Name: Colin, Terisa, and 6-year-old Lauren
Location: Oak Park, Illinois
Type: Bottom floor of Victorian House
Size: 1300 sf
Years lived in: 1
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Terisa and Colin's home is full of history. They've filled their first-floor Victorian apartment with antiques, hand-me-downs from family, and things that reflect the life they've built together. Modern pieces (like the Nelson bench in the bedroom) sit across the room from traditional ones (like an inlaid wooden night stand). It's an eclectic mix that mirrors their open and ever-evolving approach to decorating...
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Personal stories are present in every detail, like the antique coffee table they bought on a trip to Michigan or the many artworks by friends and family members. Their six-year-old daughter Lauren's drawings decorate the bedroom and the refrigerator, and the living room bookcases are full of family photos. The long, open front room is the heart of the house, where LPs are almost always spinning on the record player and there's plenty of room to spread out or curl up in a comfy chair.
AT Survey:
My/Our style: Romantic, warm and a little bit quirky
Inspiration: Terisa’s mom and brother are very design conscious. Usually if we find something that we think they will like, Colin ends up wanting to keep it!
Favorite Element: Our coffee table and the beautiful details on the fireplace.
Biggest Challenge: Creating three separate spaces in what is essentially one very long room.
What Friends Say: “Wow this place is so great!”
Biggest Embarrassment: The office has turned into a junk room.
Best advice: Although we rarely buy things brand new, we try not to buy something just because it is on sale. You should really love it if it is in your home. We didn’t have a coffee table for 9 months until we found one we really loved at a roadside sale in Michigan, it was worth the wait.
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Resources: Most of our furniture came as hand-me-downs from our family. We recommend estate sales/antique shops as a way to find awesome and unique furnishings. Ebay for the Persian rugs. Ikea for kids room accessories.
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(Thanks, Terisa, Colin, and Lauren!)
Nice vibe to your home! And ooh, what's the yellowy-green color? And where did you find that metal sea-anemone lamp in the light blue room? It's wonderful.
view ljbmonkey's profile
Really nice. The bricks on the floor - not for clumsies like me.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
hrhprincessfiona: THe bricks aren't on the floor, they're on the coffee table. I made the same mistake too. The picture makes it look like the coffee table is one with the floor.
view Annegret's profile
^^ Oh, weird. I thought the same thing. I enjoy the kitchen.
view maybeamezzo's profile
Of course I "oooh'd and aaah'd" at the beautiful bookcases, and I love how you have sourced everything; very sustainable. I believe time proves quality and I think when something is second hand, if a peice of funiture has made it that far, it'll last a bit longer
The album storage and record player are something for me to keep in mind as I'm a big vinyl fan... but my collection's about a 1/3 that size...... so far
view Maurs's profile
Lovely!
view oakland's profile
That lovely sea urchin lamp seems to be on sale at www.acaciacatalog.com! About $63!
view susan in vt's profile
This looks so comfortable, calm, and pleasing to the senses (and soul). Inspirational! Thanks for sharing your lovely home.
view Splomo's profile
Thanks Susan for the tip - I picked up two! They came today (!) and look fantastic.
view tequila red's profile
I love everything but the color of the child's room - seemed a bit too much like some old grungy hotel room color.
view Milady's profile
Is there another name for those fireproof 40's bookcases in photos 12 & 13? And where can I get some? Love them.
view Kris0218's profile