apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It's nice, but I'm always troubled by homes where I know the name and/or list price of every item (Nelson bench, Saarinen tulip table, Eames chair, Chuck Close prints...). Where's the surprise?

I sort of think every home should have at least one tacky or eccentric thing.

Is that the guys from The Pogues in that picture on the right?

Ikea as a construction source is the ticket! Always be sure to check in on their As-Is dept, too. I was able to build an entire kitchen for a fraction of the cost of brand new. I have a ton of other things waiting to be put to good use, too....glass, wood AND metal.

You have a lovely place, BTW...

Cheers!

Mrs. Hall,

That's a portrait of Philip Glass by Chuck Close.

Not sure if it's a tapestry or towel.

I like the outside of the house, but the interior feels a bit generic -- especially the kitchen.

gorgeous house but the furniture & esp. the set up is so predictably staged. every room looks like it came out of a DWR catalogue.

Nice job! I like the brick wall for the fireplace. How do you get to the wardrobe on the second level in the bedroom?

I love order and symmetry in my home. I know it's not for everyone, but this home relaxes me. I have enough stress and clutter in my work life.

I think this home looks awesome. I like the red area rug, because it's such an easy (and changeable) way to inject a jolt of color in any otherwise neutral space.

Ikea is a great design *idea* source, but if you have any DIY abilities (I know, not everyone does), making things with right angles - like shelves - can be done at a much higher quality by just going to a lumber yard or Home Depot. And actually cost less, and be a completely custom fit.

The article connected to this piece was annoying. Five images make a slide show? No closeups of the rooms, no floor plan. And other than the lot size, there is nothing to give a sense of the square footage of the house. If AT is going to lift editorial from other publications, they should at least embellish it to make sure their readers have what they would usually find in a piece on this site.

Specifically, I had hoped to see the office nook, a closeup of the kitchen, and determine whether the living room had any windows at all. I was mildly interested in the design (although I agree with other posters that the DWR thing went too far) and wanted to understand how it all worked together.

sally305.... yikes, take a chill pill.

An AT blogger saw an article that the AT community would have a reasonable interest in reading, and so it was shared with us -- shared with links and proper citation, not "lifted" and passed off as original material.

As you point out, this is someone else's article. Where exactly, then, do you expect the AT blogger to come up with these additional photos to "embellish" the article? If the publication who hired the photographer doesn't wish to share them, then I'm afraid you're not going to be able to satisfy that mild interest of yours. You're barking up the wrong tree complaining about someone who merely provided us with a summary of an article and a link to the original.

I agree with the other posters here -- the overly DWR interior is a little trite, but if you live in Chicago, you know how fresh and different that exterior is. Most new construction has the same towering, boxy, pinkish brick ick factor.I work nearby and have taken note of the structure's uniqueness in the past.

I'll never get used to the idea of what Americans call "small."

Ummm, akay? I think judging by your reaction to my comments you could use a chill pill too. I never said AT didn't credit the original source or pass the story off as original material. And in my experience the AT editors do listen to readers' feedback. They have done a lot over the years to make the submissions more robust and interesting. I am sure I am not the only one who had a lukewarm reaction to this post.

sally,

The word you used -- lift -- suggests plagiarism. If that was not your intent, it was a poor choice of phrasing.

Informal. To copy from something already published; plagiarize: lifted whole paragraphs from the encyclopedia.

Your criticism of the shortcomings of the external article is valid - I, too, would liked to have seen more photos - but I still fail to see how AT could have created extra content if the original source did not provide it. If the magazine's photographer did not take a photo of the office nook, or the magazine declines to share it, that is, unfortunately, their prerogative. Complaining that AT should have "embellished" the article with that unavailable photo is misdirected.

If AT stops posting anything that might not fully satisfy readers' curiosity about the posted subject matter, the rate of new posts would slow to a crawl.

No, akay, that is your choice of definition. My intention was this:

"to transfer from one setting to another: For the protagonist of the new play, the author has lifted a character from an early novel."

I went to journalism school. I fully understand the meaning of plagiarism. People who plagiarize don't attribute their sources.

I understand what you are trying to say. I guess overall I am not a big fan of the "borrowed" articles from the New York Times, Dwell, or other sources, for precisely the reasons I stated in my original comments.

I've been a long timer reader of AT and the reasons why I love this blog are because it's positive comments and encouragement for creative thinking. Please try to same something optimistic or constructive in the future. There is no need for all this bickering.

I'm not impressed, for a city the size of Chicago there should be more interest here, this is just "good taste" or builder's spec in many other places. Though I DO *love* the little Ikea pendents above the counter.

They've obviously put a lot of thought into it, and it all goes well together, so yeah - not my style but it doesn't make my brain hurt or anything.

@Lisa (Montreal) - 'sokay, I have their share of tacky and eccentric things!

There's actually more photos on their site, some are in the photo gallery, and a few more are in 'details', another link at the bottom of the story:

http://www.chicagohomemag.com/Chicago-Home/July-August-2009/Thinking-Inside-The-Box/Details/