Name: Dave (you may "know" him from his old apartment)
Location: Chicago
Size: 900 sq. ft.
Years lived in: 8 months
Welcome again to Dave! His previous home was the subject of of this Andersonville House Tour, he heads up the Brown Elephant window project (which is expanding and can always use more creative and fun folks to get involved), he works as a pro designer, and as an fyi...(in his own words) he's "single again (the bastards)"!
He recently wrote to AT: "I found myself trolloping around my old place in Andersonville all by myself and decided that it was silly to have so much unused space. I would also wander around late at night dusting things with my nightshirt...not a healthy situation.
With the help of a fantastic AT blurb, I managed to sell almost everything on Craigslist (although I could not find a buyer for my old Latrine chair) and started over for the new flat. Ironically, I have seen several of my old pieces of furniture on other house tours on AT...the day I saw my old nightstands living by another persons bed I got a little sad.
So on moving day the truck was loaded with a bunch of boxes of 'stuff', enough clothing to outfit the Gabor sisters, and about two hundred pieces of art." 
"The new place is about half of the size of the old and is located in a much more vibrant area of the city. The place was a generic white washed mess when I saw it...but it had fantastic dark wood floors with a really high shine to them....and was blessed with fantastic light in the main rooms. The place had about 30 coats of semigloss paint on every door, wall, piece of trim, fireplace, and even ceiling fans. (Oy god)
The transformation that happened when I painted all of the walls with C2 'Trenchcoat' and the interior doors with Pratt and Lambert 'Derby Green' was amazing....the space totally transformed. I also ripped out all of the heinous black, brass, and semi gloss painted ceiling fans that were everyplace.
I think that it turned out rather well, actually. I can only display about 5% of my art at one time...which is sad but also allows me to trade things out and really enjoy the pieces that I have.
The kitchen is in the middle of a pretty dramatic remodel. The space was great but the actual kitchen fittings looked like something from Stephen King's Carrie movie. When it wraps up I will forward images of it to you...I think that you will be amazed at how you can remodel something on the cheap even in an apartment. "
AT Survey:
My Style: these days is all about artfully arranged piles of crap. In each place that I live my style shifts slightly to reflect the environment that I am settling into.
Inspiration for my home: is all about the graphic play of dark versus light. All of the floors are dark, all of the trim is white, all of the walls are the color of an old trenchcoat, and all of the doors are blackish green. I wanted to take a vintage space filled with vintage items and still make it feel masculine and up to date.
Favorite Element: is impossible to call out. I look at each pile of stuff and waffle between what I love and what I like. If anything, I love it when I come home and sit on my sofa in my underwear and just soak up the vibe that my apartment has.
Biggest Challenge in designing my home: was working with a very irregular floor plan. The apartment was graced with a massive light filled formal dining room and a bedroom that looks into a light shaft; I made the difficult decision that I spent ten times as much time in the bedroom as in the dining room and that warranted making the dining room into the bedroom.
What Friends Say: is the proverbial 'did you finally buy this or are you renting?' Renting makes me feel good that I can pick up and start over at the drop of a hat if I want to....and I refuse to give up things like custom made shower curtains and nice floors even if I am renting.
Biggest Embarassment: is stupendously awesome six foot tall 1920s steel cabinet with the original faux mahogany paint and massive Bakelite crank handle. I had it cut down to be 4 inches deep and hung it on the bathroom wall instead of the existing 1970s medicine cabinet nightmare.....I just have not gotten around to fitting some shelves into it and have to rummage under the sink every day to find my toothbrush.
Proudest DIY: is a toss up. I installed a fantastic walk in dressing room with fitted racks and space for every garment that I own (well, almost) and assembled a wall of tall galvanized steel shelving from 16 sections of Ikea garage shelving.
Biggest Indulgence: is the new kitchen. The apartment was blessed with six linear feet of 1970s sticky kitchen cabinetry and a refrigerator centered in front of a window when I moved in. It gave me a rash every time I walked into the fantastic kitchen space and looked at what had been done to it. I have been fitting a very modern European kitchen system into the space with rift sawn wood cabinets and stainless steel countertops. I work on it during the weekends and it is almost complete.
Best Advice given or received: is to take the time to make your space into a home. I know so many people who use apartment living as an excuse to not grow up and live life well. There are so many options out there at so many different prices for things that will let your surrounding reflect your personality and make you happy when you come home.
Dream Source: is a hard thing to answer. I find great things everywhere I go and really find myself limited by the dimensions of the cargo area of my Jeep and my willpower to schlep. If money was no object I would be in the front row of the yearly mid 20th century modern sale at Christies with my paddle up.
Resources:
Bedroom:
Bed is from Crate and Barrel.
The throw is a vintage (IE used) Hermes cashmere blanket that I bought on Ebay.
The bedding is Thomas O'Brien from Target.
The red Jesus is a velvet covered bank that was given to me years ago; I have no idea where it came form but I love it.
The floor lamp is a vintage piece that came from the Brown Elephant.
The odd swirly table is another piece that I found at the Brown Elephant and spent ten hours of my life painting and messing with.
The curtains in the space are custom made in a semi sheer white linen; I floated the bed in front of the windows and curtained the entire wall behind the bed.
The bookshelves are from Ikea and started life as three foot tall boxy garage shelving. I reinvented them to fill an entire wall in the room and be nine feet tall.
The framed centipede is from the Kane County flea market; I have a huge collection of strange bugs that I bought. I took them all out of the original plastic frames and had them professionally mounted.
The brown glass vessels are vintage Venini pieces that came from the Wright auction house.
Living Room:
The sofa is form Crate and Barrel but I had it redone in embossed linen velvet and a new down single seat cushion made.
The chimney pots are mostly from the mid 19th century and are from the Chicago Botanic Garden sale. They originally capped off the tops of masonary chimneys.
The coffee table is from Holly Hunt
The lamp is a vintage 1950 Venini glass piece that my mother gave me.
The baby head sculpture is by a favorite artist of mine named Jay Strommen.
The table features electrical insulators that I seem to buy everywhere; they are my new collection addiction.
The antique ceramic letter balls are from the worlds most amazing shop called Aero Studio in New York. I found them there and schlepped them all over NYC without breaking any of them.
The red fuzzy chair is a teak thing that I found in the alley behind my house and had it completely redone. The fuzzy look is because it is upholstered in shorn Edelman goat hide. Don't sit on it in your underwear.
The vintage lockers came from Scout.
The vintage medical lamp also came from Scout.
The rolling stool is the base of an old rolling desk chair with a new upholstered poof seat attached to it.
Living Room Mantel:
The lamp is from Holly Hunt and is made of hand blown Italian glass.
The 'shirt' is actually made from clay and is something that I bought in Montreal. I thought it was so very cool.
The drawing is by Georges Braque from the mid 1950s and was framed by Armand Lee. It is a pencil drawing study for collage that actually hangs in the Met.
The candle sconce is vintage from a great shop called Mecox here in Chicago.
The Bath:
The shower curtain was custom made for the room; it is over 9 feet tall and is great for early morning theatrics.
The towels and rug are Thomas O'Brien from Target.
The collage is form the SAIC annual art sale; I don't know the girls name who did it but it features a page from an old anatomy book on the digestive system. Typewritten onto it is 'the gardener tends to his greens'...something I thought very fitting for a bathroom.
Thanks Dave!
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I love everything, Dave. And that's a lovely centipede you've got there.
I'm sure it is a lovely place but we don't get to see it. The tour is a series of vignettes - beautiful, though but not much sense of what the whole place looks like.
1. I LOVE your place... it's masculine yet stylish; vintage yet modern. warm, modern, worn objects that look like they have been handed down for generations.
2. It's not at all my style. An apartment has to be really kick-ass for me to appreciate something outside of my aesthetic and this place does. WELL DONE!
Where did those amazing letter balls come from and what was their original purpose? They look really fun to touch.
I love all of those lines and patterns echoing everywhere -- very beautiful. It really pulls together the art and the life. Do you store your "extra" art in a storage space?
Love the Venini pieces! How come I never find great things like used Hermes throws on ebay??!!
mario,
I don't know where they sell them in chicago, but they sell them here in chelsea, nyc at this lovely store:
http://www.bon-maison.com/home.html
i wanted to buy the entire glass container she had them in. (which would take quite some coinage!)
lots of vignettes, but not much of an apartment tour.
So much gorgeous stuff! The lamp & glasses on the mantle are just lovely.
I love your use of brown in your space. Your collections work well and it doesn't seem overcrowded.
I would love to see more of your place.
Nice tour -thanks for your update.
The place looks great. I would have liked to see some more whole room shots, but what there was looked pretty awesome.
Also, the write-up was hilarious.
Elegant , calm and intriguing! Very impressive.
I really love what I see, but I also wish there was more of a sense of layout of the place.
its very... indiana jones. very manly, rugged but complex and stylish. its not dirty and messy - its very mysterious and yet states everything.
i like it.
Absolutely genius - Loving EVERYTHING!
That's the best AT Survey I've read in a while. Love how, after reading it, I just recall how the place makes you feel rather than where you bought each item. Looking forward to seeing the kitchen and hope it tops that sink in your Andersonville place!
I totally want some old lockers now. Where did you find them?
Looks like it might be a great space...but it is so hard to tell from the close up of the letter balls and bathroom towel. Anyone else tired of seeing the staged "vignette" shots?
Love it! It seems so comfy and inviting. The sort of place I just want to curl up in a blanket and read.
Hey guys, it's Dave. Thank you for all of the great compliments; in particular, I have never had anyone compliment my centipede before. I will pass it along to him. Sine it seems like the majority of everyone was a little sad that this was not a full on house tour with pictures of everything....come on now! I just moved in! Some things are still unfinished, some pieces of furniture are not quite yet right. The pictures that are posted are, literally, of two small rooms and a bathroom. When I look at a house tour I don't have the patience to look at snapshots featuring every angle of every room. In this mini house tour you guys are literally seeing every side of both rooms and almost every object in the rooms but my goal was to present an object only once and to show photographs that were all higly finessed and well crafted. I promise I will have you guys all back to see the new kitchen and that tour will present every angle!
Is it just me or did we not see the APARTMENT at all???
I would love to see what you did with the kitchen.
Genius I tell you! Thanks for making me drool on my desk.
Fantastic, exactly the sort of place where I'd like to hang out with a friend! I'm patient to know that the tour will come, thanks now for the teaser.
i love it! and i look forward to seeing more!
I love your apartment, what a great job.
I have to say, I would like to see some more photographs thou. I want to get a better idea of the entire apartment, rather then close images focusing on something nice. It's hard to get the big picture.
I was very interested in seeing more of the bookshelf, because I would like to recreate something like it for my apartment, but a drastically angled shot does not help.
The goat chair is breathtaking - warm and modern and oh-so faboo!!
I did not see a credit for the equally faboo table next to the chair - please credit - if you dare say West Elm/Pottery Barn/Restoration Hardware I will faint with joy. I doubt that is the reality, but one can always dream.
Just lovely.
Dave again. Reading the comments is really addictive. The bookshelf unit is pretty awesome. The base for the piece is an Ikea product called the Hyllis (or something close to that) that they sell to use in your garage. It is made of galvanized metal and has a completely stripped down modern aesthetic to it that I really liked. I used two shelf kits for each vertical section of bookshelf, connecting them together where holes are drille dint he uprights for the shelves. I connected vertical sections together using the same shelf holes; I spent about a day getting it all put together but it turned out smashing.
The wood table is a total knock off of a Pucci piece that is available at Crate and Barrel. If you like that aesthetic, there is a great store in Andersonville called Urban Nest that tends to carry chunky wood pieces like it. I was a little bummed out when my table was on the cover of the Crate mailer; I hate having mass market goods.
Oh, the lockers in the living room came from Scout; I paid a premium for them but the handles really turned me on. Recently I found a very similar set at Brownstone antiques in Andersonville that were pretty awesome.
And thanks for the Indiana Jones comment....I really agree with that!
I loved the photos and I wish I had the ability to put it all together like that!
Dave: Your photos appear very well composed, revealing tidbits about the apartment while concealing the details, almost as if to magnify mystery and incite a longing to see more. Mission accomplished.
Also, as a fellow renter, I am amazed by the latitude your landlord has given you in renovating your unit. How do you manage your landlord-tenant relationship to execute your designs?
Well, I like everything I see, but actually I haven't been able to see a lot... In my opinion, photographs are very concrete and they don't let us see very much of the rooms, I would really like broader views of this home.
Dave, your place is amazing. It reminds me of the movie "In the Mood for Love," but with less wallpaper. Especially the office scenes. I love the billowy curtains and the way your bed is pulled away from the window. Your dresser looks like part of the architecture. The worn gray from the lockers and silver from the bookcases really pull the room together by adding the perfect contrast to all those browns. Great job, can't wait to see more!
this bed is such an improvement! the lockers and the wifebeater sculpture are great elements.
Congratulations, you are a most talented and evocative man wielding fantastic style. Thank you for sharing. So many would love to have just a fraction of your talent. Appreciate and nurture your abilities - and put us out of our misery and show us more soon!!!
Loved your old place. Loved the new place. Both eclectic in the very best ways. Warm. Inviting. Interesting.
How can I hire you to help me do some finishing touches on my house in Indy?
Your use of various accessories to accent the space is amazing; this in itself is a true art form. Great job………. what a talent. Any simple steps you can give to a novice trying to achieve the same character?
I think I would really like this place if I could see the bigger picture.
Nice vignette photos, regardless.
Dave, what a tease! I'm going to join the angry mob and demand more! No, really. I loved your last tour and even chose my paint color for my arts and crafts bungalow the same benjamin moore color and copied the high gloss red curly willow branch on my mantle and everyone loved it.
You are truly a master-curator. You should open a shop. Dave's Curiosity Shop. I want to go shopping with you!
Dave, what do you store in the lockers? Your place looks amazing. A truly unique style with unique finds and a wonderful eclectic space. I know Columbus, Oh isn't far from Chicago, but I would love have you help me pull my pieces together.
I like the lockers but centipedes make my skin crawl.
Dave-
Your place is my new decorating bible! A nice butch change of pace from all the girly turquoise and lime places on most design blogs.
You didn't mention where the square-patterned rug in your living room is from.
And that wooden side table next to the hairy red-orange chair (which is rad.)
-William
I love everything about the place!...minus the centipede. I just couldn't willingly displaying that grotesque creature when I have a daily battle with the inevitable "house centipede" of Chicago! I second Herringbone's question as well: how does your lease and relationship with your landlord work? You said you are remodeling the kitchen right now, while my landlord cringed at my mere mention of possibly painting our walls (even after I assured him I would paint them myself, and paint them back to the original color before I move out). I've been afraid to bring up the subject since!
Dude, your place is beautiful. About the kitchen remodel -- are you planning to replace the appliances? If so, will your landlord help foot the bill?
I love this. I'd like instructions on your Ikea shelf hack. The bookcases look great. As does all the rest!
Witty posting, Dave, and don't pay any mind to the angry mob. Some of us enjoy the chase; we like being teased!
Entrancing first vignette of living room/bedroom just tucked behind French doors ... how I wanted to be there!
That framed centipede both made me laugh and gave me a shock. In Japan they call ones that size mukade (same meaning as centipede) and a bite can put you in the hospital. Mukade sightings always lead to a lot of screaming, running away, and cries of, "Kill it! Kill it!"
Running away? Yes. Those things will chase you and rear up like cobras. And fall from ceilings. They are not framed. Better you than me, good sir.
Also, I wanted more pictures of the kitchen. I want to see what you can do with Carrie-esque kitchens.
Dave, your apartment has become my inspiration for the "grown up home" I will have one day. At the moment, I share an apartment with a friend from college and our landlord, while very cool with most things, would never let me do what you've done. *Jealous* I'm in my early 20s and still am in the IKEA stage of life -- not just because of cost, but because I flip from being a fan of 19th century antiques to mid-century danish to tacky suburban Pottery Barn every few hours.
I love your place. I love your color scheme. I'm all about feminine, soft, pastel, floral, etc... But oh my goodness. I love the warmth, the depth, the fabulous FABULOUS black doors, etc. of your place. I want to see more.
Also, your kitchen. I want to see it. Do you have a blog? Or more pictures? Something?
Really, really nice. Lovely stuff. I love the chair in the first picture at the top of the page (the one that looks as if it was covered in rusty brown hide) and your bedroom makes me want to invade your bed.
The centipede bug is absolutely adorable - thanks for the idea! Très cute!
Wow! Am I looking at the same pictures as everyone else? Except for the interesting red chair, a yellow lamp in the bedroom and a yellow sheet and the colorful large painting everything else is brown. I've never seen so many shades of brown. And I know brown is supposed to be a homey, stabilizing color, and I know this is a man cave, but come on!
It's dark.
It's depressing.
But I do really love the brown bottles next to the creepy centipede.
Not trying to be mean, just my humble opinion.
"take the time to make your space into a home. I know so many people who use apartment living as an excuse to not grow up and live life well." So true!!! At 30, I'm finally living on my own and for the first time in my life investing in furniture I actually like (admittedly I've been moving round overseas too). Wish I'd done it earlier but I couldn't be happier, even with the just-moved chaos all around me. Even on a really tight budget it's possible to make even the grottiest rental your own. I know I'm preaching to the converted but get out there people - don't just covet on apartmenttherapy for two years (like I did), create your own space. No excuses.