Name: Nicole and Brandon
Profession: Nicole owns Pink Loves Brown and Brandon works in prepress for a printing company
Location: Oak Park
Size/Type: 1400 sq/ft 4 bedroom 1920's bungalow
Years lived in: 6 months
A good eye. Nicole has one. From her work (she is the design mind behind Pink Loves Brown) to her home, she knows how to pick colors and arrange things just so, for maximum visual pleasure. And she's not shy about her good ideas - her blog, Making it Lovely, documents her adventures in home ownership and decor. She and her husband, Brandon, have lived in their bungalow for less than a year (just past the six month mark), yet it looks polished and cozy - a testament to (as we all know) plenty of hard work to go along with that "good eye".
We're so happy to feature Nicole in an AT House Tour, especially during a busy week for her. If you enjoyed seeing her home here on AT, let her her know in person: She'll be at Booth #196 at the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend (September 15 & 16, 2007) on Division Street.
Nicole's Survey:
our Style: Feminine, with a mix of vintage and modern, and clean lines (but not minimal).
the Inspiration : I'm not sure. I definitely read a lot of shelter magazines and design blogs, so I'm sure they play a big part.
favorite Element: Can I pick a color as my favorite element? All the touches of pink make me happy. The orange too.
biggest Challenge : Our house is old (1920), so I'm trying to honor the architecture of the home without being limited to period design.
what Friends Say: Everyone keeps asking why I don't offer interior design. I'm busy enough these days though!
biggest Embarassment: The house is usually messy! We clean, and everything stays nice and neat for about two days.
proudest DIY: I think it's a tie between putting in new bamboo flooring and tiling the kitchen backsplash.
biggest Indulgence: We're starting to purchase actual art (not just prints). I felt very grown up when I commissioned my first painting (from Amy Ruppel).
best Advice A few nice pieces will elevate everything else in a room (so that the IKEA stuff isn't as noticeable)!
myDream Source: DWR and Anthropologie always have things that I want, but I'd love to be able to splurge on vintage items and work by smaller, independent designers.
Resources:
Living Room
Sofa: Jasper, Room & Board
Chairs: LCW (Eames), and Astrid from Anthropologie
Art: painting by Amy Ruppel, collage from Swallowfield, print by the Black Apple
Coffee Table: Target (Thomas O'Brien)
Lighting: Nelson Saucer Pendant, lamps by Robert Abbey
TV stand: west elm
Curtains: Crate & Barrel
Paint: Wild Aster, Benjamin Moore
Dining Room
Chairs: Crate & Barrel
Table: hand-me-down
Rug: west elm
Lighting: west elm
Roman Shades: west elm
Art: print by I'm Smitten
Brandon's Office
Desk: hand-me-down
Bookshelves (with doors): IKEA
Rug: Urban Outfitters
Paint: Driftwood, Benjamin Moore
My Office
Desk: Blu Dot for the Container Store
Chair: IKEA
Lighting: lamp by Robert Abbey
Shelving / CD Storage: IKEA
Paint: Pink Innocence, Benjamin Moore
Library
Bookshelves (with doors): IKEA
Lighting: IKEA
Chair and Ottoman: Crate & Barrel
Curtains: Pier 1
Paint: Afternoon Tea, Pittsburgh Paints
Bedroom
Bed: Room & Board
Lighting: Pottery Barn
Bedding: IKEA, CB2, pbteen
Rug: west elm
Paint: Chocolate Froth, Behr
Studio
Main Work Table: IKEA (kitchen island)
Other Tables: hand-me-downs
Shelving: IKEA
Lighting: Target (Thomas O'Brien)
Paint: Wild Aster, Benjamin Moore
Thanks to Nicole and Brandon for the tour and to Evan Thomas for the photos!
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Beautiful!
yay! i love nicole's blog ... and her house, of course. so i'm thrilled to have photos of it all compiled in one nice slideshow. thank you thank you!
I want to have that house when I grow up.
I love that painting of Hedonismbot! Where did you come across that?
six months and the place looks that great? i'm so jealous.
Can I move in....I love pink!!
I've been reading Nicole's blog since the beginnng and I found it through AT. She has amazing style! This is beautiful.
you two are just adorable!! you place looks amazing!
Nicole and Brandon are so inspirational. I love to keep up with Making it Lovely. The best thing is that she has his Star Wars AT-AT fitting into his study perfectly. I remember AT bringing up the issue of how to incorporate significant others' geeky toys, and leave it to Nicole to do it so well!
oh, P.S. Y'all should include the awesome magazine resource/inspiration pages that Nicole creates in photoshop.
i love the giant ampersand! actually, i love all the wordz!
your place is gorgeous...so smart and thoughtfully put together. i be envy.
great place. looks very welcoming.
where are the curtains in the bedroom from?
The whole house is awesome, but I particularly covet the whole library/reading nook area.
Great job Nicole and Brandon - all your hard work really paid off. Your house is so beautifully done and the photos are stunning. I'm totally impressed.
Oh, Nicole! I love your home. I'm always trying to decide which room I like best. Right now I think it's the library.
Thank you so much everyone! I've been looking forward to seeing the photos. They turned out so well! Thank you, Evan, for taking the time to set up each shot so beautifully!
Jeremy, Hedonism Bot was painted by a friend of ours (Mike Bianco). We went to an event with him and a few people creating art on the spot, and that's the one we bought.
The curtains in the bedroom… the brown ones over the closet were from Crate & Barrel (we have real closet doors now), the pink ones were from pbkids (because yeah, it's hard to find cheap pink curtains), and the roman shades were from Target.
really lovely! your place is sparkling. and i love oak park - great town - that's where my husband's from - so we're out there all the time...especially shopping for italian groceries and specialties on harlem - just west of you.
:)
nicole, thanks for the tip about the curtains...pbkids just might save me from grubby vertical blind hell.
also, your home is great, but you knew that already :D
Oh, Well done! You have a perfect blend of period and contemporary pieces! Your craft room looks like HEAVEN! SOOO jealous!
I'm a big fan of Nicole's blog so it was great to see all her rooms in one slideshow. I was bummed, however, that her blue-toilet bathroom and her really fabulous DIY kitchen backsplash weren't featured here. They are really great and have inspired me to take on more DIY.
Thanks Nicole & Brandon!!!
Well done Nicole and Brandon. I really really like your house. The word that comes to mind is luscious. And I really like that you haven't left white walls. The white furniture really pops in the library and the bookcases look lovely.
I've been reading your blog Nicole, and you're really inspiring me! My two favorite elements: 1). Your judicious use of IKEA, because we all love the prices, but we don't want the house to look like a dorm, and 2) The splashes of pink and orange make your home seem so colorful, but it's still neutral enough to be restful. You've done an amazing job!
I'm a big fan of her blog so its good to see her home featured on AT. Love the colors.
OOH I love this place! I love the curtains, rugs, paint colors, chairs, and shelving!
OMG....I remember your house. I drove past it and told my husband to drive back because I loved the puffs hanging from your porch. I so love your house. Everything about it. The mix of sophisticated stuff with toys and funny art. It's beautiful. I just wish you would come over my house and give me a couple pointers. Oh....and I am in desperate need of your coffee table. Perfect for a your stylish mom with yikes......a toddler! No edges!
bellisimo nicole! the colors are so warm and you've done an amazing job in such a short time!
is that the petrie chair & ottoman from crate & barrel? i love it!
congratulations on a beautiful home.
A big THANK YOU to everyone that stopped by to say hello at the Renegade Craft Fair!
I really like the mix of Ikea with DWR, the Target with Room and Board. When my friends buy new homes, they are eager to fill it up with new stuff and make the mistake of buying everything from just one or two sources. Even though it's only been 6 months, you have taken care to extract all possibilities from a variety of sources and created a gorgeous home.
I do have one question though: is your husband cool with the design choices in the house? My fiance and I are completely at odds about how to furnish our future house since he is more traditional whereas I am more organic modern. He likes wallpaper and I like stone or brick veneers.
I have loved this house, and their old apartment, ever since I first saw the pictures!
Six months?!
Miraculous...
Wow. Just wow. I'm always trying to rectify both my uber-modern and uber-girlie impulses... and you come along and marry them with such elegance and grace. Bravo!
I just Google Notebooked so many of your photos as inspiration for my new house, everything is perfect!
One question, and for all I know it might be some famous designer I should know, but where did you get that great chandelier over the table?
Oh, I didn't realize there were new comments! Thanks!
The chandelier over the table is from west elm.
metal and wood chandelier
where did you find the planters on your porch?
They were from CB2.
I love the AT-AT-- my husband's going to be so happy to come home and find his on display! Also, my 10 year old daughter wants to know where you got the squirrel girl painting.
We have my husband's lightsaber in there now too. ;)
The print was from the Black Apple.
Wow! I just love your place. It's warm and homey but also clean and classy looking. I am just beginning to find my own taste in my first place and never quite feel like I know what is right. The Anthro chair is fantastic and I love how you make it fit. For some reason I have always been draw to those big IKEA bookcases but never know if they would look right. I love them in your place.
Love your place... I know I have seen the decorative pillows on your sofa before but can not remember who makes them. Can you tell me who makes them or where you got them? they weren't on your summary list... Thanks !!!
Love this, must save several pics when I get home tonight! I dream of having bookshelves like that (corner, lit, with glass doors), but no place to put it YET. Beautiful place.
Lovely! I'm dying to know, where is the big &-sign on the pink (office?)wall from? I adore it.
The big ampersand sign was from Pottery Barn. The pillows on the sofa are from Thomas Paul.
Absolutely lovely. It's the kind of place I want when I grow up ;)
How do you hang your pictures? I see that you use ribbon but what are you using at the top?
BTW I love pink!
I really like the wood trimming around the doorways.
I really like the color used in the library room :)
This is really nice. I am going to look up your blog.