apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Holeee cow. That place is just fabulous.

neat house.

i like a vast majority of the projects that ranquist development completes (156 w superior most recently). they have a very interesting looking project that is going to go up on 1611-27 n wolcott - 8 single family homes. looks very interesting.

Yeah yeah , it's fantastic. I would love to live in this place as it's no doubt a very beautiful home. My one complaint, and I suppose it could apply to many of the high end homes we look at is that all of the furniture, all of the objects are straight out of the DWR catalogue. Now don't get me wrong, I'd love to go berzerk and shop DWR till I drop- the furniture is iconic for a reason, yet I always feel a bit let down when a home contains no idiosyncratic pieces. I'm talking about the oddball chair, or wierd end table, that funky lamp from way-back whan... the junk that transforms a showcase, a house into a home...

Again I love this place, I think it's beautiful and quite elegant but I have to say aside from the child's room it all feels quite...well, boring.

i agree with julian, except if i lived there, i would never be able to love living in this great white expanse. i would love to live there *only* if i could paint it. white just doesn't do it for me.

Dan's right- thanks to ranquist and architects like zoka, the east village condo-fication doesn't seem so bad. Beats the hell out of most of the cookie cutter shlock that usually gets built.

I've love to see a pic of the exterior -- I'm curious as to how this building fits in the neighborhood...

Virginia:
If you click on the link for "Pfanner House" in the post (just below the second photo) it takes you to Zoka's site where you can see exterior shots of the house.

I love that staircase so much that I'd grab a sleeping bag and camp out!

it is not a magazine cover.
it is a lived in-room with function and form marching together.
Nice paintings ! looks like a kid has painted them. I personally like my kids painting to adorn my walls than buying art.

A little colour - one wall here , there will make it fabulous. Adding a few japanese pieces will add a lot of ambience to the room ( that's my personal taste)

many may think it is too spared down but It looks very scandinavian, which I like very much.

I like the architect's style.

Nice place, but the best thing going for it is the kitchen. Other than that... seen it all before. I love Scandanavian and mid century as much as the next person, but I have seen so much of it lately and this place doesn't do anything different for me. They need more artwork - pieces that are appropriate for the large expanse of wall (not little 8 x 10s). Nice lighting and the space has potential, but from an interior design and space use aspect, it just doesn't seem to make sense or elicit any excitement for me. But, that's just me...

Hmm. I clicked on the other link to get a sense of how this house integrates into the neighbourhood, but there isn't enough there (it does seem to be sited next to a textbook high-end infill, the like of which you see in every major metropolis). I just can't tell, one way or another, if it's what I would judge as a good fit. It's a question that really drives me -- I did my master's thesis on contextual fit. To me, the supreme example of appropriate contextual fit is Frank Gehry's "Fred & Ginger" building in Prague. Even though it breaks the rectalinear grid, it does so in a way that is totally in tune with the city's spirit and sensibility.

Wish we could see more of the neighbourhood with this one.

Apart from that, although I like the house itself (the style, etc.), and love the windows and openness, I am not sure I could live in it. It is really "living naked"; too much so for me. The house is is bounded on 3 of its 4 sides by public space; and it is very much on a personal scale (i.e., not high up in a high rise, but at ground level, and accessible). We don't have curtains in our house either, but we are surrounded by trees and it would be very difficult for someone to get a good look inside at night when all the lights are on. Frankly, I would feel overexposed and vulnerable in this house, especially so when surrounded by those public walkways on 3 sides.

i love the oversized windows. the light is amazing you can see lots of trees (rare in this city), and there's just enough wall to keep it cozy. it's really smart!

too. much. DWR.

it's comments like "This is a busy, lived in space" that really annoy me about the articles leading into these slide shows. This space looks like a showpiece, not a real space inhabited by real people. the only parts of the house that look like humans might be allowed to exist in them are the bathroom (with the toy boats) and the child's bedroom. the rest of the house looks like a showroom. which this space most likely is, considering that Zola runs her business out of it.

that said, the design is beautiful. i would hire this woman to design my home after about two seconds of being inside hers. it's extremely elegant, and spare in a way that manages to still be warm and inviting. the light is incredible, and i love the way that she is able to let her space just 'be' without clutter or a different piece in every corner. i've also never seen a space with white walls and bare floors look so full of life and color. the tiny bites of saturated color (red couch, blue sheets on the bed, green table) are so flavorful that you don't NEED anything else.

Nicely said opoponax. It is a showhouse, and doesnt look lived in, but it's lovely just the same.

Monika ~ To see more of the neighborhood, follow the link below and watch the video...less than 5 minutes.

There is a bit of controversy brewing about development (or some would say overdevelopment) in the neighborhood.

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_167224202.html

I think this is a really nice place. I would move in here in a hot minute-I also suspect everyone else would too, sure you might move a few things around or what have you, but let's face it it's an overall very nice living area. The DWR stuff is great too. I'll bring pics of my grandma in;)

Zoka is very enthusiastic and seems easy to work with -- I'd wondered about that house quite a lot before I met her and almost immediately made the connection with that house!

Dan, too bad Ranquist is tearing down a great old loft building to build his latest McModerns. The loss of that loft, and the twin beachfront motels soon to arrive at Division and Leavitt, put him squarely among the architectural homogenizers who are profiting off our city's beauty by ruining it.

great place - but why the phone on the red couch?....

No curtains, drapes or blinds on the windows?? The neighbors must get quite a show.

I think if people want to live in a house filled with iconic "DWR" pieces... then let them. Maybe that makes them happy!
I think people too often try to impose their own design preferences on these homes... just view and enjoy.
You should do what you want in your OWN home. I don't pretend that my style is right for everyone -- it's just right for me.

Amazing interior space! Nice trees. Don't know if I would want that house on my block.

You measure your own windows and fit your own blinds. Buy blinds on-line in minutes.They make and deliver your blinds in five working days. Browse their range and get a quote.Here

this house is perfect.

google maps' "street level" feature will allow you to see a 360 degree view of this house (1737 w. ohio street).

i live in this neighborhood and can say from seeing it on walks that it looks like it was designed taking the surrounding neighborhood into account.

she's featured in the latest domino mag.

Love this house inside and out! It is well thought out, well designed, well lived in. Goes to show what a little bit of discipline and planning can achieve.

Too often people confused clutter with 'home-y-ness' in fact I find this one of the most 'home-y' tours we have seen for quite a while. There is lot's of colors and many personal touches throughout, most notably original arts work (including some by their children - can't get more personal than that!)

As well , don;'t forget that this was a 'photo-shoot' and the place cleaned and staged accordingly -- I'm sure if you dropped by on the average Wednesday evening, you would find it looking a lot more 'lived-in'.

The white walls allow their beloved collection of furniture and art to shine, and the lack of clutter indicates that they only surround themselves with things that they love. Most houses have far too much 'stuff', usually because we buy things simply to fill a space and not because we love it, whether it is purchased at DWR or the local thrift store.

I think it's great.
Is there a lot of classic mid century modern furniture?
yes.
Are the walls all white?
yes.
Is it your house?
No.
So go decorate your house the way you want to.
Too many people on these threads are so critical.. too much this.. not enough that.. why did they choose this? Everyone is a critic.
Be kind to your neighbors and yourself.
it's just decor.
:)
soapbox over.

... but what do we live for but to make sport for our neighbors ... and laugh at them in our turn? ....

I just don't get what people mean when they say the house doesn't look "lived in." Looks quite lived in to me and VERY comfortable. And her colors are brought out in the furnishings. I love the white walls.

Not everyone needs to have curtains, clothing articles or throws draped over everything or picture frames everywhere in order to feel comforted. I feel most comforted in clean spacious spaces. I feel UNcomfortable, anxious, unbalanced, foggy-minded, etc. in cluttered spaces. Me and my mate live quite comfortably in our clean, organized space. It frees up our minds to think clearer. Some of you should try it and see how much more balanced your lives will be.

Cool place.
I agree the place could be punched up with more dynamic art of sorts.
The space is such a great backdrop for that.

Why so much sensitive commentary?
I doubt the owners are hurt by constructive criticism.
As long as you're not saying 'what you would do if it was your place', then offer a positive tip if you think you have one.
I used to think of this site as a place for design enthusiasts to build upon one another's ideas, but lately it's become a refuge for the easily wounded to read every critique as nasty and hurtful.
Sure there's justifiably a few jerks commenting, but candid, fresh ideas make this forum stimulating and challenges our design sense.

"Frankly, I would feel overexposed and vulnerable in this house, especially so when surrounded by those public walkways on 3 sides."

I agree! I'm kind of a privacy nut, so this would totally bother me. I think it's beautiful, but I could never live there. I'd have to spend a fortune to buy blinds for all the windows, and then spend half an hour running around and closing them every night.

Though I am sure the answer to this may involve DWR: Where is the red couch from? I looked through the dwr site and did not see a similar one.

This house is like a giant bottle of Zoloft. How could anyone be depressed while living here, even during winter? I always feel that Chicago homes should have more windows to combat the grayness.

It's light and open and beautiful, and really a humane design.