Name: Pablo and Rob (roommates)
Location: East Village/West Town, Chicago, Illinois
Size: 900 square feet, 2 bedrooms
Years lived in: 4, rented
When roommates Pablo and Rob found their apartment four years ago, they were first attracted by the light. Tucked away in Chicago's East Village, the building faces west with a wooded lot to the south and a one-story building to the north, making for a cheery, light-filled home, despite the (non-metaphorical) rain and clouds looming over our visit.
Having grown up in a temperate region of Chile, Pablo has had to adjust to the often harsh and always long Chicago winters. When he's longing for sunshine, he cheers himself up by shopping for plants. So far, he estimates his collection to be over 100 pieces of live greenery!
In addition to being inspired to bring the outdoors in, Pablo's style has also been influenced by his many travels. One of his favorite wanderlust rituals is to seek out interesting textiles (everything from rugs to blankets to baby slings) and document their stories. When he's in a new city, finding the right textile includes going right to the source and meeting the person who made it while archiving their exchange with photographs. Someday, he plans on displaying the photographs alongside the textiles to remind him of the people he's met around the world.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
(Survey answered by Pablo)
My/Our style: Eclectic Collections
Inspiration: Ethnic textiles, travel and nature. I always try to bring the outdoors into the apartment. My ideal living space combines indoor living and outdoor living. I am a big collector, so basically anything that I can get my hands on becomes my favorite element. I have gone through several periods, but there are some that are more or less permanent. I get a lot of inspiration from my trips and my upbringing in Chile. Every time I travel I try to engage as much as I can with the local people. One of my favorite collections is my textiles, which includes a series of ethnic fabrics from several countries. I also find a lot of inspiration in fossils, which are part of my collections too.
Favorite Element: Wood and wool and green leaves.
Biggest Challenge: To get "the nook" (spare space off the living room, yes, it has a name!) to be part of the living space. We tried many things, for a while we even blocked it with the couch, and left it just empty. We finally found a vintage daybed that helped us make it useful and complete.
What Friends Say: I think most people like it. They usually notice the carpet first and then the numerous pieces of artwork on the walls. They have also commented about how put together it is, and that everything seems to go so well together and make the place very cozy.
Biggest Embarrassment: Well, one morning we woke up sleeping in the apartment entrance with all the doors open to the street and slices of pizza stuck to our faces... a mess. Not the way I'd like people to see my apartment... (nor us!)
Proudest DIY: I am very proud of the apartment as a whole, and the objects that make it the space it is. I am proud of my plants. They bring some life and green to my life during the obscure winters in Chicago. I specially like my collection of tillandsias in the bathroom as well that in a way remind me of my grandmother's garden back at home. One of my favorite projects was to fix my "wooden" bike that was during the height of my funny obsession with faux bois contact paper few years ago. During that monothematic time, I covered my bike, books, table, and even the wall and some funny artwork with wooden contact paper.
Biggest Indulgence: I just bought a huge (40 inch) TV that has yet to arrive! In the past I hated TV's. All my friends are kind of surprised that I would spend such amount of money on a TV... but since I hate them I wanted the least obtrusive one. It's a very thin one, but it happens to cost more. Funny, if you dislike giant TV's, you have to pay more to keep it out of sight.
Best advice: Recycle. We recycle everything, even though the city of Chicago is not always on our side. We also keep compost and we are going get a rainwater collector to water my plants with pure water from the sky-- yay!
Dream source: Wright Auction House. Even though I find the whole pure mid-century modern style a little sterile, I always seem to find amazing stuff in that auction... it's so painfully expensive though!
Resources: My resources range from Salvation Army to Home Depot. I love going around town looking for all the thrift stores in search of whatever catches my eye. I also go to the beach or forest reserves in search of moss. I find moss to be amazingly decorative and it looks awesome in little terrariums around the house. I got some of my furniture from Craig's List, which is always a good option but takes a lot a patience!
(Thanks, Pablo and Rob!)
Images: Smith Schwartz
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love love love the blue chair in the bedroom (i think) and the couches. i've been searching my local thrift stores for older upholstered pieces like this...and have come up short thus far.
also, thoroughly enjoy the plethora of wooden pieces...i've been collecting old wooden salad bowl/server sets for a few years, and you gave me some ideas on how to display them.
very impressed with the way you overcame the layout. it could have been very compartmentalized, but you were able to pull things together into a great flow throughout.
great post!
Hehe... the "putas llaves" key holder always makes me laugh.
Interesting sign by the keys.
Ohhh unicycles...
The key hook is my favorite. Though I like all of it.
lol, I love the keyholder!
Cozy looking place!
Hi,
Where did you get the arching lamp in the living room?
Love the carpet...But seriously where on earth did you get the Key Hook???
Estoy encanda! Loves. Me must have ;)
Great place! It feels very Spanish 1970s to me, I can definitely see the Chilean influence. Any advice on how to maintain indoor plants, since you've managed it so well? They are beautiful! This space is very cozy, comfortable, and looks very well cared for. I love the shower curtain too!
Best integration of plants into decor that I've seen on AT. Seeing as how my Basil plant died less than 24 hours (!!!) after I transplanted it, I admire your ability to keep your urban jungle thriving!
Congratulations, Pablo & Rob, on creating a sexy, comfortable living environment with easy unpretentious personal style. Your popular livingroom carpet looks vintage; where did you find it? I know where you found the world map shower curtain because I have the same one in my bathroom. Where did you find the serpentine patterned cover on the bed? Is it a bedspread or a blanket? And what about the brown cover on top of it? Beautiful, durable, practical, comfortable, artistic and sexy, the perfect bed. Your healthy plants and simple, beautifully made wooden objects harmoniously accompany your modest mid century pieces and your fine hands-on collection of textiles. All blushing aside, a festive night's journey into waking up with wide-open doors and faces covered in pizza could only happily begin in such a cool pad ... a place where people can laugh.
What keeps running through my mind are some lyrics by Mike Watt and Eddie Vedder:
"The kids of today should defend themselves against the 70’s
The kids of today should defend themselves against the 70’s
It’s not reality, just someone else’s sentimentality
It won’t work for you."
It's a wonderfully realized apartment. I just... can't... get past my dislike for the decade that must not be named.
The above post explains how a song stuck in rosenatti's head obscures rosenatti's ability to make a meaningful comment on the apartment. "Wonderfully realized" juxtapositions of furntiure and objects from the "60s and '80s are as important in this interior as the influence from '70s pieces and '70s inspired objects. The overall concept of a white-walled airy apartment with modern art, comfortable furnishings and textiles from various decades and cultures is certainly not exclusive to the '70s. Why not quote song lyrics about an apartment you really really dislike, rosenatti, and save your more lukewarm meanderings for the catalog inspired fantasies you prefer. I just... can't... get past another word of rosenatti's comments. Eddie Vedder? Spare us.
thanks everyone!!! (house owner)
i did not know how to do comments... but finally i got it.
ok... "las putas llaves"... my ex's mom gave it to me no long ago (long after we broke up though...) i think it is a very common crafty thing, a staple in those funny souvenir markets in south america.
let see... the unicycle, well... the unicycle... what else :)
the carpet is from a silly hook up that i got with a department store that was getting rid of thing that they had in storage!!!!! i could not believe it either!
my blanket on my bed is hand made by local artesian in Chile (expensive, but worth it)
the lamp, from a thrift store
the plants... well... they take all my free time and my thought when I am traveling.
and... well you did not see it in the pictures, but there is a lot more modern art on the wall... like a giant blk and white gorilla image in the kitchen... that really takes over it.
I see the south american "good revolutionary" 1970's style of over all, but once again... in the context of the apt, seen with everything else, it is just one aspect of it.
Thanks so much for the comments...
IT is funny 'cause i never put much thought about the apt as a whole... i just added what ever we liked to the wall and the rooms as we went... and it is kind of cool to "think" and "analyze" my apt! thanks everyone!
Great comfy, cozy place. : )
Looks like a home to relax in....... The plants and wood accents make it so inviting and natural.
love it all but I wish I owned that lamp near the dinning table, I think I'll dream of it tonight...
Is that a podaegi hanging over the bed?
I love this apartment. It's so warm and organic and comfortable.
lol! yes it is... i got it from a funny lady in the mountains in southern china!
such a great apartment!
this home belongs to two interesting people who live lives full of adventure and learning. great job and thank you for sharing!
Love everything about your place, especially all your gorgeous plants...you must have a magic touch with them.
Is the "Pablo and Rob (roommates)" designation there to make sure everyone knows these guys aren't *gasp* a couple of gay men?
Most of the other households just list the various members without stating any sort of relationship. Way to be homophobic, AT.
Actually, I thought it was interesting to see it noted they were roomies rather than partners because it's much more complicated to form a unified space with a friend than a partner.
I can't imagine producing this cohesive of a space with any of my past roommates.
I love your apartment right down to the smallest details.
Btw, it is possible to be both roommates and lovers. But really, why should any really care what their relationship is?
It's what they want their relationship to be that really matters most.
Yeah, but AT doesn't usually describe what the relationship between/among people in a household is at all.
And speaking from a member of a same-sex couple, I can assure you that most neighbors and even visitors to our house who know one of us peripherally from work or religious community or whatever don't assume we're a couple -- about half assume we're roommates and about half assume we're mother and daughter (we're both in our '30s and look like it.)
This is why I'm not sure what the point of specifying "roommates" was, since that's what people seem to assume anyway when two people of the same gender make up a household.
But yes, it's cool that they're trying to show a variety of different households. I'd love to see more co-ops, more extended families, more multi-family households, etc.
really....you are getting upset because it states that they are roommates?
are you new to AT?
have you see the tours that are featured on here>
there are gays all over the place.... so you may want to apologize for calling AT homophobic!
For some reason I keep coming back to this tour! I adore the 70s and this is definitely a style of decorating that I'm drawn to. The lamps and living room rug are fabulous. Thanks again for sharing such a lovely home.
By the way, member ardywong needs to be banned for being a spammer!
I wondered how long it would take before someone with a hair-trigger sense of offense got upset about the "roommates" thing. And there it was, 22 comments in. Well done, eeka!
Love this apartment and the whole 70's vibe going on. As long as I don't have to hear K.C.and the Sunshine Band, I'm fine with it.
OR perhaps Paulo and Rob are in fact, gay, but happen to be roommates. Or maybe they're two straight guys. Or maybe they're bisexual. I'm sure MANY of the couples on AT are not as they appear. We will never get past homophobia if the problem is made to exist where it doesn't.
suzy8track--
There is a "Seeing spam? Let us know." link right beneath the comment box, and the form takes two seconds to fill out. About as long as it takes to write a comment here about the spam.
PS: On the whole "roommates" thing, it IS funny that it was SO clearly labeled, next to their names, and then again in the very first line of the text.
So will any/all straight relationships be so clearly demarcated in future tours? ("Muffy and Buffy, unmarried but in love") ;)
Sorry, should have said, "So will any/all relationships, regardless of gender, be so clearly demarcated in future tours?
I think it's what surfjack said:
"Actually, I thought it was interesting to see it noted they were roomies rather than partners because it's much more complicated to form a unified space with a friend than a partner."
Gay, straight, half gay/half straight, undecided...... Decorating with a roommate is tough! So let's give these guys a few extra props for doing it so well.
The whole apartment is awesome, but I, being a collector of maps, especially love the "upside down" map! I've been looking for one for awhile. Did you get it online or somewhere local?
For the record, I think the information that they are roommates is vitally important to recognizing how unique this apartment is on AT. Normally people who are living with someone other than their Significant Other or family members invest in an apartment at a very temporary level. The thought put into this apartment is more impressive knowing that they are roommates.
Maybe they are roommates, y' know, like Queen Latifah and her personal trainer that just bought a house together...
First of all, the guys have done a great job on their apartment. Regardless of their relationship status.
Regarding the roommates note in the post, I was more humored by it. Though it does indeed seem to suggest they want to make it clear they are NOT gay, which of course would be homophobic.
The debate that the "roommates" designation is helpful in viewing the post and being able to appreciate what they've been able to accomplish together as just roommates is a bit weak because if that is true (as it may be) then it would be equally beneficial to know the relationship status of the residents of ALL house tours in order to understand what they've been able to achieve given their type of relationship, whether that be:
a) single,
b) single with children,
c) married with no children,
d) married with children,
e) divorced with no children,
f) divorced with live-in children
g) divorced with children not living with,
h) unmarried but partnered,
i) unmarried boyfriend/girlfriend living together with no children,
j) unmarried boyfriend/girlfriend living together with children,
k) gay with no children,
l) gay with children,
m) etc.
If AT is going to clearly identify the residents of any house tour as "just" roommates (with the guise that it's helpful in understanding and appreciating how they've arrived at where they are decor-wise), then the residents of all house tours should be similarly identified as to their relationship status.
OR
Relationship status should simply not be mentioned at all.
In most house tours, the relationship status is at least implied. The number of children is always explicitly stated, as is the number of pets (in most instances). Why should any of this be a comment on someone's sexuality? It just lets you know who's living in the apartment. The fact that Pablo and Rob are roommates tells me nothing about their sexual orientation. And frankly, I couldn't care less. But it does tell me that they overcame a pretty significant roommate hurdle. So, again, kudos.
(By the way, I'm pretty sure it would be mentioned if a man and woman were living together as roommates rather than a couple. At the very least, it lets you know that they need two beds.)
The label of homophobia in this case is ridiculous. If this was a man and woman living together as roommates, they still would have specified the relationship.
There's no reason to start fake battles when there are plenty of legitimate issues of discrimination that gay people have to face every day.
@infomofo: my observation had little, if anything, to do with homophobia, and everything to do with consistency. Quite simply, AT should be consistent on whether or not they list relationship status in the house tours and apply the standard consistently for all tours. Not having a standard and/or not applying the standard consistently results in conclusions, assumptions, and biases being made on the readers' part, whether or not they are correct ones.
@Daily Nuance, infomofo wasn't talking about you. Eeka dropped the h-bomb.
Personally, I'm nosy and would prefer that AT divulge as much private information as possible. I want to know sexual orientation, years dated/married, type of employment, bank balances....
I'm so confused by all these comments!
Also, where is the East Village/West Town in Chicago? I've lived here all my life and the only East Village I can think of is in the lake, or maybe Indiana. What the heck?
yeah... the truth is that we (my roommate and I... lol) live in the limbo not quite wicker park, not quite UK village... not west loop not quite river north... we are part of the west town general area... but we got the "east village" from an old sign that is hanging from a street light near by. And we are just roommates... and in fact it is funny cause our stuff is all over the place... some furniture is his, some is mine... same with everything else (art, plants, etc)...
Forget about sexual orientation, I'd like to hear more about Pablo's "Biggest Embarrassment":
"Well, one morning we woke up sleeping in the apartment entrance with all the doors open to the street and slices of pizza stuck to our faces… a mess. Not the way I’d like people to see my apartment... (nor us!)"
??????????
(Where was *that* photo in the house tour?)
Lovely! So inviting.
Gorgeous plants and greenery! They add so much to the life & soul of this apartment. I also love all the textiles.
These are definitely the greenest-thumbed people ever in an AT House Tour... Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful space!