LOVE all the books. Thank you! Love the myriad of bookcases! Excellent!
The entirety is beautiful, the books tell me interesting, thoughtful people live there.
(Also love the Michael Apted Up Series dvds. I'm there.)

Love.

Very cool mix of styles, art, and book. Where did you get the couch pillows? And Mary--I love your boots! Where did you get those (I know that question doesn't belong here...)

Wow. I love, love, love all of the books and art. They really liven the place up. And, can I say that I am jealous of the fabulous lighting? I really am. Oh, and I also love the paint color in the bedroom and dining area.

Love the big art!

Who started the "love, love, love" thing? I don't think there is an AT post where someone doesn't "love, love, love" something. What's wrong with just one "love"? Why is it never two or four "loves", but always three? Can anyone help me out here, I just want to understand.

What a great place! Love the Random bookcases (can't believe I haven't seen those before!), and I'm lusting over your Heywood-Wakefield pieces. What a score!
I also love the placement of the Arco lamp: It's an archway into another room--style, lighting and architecture in one product. Most photos I've seen of this lamp tuck the stand in an almost hidden place, but this placement really makes the most of the piece.

Love it. The books and the artwork give such character to the mid-century design. It's just a little random, a little overstuffed. It gives great visual interest to what could have been a very run of the mill tour.

I especially enjoy that paper doll art in the living room.

Lovely place. How do y'all afford such amazing things (and space) on grant writer salaries??!!

I give it Five Loves.

Your place rocks. Amazing color, art and lighting and you both have just wonderfully eclectic, interesting taste. I could just kill for the Random bookshelf and a Womb Chair. These pieces really are worth the investment if you can manage it. I hope I can someday. Great work, and thanks for letting us into your world!

This is honestly the coolest apartment I have ever seen. I want it to be mine! Those bookshelves and the arched floor lamp are my favorites!

epindc: Thanks for the lovely comments re our place. All the comments are SO gratifying (big thanks to all), and we appreciate so v. much. We were in a panic the night before Kathleen arrived, cleaning and fretting the not-so-hot elements and wondering if we were really "AT worthy"! As for the awesome Guidi boots, I got them at a super cool boutique here in Chicago-Robin Richman. Quite a splurge ... If I hadn't bought them, I might have been able to remodel the bathroom (joke-sort of). Cheers, MV

Really nice pad! I'm totally digging the closet full of vinyl. And I'd die to have an orange Nesso lamp! You guys have really great taste.

One of the most interesting and inspiring art collections I have seen here on AT.

Such a nice paintings~♡

AT-worthy? This is gorgeous, and I love the bookcases. What is the blue paint you used for your walls? It backgrounds the bright colors and artwork perfectly.

And yes, I'm also envious of these beautiful furnishings and art banked by writing salaries. I'm a writer and.... sigh. Maybe someday!

I'm so desperate for those bookcases! Amazing!

Love it esp. Derek Erdman artworks, bookshelves inc. DIY ones, Orange touches- great! Thanks for sharing

Can't believehe bookshelves are DIY from their graduate school days!! Great appartment!!

AT you guys seriously need to change the coding in your software for links to open up in a different window/tab.

Am I the only one who finds a larger-than-life image of a child in underwear a strange choice for a living room....?

I need that bookcase... :)

saucefiend- yup.

Not my personal taste, but as an apartment that reflects the obvious preferences of its owners I love it. I'm sure that if I visited, I would enjoy the ambience.

Yup nice stuff, but I have no feel what soever of the space or spaces. and the kitchen? I guess there are rooms we are no allowed to see.

Since the building is apparently so famous, it would have been nice to see a photo of it, as some of us have never heard of it. The inside is lovely too tho!

Great style. And you better believe I'll be checking out Robin Richman! Those boots.......

Wow...almost speechless! One fraction of a word: FAB!

Thanks for sharing your wonderful space!

Great space. I especially like the Hey-Wake. I had the opportunity to aquire some nice pieces years ago and passed. Le sigh, regrets...regrets. What paint Brand/Color are the walls. It looks to me like just the perfect shade of blue-grey I'm looking for. Please advise.

Fantastic space. Your design choices are beautifully edited and placed. I have an idea for your kitchen...you can do a 'quick-fix' by removing the cabinet doors, sanding and repainting the face frames, and replacing the doors with simple painted frames with opaque glass insets. You can also alternate with metal mesh inserts. Exposed side panels can be covered with paint, or be creative with surfacing -- white board, chalk paint, metal sheeting, even a funky colored/textured styrene cut to size.
Love the Gus*Modern sofa. I have the Jane and am nuts over it.

*caroylnapplebee: The "Paper Doll" piece is by a local artist named Derek Erdman. When he was making this series some years ago he also did a big Angela Davis head, and I am kicking myself for not getting it. His work is VERY reasonable.

*epindc: I ordered the couch pillows, which are by notneutral, from Design Public.

*Clank1969, MarshallO & ProfKD: I started my grant writing and development consulting biz here in Chicago 10 years ago, and Tom joined me in it just this year. I have developed a good, steady client base, but we're far from rich. Units in our building are suprisingly reasonable, and a real glaring omission in my "advice" section above was to Never Pay Full Price! We waited out the womb chair for Luminaire's annual Knoll sale; all the DWR pieces were on sale when we got them; I scored both of the Bertoia chairs at charity auctions for a song; the Artefort chairs, the cork stools, and the glass office door were all floor samples; we scored the Nesso lamps at 75% off when our beloved Marshall Fields on State Street sold its soul to Macys; and several pieces were thrift store acquisitions. The biggest deals were the Heywood pieces. All but the Kohinoor chest were from one seller on ebay. She had listed the dining table (which came with 2 drop leaves and original pads) and chairs and the dresser (all 8 pieces for less than $1K), but when we went to pick them up, I spotted the bedside tables and TV table, and she sold me those for like $100 a piece. Only violation of the never pay full price policy were the Guidi boots (still feeling guilty, but still loving them intensely). The elevenfive, B&B sideboard and Brumfield photographs were exceptions, too, but we saved up/spaced out the purchases, and Carl Hammer Gallery (best gallery in Chicago, in my opinion) allowed me to pay in installments on the Brumfield. That's good advice, too-Don't think you can't afford great contmeporary art; most galleries will allow installment payments.

*ProKD and others: We used three different shades of gray paint throughout. Light gray in bathrooms and kitchen, medium in bedrooms and office, and darkest in dining and living rooms. The cans are in the basement, but Tom is going to go check the brand/color names this afternoon, and I'll post that info tomorrow.

Very beautiful.

what a wonderful hip environment you have created! i love the use of color you chose for the walls, and your choice of art work is very interesting. great style! great mood! well done!

I love your apartment! I am looking for large art pieces like yours and live in Chicago. Can you share the artist of the colorful piece in your dining room and orange piece in your living room...I am having a hard time finding it on the internet. What gallery were these from?

o! mary & tom! how i love your home! the colours! the books! the controlled chaos! it's clear, like the fist poster said, that some thoughtful folks live here. what a rich and interesting space.

i have two questions though? with 2000 square feet, why put a bicycle next to a bed?

and what the hell is that object on the stone placed freud-like between the cut-out child's legs!? for god's sake, put it somewhere else!

love, a fellow stay-at-home grantwriter with a Special Needs cat.

oh ps, i LOVE your "big wacky nature shade", but couldn't find it on the site listed.

Nice to see book/LP hoarders on here. Real art too. Most of all nice to see some color. Though i hate the whole gray thing the walls are a nice back drop the for the colors and textures. I'm waiting for my invitation to listen to records, talk books and check out that deco dresser first hand. I'll bring the beer.

Inspiring shelving.

*To everyone who asked about the paint: We used Benjamin Moore "Boulder Gray" (dining room, office and bedrooms) and Ralph Lauren "Silver Cuff" (entrance way and living room).

*Jack 17 re the art in dining and living rooms: Perhaps one of the most gratifying questions, as these two pieces were created by none other than Tom Caldwell, co-owner of the hip and historic haven! No gallery representation and not for sale! If you are looking for some big pieces, I would recommend going to the twice annual Student Show at the Art Institute of Chicago. I went last year, and they had some amazing stuff at very good prices.

*darlingclementine re the bike, the odd object on the cork stool and the wacky nature shade: I had my bike in the storage room downstairs, but moved it up for the summer, as getting it in and out of our building's bike room (you have to lift the 100 pound vintage bike to get the front tire in the vertical rack) is challenging. If it weren't for the massive vinyl collection, we I could store it in the "Cave of Solitude" along with Tom's bike. Yes, the blue object is rather phallic; it's a B&O telephone. Tom is insisting on moving it now! We bought the wacky nature shade at ID Chicago about four years ago, and it was a floor sample. I cannot find the name of the co. that produced it on the shade. If you're really interested, you could call the shop and inquire.

THANKS again, all! MV

Great job, guys - I've always envied having a view of the owls at the corners of the library. About 10 years ago, when the Fisher building went apartment, we were tempted to move in there...finally made it all the way to the loop at Michigan/Madison in the old Montgomery Wards building and it's great. Although I don't have a view of the library, there's no shortage of architectural views, along with a slice of the lake from my desk. My favorite on your tour is the cat sitting in the chair, looking out the window....love all the stuffed animals.

great space..inspiring

Really lovely job! Really nice mix of high end and thrift.

Love the large abstract art. Nice job.

Beautiful furniture (especially all the Hey-Wake) and interesting art arranged carefully. M&T, thanks for sharing.