apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Nice! It would be cool to see any before photos if they're available.

Ah ha!

The whole time I was thinking, "reads like a listing!"

If I had done a complete plumbing and electrical tear out I don't think that I would have created such a cavernous galley. The work triangle seems a little out of whack.

It's a beautiful kitchen though and the externally vented exhaust is a nice luxury to have in a multi-unit building.

So...in the "kitchen", do the bodies slide in sideways between autopsies?

I don't know how I feel about it. The kitchen is definitely not my style (I share the same sentiment as hdtex) , but the living room seems cozy.

Yes, art, trying to grab something out of the fridge while you're at the stove seems really impractical. I see they weren't going for the warm, inviting look for the kitchen. I do like the living and dining rooms, though.

Am I the only one here that likes white?

Very blah and sterile. I love the idea of white walls as long as there is art work to give it some color.

i like it a lot. i think it's a good mix of contemporary and vintage in an older building. i happen to love the kitchen, the look of it. you are not alone JohnnySlimane. i love white. i don't know how easy it would be to work in it, but i think it's beautiful. what really makes this new york heart of mine gasp and drool is that the asking price is $289,000. in new york, that's a fire sale for an apartment like this one. so you are lucky chicagoans.

hdtex, I LOVE your dry sense of humour! Thank you for the best laugh I've had all day!

I like white. White furniture, no (too impractical). But white walls and tile, yes. I wouldn't trade my big, empty white walls for anything. If I see another striped wall or red dining room, I will barf.

I really like a galley style kitchen; I have found a small galley style kitchen is the best space to actually cook in. I also really like injecting a super modern aesthetic into a traditional envelope....but in general the space is rather lackluster. It seems like the mix of (looks like brand new furniture purchased at various corporate sources) furnishings just misses. Perhaps if there was some sort of sense of history linking the bits and pieces together the furniture would feel more comfortable...as it is, it feels like 'doink', a simple sofa. 'doink' a traditional caned chair. 'doink', an out of proportion modern entertainment area with ottoman wedged under it.

blah

i LOVE the kitchen! there is such opportunity to show off a few really great pieces in there: art on the walls, a set of Le Creuset or vintage enamelwear, a bright potted succulent, a vintage pitcher, a big glass vase full of lemons, a runner on the floor, maybe some Marimekko draped across the window...have some creative vision, people!

it's nice and clean, but it seems as if it was all done with resale in mind (and lo and behold, it is being flipped)...

Yes, sorry, it's nice, but it looks like a flip.

I would have no idea it was a lovely older unit and that's not a good thing. very safe, very marketable, very boring.

OMG! Chicago has reasonable prices!!

289K for a beautiful 2 bedroom with this many upgrades in the heart of boystown & only 1 block from the lake? Something is definitely not right here, or we've got some VERY motivated sellers.

i am moving to chicago now .. for the price and all things white .

It is a one bedroom, but still, the price is great!

how tricky... the 2nd photo of the bedroom is listed as the "2nd Bedroom." I guess the price seems about right then. I remember about 10 years ago when I lived down the block and a similar building to this one went condo, the 1 Bedrooms were in the 160's. I thought that was a lot then... If only I knew then what I know now.

That couch is exactly what I'm looking for. Does anyone know where it's from?

I usually like something a little more lived in but I like this. The kitchen is nice and clean looking - you could add a lot of colorful things like a rug, ceramics, etc and it would look a lot warmer. I prefer this look to the wood cabinets and granite countertops that are in EVERY damn condo in Chicago these days.

I think some of those above critical of the renovation have little understanding of Chicago real estate and the product available. The response of those actually looking for a home in Lakeview East has been nothing but praise for the custom work displayed.

This is a wonderfully liviable condo. Buyers visit and spend a lot of time in the unit, really looking and "touching" everything. Really cool. They have appreciated the hand built cabinets, built-in high end appliances tile choices and design.

There is little if anything else like it for under $300K in Chicago... not to mention steps from the Lake in a hipster neighborhood.

I'm the listing agent on this property and thankful it's not boring as some of the misguided have suggested.

Love the kitchen. The rest of it - there's too much 'stuff' to my taste. Coud be a very relaxing space if you get rid of the excess books/photos/vases etc.

And put the bottles in the bathroom away please.

I really like color, so initially I was a little taken aback by all the white, but honestly it seems like there are good "bones" in these rooms and it would be easy to add some small touches to warm up the place while maintaining its modern or minimalist lines, particularly in the kitchen and bathroom.

I like goodnightdean's recommendations!

@Eric R,

As the listing agent what is it about the property, in your opinion, that is holding people back from purchasing?

Like you said, it seems like a diamond in the rough and a real value. I know the overall market is bad but this is in a relatively strong market.

I think the kitchen is fantastic.
Does anyone know what brand faucet this is?

Should we assume that "AT Reader Eric", who sent these photos is also Eric R from the comments, in which case, is this a post for a house tour, or an advertisement for a condo for sale? Eric, you have your own blog to post your listings in, and this is a thinly disguised way to boost interest in the properties that you represent.

If I wanted to see pictures of condos for sale I would troll the numerous real estate blogs out there dedicated to just that. AT, I hope you are getting a cut of the revenue for this condo sale, because this post is an advertisement, and you are letting the salesman advertise on your site for free.

I think this post is great and am hoping to learn something from it.

Eric is out there in the field. He's the one who is hearing the real reactions from lookers and is dealing with all of the criticism, good and bad.

Is the kitchen too white? Is it too modern? Are the furnishings too modern and cold?

Would people prefer a glass door to a shower curtain?

In my opinion, it's always nice to get a different perspective, especially when trying to gauge the real estate market. It's the realtors who essentially market the look that we expect to see when looking at properties.

Now doesn't this look better than a gut rehab with Home Despot cabinets and granite etc?

I would have to disagree that we who think it is "boring" are misguided, we simply have different taste. I like a little more color and this is all white. Thats all. The custom work is very nice, just not my style. And really, other than the kitchen, once you take everything out your moving into a white box, albeit one with nice fixtures.

I live in Lakeview East also, by the way, and know that there are plenty of 1 bed/1 bath places in this price range. The custom kitchen definitely gives this one an edge though.

If you have some space on the wall, why not hang up a black and white manray?

"Should we assume that "AT Reader Eric", who sent these photos is also Eric R from the comments, in which case, is this a post for a house tour, or an advertisement for a condo for sale? Eric, you have your own blog to post your listings in, and this is a thinly disguised way to boost interest in the properties that you represent.

If I wanted to see pictures of condos for sale I would troll the numerous real estate blogs out there dedicated to just that. AT, I hope you are getting a cut of the revenue for this condo sale, because this post is an advertisement, and you are letting the salesman advertise on your site for free."



To my Nuni above,

You don't have to assume anything. I stated I am the listing agent in my comments. I aslo have a blog that you mention that I do post my listings on, but also discuss my neighborhood and everyday dealings in real estate. Nothing disguised about that. I meet many clients that contct me directly off my blog.

As well, why should I be ashamed of promoting a great place that I'm interested in materially, architectually and financially? This is the first listing I've had that belongs on these pages, so it's the first time I've contacted AT about a property.

If I did the renovation myself I'd put it out there for people to see (actually, that's a good idea... I should post some pics of my home at my blog). I love my Baseline sectional as much as my first born... okay, he's #1, but the sofa is close.

I think AT appreciates that I introduce the site to my clients and they were gracious enough to write the post and to link my listing information.

For a one bed in hipster Lakeview East, you will be hard pressed to find renovations and materials like this at any price. It's meant for one person that appreciates and values the look and has the means to purchase it.

People enjoy looking at it as expressed here in the comments... you don't have to buy it nuni.

Eric, my point is, AT is not Craigslist:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/rfs/610614231.html

or Postlets:
http://www.postlets.com/res/452026

Which have pretty much exact duplicates of this post - AT used to be about finding great stuff, first, and now it is a pale imitation of craigslist, which at least had the distinction of having this copy posted first.

Its great that you are looking to hustle for your clients, especially an odd looking, overpriced flip like this one in a brutally soft Chicago real estate market, but AT used to be about showcasing interesting and beautiful design and innovative small space solutions, and posts like this, that aren't even written as posts but as a blanket list of RE features, spammed across multiple sites, are disturbing. After all, AT does take paid advertisements, and this post is nothing more than an advertisement. This should be (and who knows, probably is) a paid advertisement, not a blog post.

I am not suggesting you should be ashamed of anything, but somebody should, for posting a word for word craigslist ad and trying to pass it off as a design story.

As one of the owners of this condo I would like to answer a couple of the questions that were asked:
living room sofa: Kinsey sofa from Crate and Barrel
kitchen faucet: Franke

In regards to some of the other comments, my husband and I did not intend to "flip" this unit at all. We have lived there for over 6 years and it has been a long and painful renovation process for us. My husband built the cabinetry in the Kitchen entirely by himself using tools in his parents' basement up in the suburbs, spending every weekend and holidays up there for a year. It is a beautifully crafted space and it is a real pleasure to cook in. The space is only 7' wide so we had to make the best of that footprint. Expansion was not an option- the building risers kept the width what it is. Prior to this there was one drawer in the Kitchen- there was also a giant laundry closet, a 42" wide refrigerator that was 32" deep, and a countertop covered with yellow and navy blue ceramic tiles. We chose light colors to make the space seem as large as possible, not because we're opposed to stained wood.

Regarding some of the color comments- we actually have no white walls in our house- they're all shades of warm and cool greys that didn't necessarily come out in the photograph.

Thank you for all of the honest feedback, we appreciate it.