Name: Kelly & Kevin
Location: West Town — Chicago, Illinois
Kevin and I are both transplants from Ohio where we met as undergraduates. We moved to Chicago for Kevin to complete his Masters in Architecture. After the move, I joined an urban design-build firm to practice landscape architecture. After enduring 2 Chicago winters in a small apartment with just one window, we feel liberated by the tall ceilings and natural flow of light in our new West Town place.
It was not easy to find a two bedroom (one for us, one for our bikes) that 1. does not consume our entire income and 2. embraces the presence of Arlo (our 75lb adopted dog with separation anxiety) and his stuffed otter.
Our style is really mixed. We try to embrace a balance of utility, beauty, and individuality in our apartment. The drafting and dining tables along with the living room rug were inherited from family. I found the McCobb dresser through an Apartment Therapy ad (thanks!), the Herman Miller fiberglass shell chairs are from Urban Remains, and the LCM was purchased from a local eBay seller. Kevin made the bench as part of a group project at Ohio State. He is also the brain behind our recycled bike-part hanging devices (they were saved from his bike shop's dumpster). Most of the other furniture is collected from garage sales, alleys, or DWR floor sample sales.
The art is mostly a collection from travels to Slovenia, Italy, Russia, the Czech Republic and Panama. Kevin painted the living room piece, and the dining room canvas is a photo I took when we biked through Oregon.
Professionally, Kevin and I are inspired by the urban spacial challenges of Chicago. We try to instill this solution-driven creative approach directly into our home. There is so much awesomeness to draw from in this city!
Thanks Kelly & Kevin!
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I think decorating with dogs is awesome.
The white curtains with the red/orange flowers that are in the kitchen... where did you buy them? Thanks!
Beautiful place! I'm also a landscape architect and have just started the search for a an apartment for my boyfriend, his 1 year old aussie, and me. I'll be on the look-out for a place with beautiful floors, like yours! I would have liked to see your bike storage solution.
Gorgeous! And their dog is super cute, too!
I love the puppy! So cute.
Y'all have the best curtains! So jealous!!
It goes without saying that the dog is the cutest!
Where is the shower curtain from? LOVE it!
Ditto about the shower curtain. Please tell us where it's from!
you have two sleds!!! YAII ^_^ that made my day
Thanks for not submitting 100 pictures of a 100 sq foot apartment. This was just right. And your dog is adorable!
I'll take a source for those curtains as well!
The perfect mix of mid-century modern and homey comfort. Very nice!!
@rexrayfan
Well, it's a house call, not a tour, and the ppl whose homes are being shown neither take the pictures nor choose which ones to put up (in the case of tours....)
For some reason I wish you showed the otter, too. And why no pictures of the bike setup? I agree that the curtains are all excellent, and would especially appreciate a source for the ones in the kitchen. :)
Hello Everyone! Thanks for the great responses.
vitamini & lepidoptery,
its a little embarrassing to admit, but our vacuum has not made a debut appearance in the bike room since the holidays. Kevin crafted many of his gifts out of discarded bike parts... you can imagine what handle bars, crank sets, hubs and suspension forks look like once they meet their fate with power tools!
As for the curtains,
Shower: Marimekko Iso Satakieli
Kitchen/Dining: Target (converted tablecloths)
Living: Ikea
Fellow OSU Knowlton alum here, love your space, I love your wall colors and you have really cool chairs throughout you space! Go Buckeyes!
Been in love with that Marimekko shower curtain for a long time. Was all set to buy it until I realized it was polyester. I even thought about buying the fabric but it's too short in width!
I haven't found anything that aesthetically appeals to me more so for now all I have is a cloth shower liner until I figure out something.
@curiouslycuriousgeorgette
Can you buy two lengths of the fabric so you have curtains on both sides?
How abt a better dog bed???
Where is Arlo's otter? =( such a cute place!
How is that window in the bath in the cold Chicago winter?
why is AT "forgetting" to give us square footage on a lot of house tours lately?
I always want to know the size, how long they have lived there, and if they rent or own. All those things make a difference in an opinion of a place.
Love your dog! (And the color of the kitchen walls)
@Coletta
Well, it's a Call, not a Tour; I assume they're less strict about that (since it's the owners/tenants submitting their own pictures). Though recently I've been perturbed at how often the square footage is information not easily available to leasing agents. >.> Or at how leasing agents "overestimate" square footage—one agent told me the space I was viewing was "oh, at least 700sqft?" when it was definitely about half that. I don't think she was baldly lying to me, which means she was clueless about what a 700sqft space looks like vs. a 350sqft space. Grumble.
I think fredbiscotti said it all.
Sweet! I really like all the fabrics in your home. However if thats a bin of shoes near the dining table it seems kind of an unhealthy location. Not for the shoes but for the diners. Hoping its handbags.
Dear lepidoptery- The curtain in the kitchen looks like a table cloth from Target. I bought 2 of them when I bought my Dwell bedding from Target and I hung them as curtains in my bedroom. They matched the bedding, Target did not have draperies that matched, so I improvised. I am not sure that they still sell them. But you can check.
Love what you've done to the place, and especially love Arlo!
I love it - looks naturally cosy.