curtained closet spaces in the bedroom and dining room, shown above).
AT Survey:
My style: Eclectic - Sci-Fi - Industrial - International
Inspiration: North Africa (Bedouin design, Islamic architecture), Dr. Seuss, Alexander Girard, Hussein Chalayan, Maison Française, Ilse Crawford/StudioIlse
Favorite Element: Bedroom in afternoon sun
Biggest Challenge: Balancing home and workshop in small space
What Friends Say: "Wow!" "It's magic in here."
Biggest Embarrassment: Baseboards
Proudest DIY: Closet expansion and bespoke poplar/pipe bed built from scratch
Biggest Indulgence: Framing for artwork
Best advice: You can build it if you can dream it. There is a solution for every problem.
Dream source: Open air markets in North and West Africa, India, France, Turkey, specifically textile and pottery vendors, JAB Anstoetz, Wood World, DWR for Verner Panton lighting
Resources: Tan Thanh Book & Gift (on Argyle), Scout, West Elm, Fast Frame (Clark north of Foster), Marrakech Treasures, Crafty Beaver, Andersonville True Value, Vogue Fabrics, Hancock Fabrics, Le Magasin, Mecox, handpicked items from markets and bazaars in Istanbul, Nigeria, Mexico, and India, family heirlooms (loom woven textile, collected pottery from Nigerian and Ethiopian artisans), Chicago Chinatown antique stores, costume and sculpture from past exhibitions; handbags (peacock print bag shown in closet) by brother Senongo Akpem, owner of colorcult.
(Thanks, Denenge!)
Images: Heather Blaha and D. Denenge Akpem
Great house tour! I love seeing the highly personal interiors of creative people.
view Lisa (Montreal)'s profile
Wow. It is magical.
view H.H. Hannah's profile
I really love this. Her place is like a fairy tale. :)
view am_clarke's profile
I want everything in that closet!
view JulesDC's profile
Not really my style, but I appreciate the personal touches and lovely use of color throughout. Very adorable.
view suzy8track's profile
Love, Love LOVE it!!! This apartment has given me so many great ideas! Like using curtains to create a "closet" area in a small room. I am totally stealing that!
view glitchgirl's profile
hey denenge! fancy seeing your place covered on AT! i love it, especially all the batiks... repping for west africa!
congrats,
kemi
view k in ditmas's profile
I really like it but it seems much bigger than 500something sq ft., which must be an illusion. would like to see a floor plan for that reason. nicely done!
view sassydo's profile
oh my. I really love this.
view lmk's profile
Nice. All the colors, patterns and textures work really well together!
view mirandabee's profile
It's like a fairy tale!
Emily
view Emily Sneds's profile
agree, I'd like to see a floorplan of these tiny places just to see how it all fits together.
is that chalkboard paint on the drawers? such a lot of good ideas in one tiny place.
view ec05's profile
I love tours like this! Its like madhatter, frida kalho meets stylish urban girl all in one. Thanks for sharing.
view LoriSF's profile
very fun. makes me want to travel to all the places your home brings together.
view elliebets's profile
I'm getting ready to move, but was surprised to see that your bathroom tile and sink are exaclty the same as I have now. I'm going to steal your shower curtain idea. Love the sheer color. Very sexy.
view colibri's profile
beautiful. thanks.
view zoo's profile
Thanks, everyone, for the wonderful feedback. I really appreciate your appreciation and love the fresh perspectives! (Hi, Kemi!)
Yes, the apartment really is 550 square feet and it was quite a feat to make it appear larger than that despite a reduction in space with the expanded closets. I'd be happy to email a sketch of the layout to anyone who is interested.
Thanks to Heather for her work on this and to Bobbi for her camera and to Ralphie for downloads.
I'm thrilled to be on AT Chicago House Tours! Check out my website at www.denenge.net to see more!
view Denenge's profile
I like your apartment, Denenge. It's interesting. You did a good job. I would like to know how you created the frame molding in your bedroom. Is that gold tape? How did you get it so symmetrical. I love frame molding and want to do that in my house.
view J'nai's profile
Hi, J'nai. Thanks for your comments.
The frame molding is gold paint from Pearl Art Supply though you can probably get it from any major hardware or art supply store. It's symmetrical because I measured and drew the lines first and then used painter's blue tape to lay out the design before painting. It takes awhile but it's worth it! One thing you might want to do is experiment somewhere first with the gold paint to make sure that it doesn't bleed under the blue tape. Also, if you buy the gold leaf paint that's in the little bottles, you can pour that into a plastic container and add paint thinner to extend the amount. (Check with staff to see which thinner will work best with your particular gold leaf paint.) It does thin it and make it less "gold-leaf-like" but you can cover more space with less and it's still shiny and lovely. (And of course you can always touch it up later with a little extra gold paint here and there.)
Hope that helps!
view Denenge's profile
Hi Denenge! Your house looks wonderful, just like you. I'm so proud of you and your amazing creativity. Nice mention of www.colorcult.com, Senongo's bags are incredible....all you guys who like Denenge's apartment, wait 'til you check out the bags on colorcult...
view COgrl13's profile
Denenge, you made your place truly magical. I love the lamps and the wall/blackboard.
view evilkitty's profile
Very Alice in Wonderland for Grownups! Magical touches everywhere... great use of colors, blending of fabrics and styles. Lots of fun. The poufs are great!!
view citipearl's profile
This is the first time in a long time that I've looked at all the posted photos and felt sad when I got to the last one--I want more! I love the colors and the blend of things--it's both cozy and urbane.
view ardenfraser's profile