apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Small Cool 2009: West Loop Modern's Balanced Space
Little Division #31

thumbs up

Who Lives There: West Loop Modern & Wife
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Size: 790 square feet

What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? Many elements make up and complete the whole, like our "Newton's Sisteen Chapel" minimalist painting, the free-literature light box, the "Knowledge Will Hold You Up" coffee table, our ugly dolls and plastic pup - but, our favorite element is the West facing windows which allow in beautiful light and a constant changing canvas of colors into our main living space.

Give West Loop Modern a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
 
 

What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home? One of the biggest challenges was not to compete with the natural light, but to use the light as a guide on how to give balance to the space with color, form, texture, and scale. The light was the driving force behind almost every design related decision. We sourced many on-line blogs for information/inspiration and shopped at an array stores from big box to antique but used basic intuition (i.e. trial and error) to put all the pieces together - though, like any healthy organism it's always evolving.


Give West Loop Modern a THUMBS UP if you think this home belongs in the finals!
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!

room-board-banner09.jpg

Want more Small Cool? Check out all the entries on our contest page.

Tags

Small Cool 2009

Related Links

Share

Comments (29)

I enjoy seeing all the vignettes that ppl take the time to create in their homes, but it would really help to see some wide angle shots to get a feel for the space as a whole. That being said, I love it! Dividing the shade of wall color in the bathroom with the tree trunk was genius...

posted by Stephanie K on April 15th 2009 at 12:02pm
view Stephanie K's profile

I want that dog by the couch. Where did you get it?

posted by Joan52 on April 15th 2009 at 12:05pm
view Joan52's profile

love the paint job in the bathroom

posted by creativeneurosis on April 15th 2009 at 12:10pm
view creativeneurosis's profile

Love the coffee table and tree mural in the bathroom. I also love, love, love the rug in your living room!!

posted by Keri C on April 15th 2009 at 12:20pm
view Keri C's profile

Joan52,

here's the info on the puppy:

http://hivemodern.com/products/?view=sub_product&sid=1376

posted by miaedu on April 15th 2009 at 12:26pm
view miaedu's profile

cb2 also has the puppy in white right now. i think it might be cheaper than the hive modern one.

in the first pic, what is that yellow thing coming out of the white "painting"? and very creative way to not have to paint behind your toilet!

i love how your style is like "whimsy modern"!

posted by eriiikaa on April 15th 2009 at 12:42pm
view eriiikaa's profile

I love the black/white pillow on the sofa! Is that Thomas Paul?

posted by Bridget212323 on April 15th 2009 at 12:43pm
view Bridget212323's profile

I like what you've done however, the artwork over the couch especially needs to come down a bit, it's too high.

The bottom of the piece should be just a few inches above the back of the couch for proper hanging as most people really see when sitting, not standing.

I do love the green chair and the 2 pendants over the kitchen counter.

posted by ciddyguy on April 15th 2009 at 12:45pm
view ciddyguy's profile

Love the bathroom's decorative paint job!

posted by palindrome on April 15th 2009 at 12:55pm
view palindrome's profile

Completely agree with ciddyguy. Also, that piece of art is lost on that wall anyway. But I love that couch with that rug...

This is a nice home, but I'm not getting the "small, cool" vibe. What about it makes it cool for its size? Is there fabulous storage, or are there other creative space-saving solutions? I also agree with Stephanie K that the closeup shots don't do much to emphasize the smallness/coolness. The shot of your toilet, in particular, seems like a waste. It's more about the tree art than about a clever use of the space.

posted by sally305 on April 15th 2009 at 12:58pm
view sally305's profile

Dope coffee table.

posted by EasilyAmused on April 15th 2009 at 1:07pm
view EasilyAmused's profile

This apartment has a lovely airy feel. Thumbs up.

posted by Anusha73 on April 15th 2009 at 1:10pm
view Anusha73's profile

I love the top of the kitchen cabinets and the tape tree? in the bath along with the use of color on either side. Very nice place!

posted by AprilAries on April 15th 2009 at 1:16pm
view AprilAries's profile

Yes - where is the green chair and ottoman from? Thanks

posted by Anusha73 on April 15th 2009 at 1:17pm
view Anusha73's profile

What a fun sense of style!

posted by Lisa (Montreal) on April 15th 2009 at 1:21pm
view Lisa (Montreal)'s profile

After reading other's posts, I think what makes this small/cool is the beautiful way it is decorated. For me, I don't need to see a clever storage unit to appreciate the coolness of the space.

posted by AprilAries on April 15th 2009 at 1:21pm
view AprilAries's profile

Green chair and ottoman are from Orangeskin here in Chicago:

http://www.orangeskin.com/product.php?pid=1511&c=10&sc=67&cg=&gmm=Chairs:Lounge&p=99

posted by Elliot75 on April 15th 2009 at 1:23pm
view Elliot75's profile

Oooh, where did you get your sofa?

posted by als1 on April 15th 2009 at 1:50pm
view als1's profile

Thanks for all the comments... love the feedback both positive and constructive. To answer some questions...

The white puppies are from Luminaire but as mentioned other retails stores now carry them, like CB2, etc.

The rug is IKEA

The b&w pillow is from a garage sale w/ no tags

The "yellow thing" coming down onto the canvas is just a yellow latex paint drip, and a sharpie marker "hole" around the start where the drip looks like it's originating. And the height is in perfect in proportion to the wall, ceiling, sofa, and eye level of the average human being, in my opinion.

sally305 - I understand your comments and agree with you that there aren't many shots of creative, space saving solutions. There are actually quite a few, like built-in book shelves in dead space nooks in the living and bed room, the use of simple IKEA wooden shoe racks all throughout, mounted vertically on the wall using S hooks as hangers, etc. However, we were only given five photographs and could not capture the overall gist of the space with my ancient digital if I only shot those elements. Also, agreed it's not the most beautiful photograph of a bathroom, but the "tree art" divides the space by color which is, in my opinion, subtle but effective. :)

posted by Elliot75 on April 15th 2009 at 1:55pm
view Elliot75's profile

Sofa is from Saxo Living

http://d13434029.u171.surftown.dk/

posted by Elliot75 on April 15th 2009 at 1:58pm
view Elliot75's profile

in the 3rd pic with the green chair, what's the white box thing that looks like one of those coin operated newspaper dispensers? i like that.

posted by audemars on April 15th 2009 at 2:17pm
view audemars's profile

Thanks. It's a free literature stand rescued from the city streets and repurposed as a light fixture / a.k.a the "lit lite"

posted by Elliot75 on April 15th 2009 at 2:25pm
view Elliot75's profile

@errrika
I checked out CB2 on the puppy. they only have one size and its 99.00

//www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=1260&f=5335s 99.00.

Thanks to all for the info.

posted by Joan52 on April 15th 2009 at 2:37pm
view Joan52's profile

Wow! Great Design skills! I love the simpleness of the space w/ extremely fun accents. I'd call it a "Happy" small space.

posted by Jliese on April 15th 2009 at 2:39pm
view Jliese's profile

Love the various small storage solutions. Innovative. I like the bathroom cabinet especially.

posted by Elizcrtv on April 15th 2009 at 5:49pm
view Elizcrtv's profile

Love your entire small space. My favorites are the sofa and the rug in the living room. Sweet and simple yet pops of color throughout! That last picture, whoa! Luv the night sky view! Awesome!

posted by E.I.F. on April 15th 2009 at 6:58pm
view E.I.F.'s profile

Beautiful! LOVE the simplicity and playfulness of it all. Well done. The "Newton" painting and the newspaper stand light are brilliant. Would love to see more pics of the "book" coffee table...

posted by lovely1 on April 15th 2009 at 7:30pm
view lovely1's profile

Terrible pictures... your apartment is very pretty but I just don't get a great feel from it. I feel I could have gotten a better feel with different pictures. Your kitchen is great... not a fan of the bathroom painting, though I love the colors. I guess I just feel like your living room is a bit empty from the picture, which is a shame because it's very cute. I think pictures taken a little further back would have shown how everything is connected a little better. Also i would have rather seen a picture of the bedroom than the shelf on the balcony. BTW I actually love your weird little painting... it is placed nicely on the wall and it flows well with everything else. Good luck!

posted by Lafferteezy on April 15th 2009 at 10:05pm
view Lafferteezy's profile

This contest is set up for "ingenious use of small spaces," but I think they should change the contest to ingenious lack of need for an abundance material possessions... one wouldn't need to figure out how to live with as many things if one did not possess as many things, and I think you've achieved this in your design!

posted by PrinceGnarls on April 16th 2009 at 10:46am
view PrinceGnarls's profile

Feeds

RSS icon Chicago

+ City Feeds