What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? Our favorite element in our home is the floor plan. What attracted us to the space, was the original Chicago Graystone floorplan, original in 1890, but updated to modern finishes. The open living/dining room lends to easy entertaining, and having the kitchen at the back of our home keeps it easy to "hide" all the elements that come along with entertaining. We also fell in love with the original hardwood floors, brought back to life with a rich dark ebony stain.
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What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home? Our biggest challenge was to find a way to use our love of Mid Century Modern furniture in the space. It took us over 2 years to finally complete our home. Our favorite find are two Sigurd Russel Falcon Chairs that we took home for a steal. We also love mixing up different wood finishes to create a classic and eclectic vibe. Resources: Flea Markets, Garage Sales, Craigslist, Antique Stores, Thrift Stores, IKEA, Home Depot, FLOR, CB2, Target, Friends.
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Howard Butcher Bloc...
Love your place! Especially love the yellow wall and floating shelves! Nicely done.
While the other rooms are rather awkward, the Living/Dining Room is gorgeous.
LOVE the dining room chandelier. Where is it from?
I love the combo of modern and retro. very individual and non-catalog-y.
Beautiful, bright and restful at the same time. It is beautifully curated.
Fabulous! What a great place!
Love your place...feels very....relaxing but still energetic. Hard to describe. Love the landing strip table!
I agree w/ drozak - the Bedroom seems awkward, but the Living Room/Dining Room are splendid
This is incredible- very carefully edited and arranged, and you have great taste. I hope you're a winner!
Your place looks great! Do you know the name of the dark and light grayish paint that you used as well as the yellow? Your color choice of walls looks great!
Love it.
I love the dining room light fixture -- where is it from?
Very nice. I really like the prints in the dining area. Who is the artist? Cool apartment.
the yellow accents are great! where's your fridge?
your bedroom color is so soothing! what are you using as a nightstand on the left side of the bed (by the window)? b/c my bed fits pretty tightly in my room too and i can't find any nightstands small enough to fit. thanks!
Gorgeous! I love the black and aqua bedroom.
Hey. I am the other William who owns this place. The light fixture is actually from Pier One clearance section one year and the paint I am unsure of the exact color. The prints are Picasso replicas. Most things were done on a budget and it is constantly changing. As for the bedroom. The picture is off in color. I tried color correcting it last night and still not working. As with most Chicago apartments it faces West so no light in the evening and just a little in the morning. It is a bit dark except in the summer months. Thanks for the support!
Many of the entries so far have been terrific but this is the first one that pulled a WOW! out of me the moment I saw the lead pic. Let's hear it for pattern!
Love those huge windows!
That living/dining room area has me pea green with envy!!
Reading the title of this post, I realized I wasn't sure what eclectic meant. So I looked it up.
Per Merriam-Webster:
Eclectic
1: selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles
2: composed of elements drawn from various sources
So, yes, this home is indeed eclectic. I love it!
Wow! I'm simply blown away by this place! Wonderful!
Imaginative selection of furnishings! Is the kitchen ceiling light vintage? The dining room chairs are super. You've really created a pulled together look without being matchy-matchy. Each time I look at your photos, I find something new and interesting.
Spectacular use of color and pattern.
love love love ! :)
i agree the bedroom isnt quite as awesome as the other rooms, but i think they are just more dramatic. i think changing the curtain and the picture arrangements could help, but the color and other items are great.
i still love it! one of the best arrangements of MCM on here in forever?
i am most in love with the vintage pieces mixed in. and think the fact that you found it via thrift flea makes it even more gorgeous (and smart!) you should win hands down!
what you did to the bay window area is just gorgeous. The yellow kitchen wall adds such a strong element. However, all the colors seem to work harmoniously. Interesting mix of tonal and non-tonal colors to achieve this... but 950 sqft is like a mansion or am I just so used to seeing tiny apartments.
love the choices in curtains.
I think the bedroom is a great example of maximum style in a minimum space. & the rest of the place is sick! looove the vintage glasses collection kitchen light fixture. best place by far.
LOVE your use of color and texture in this room. Fabulous!!
cool.
Even though the colour palette is very much not one I share any love for, I can see how beautifully curated and assembled this is-- work of art. And I like the bedroom-- it looks very serene and the poster is a touch of wit. :)
How big is that bedroom? 8 x 10? You've got a FAB place but to be honest everything looks great today after the fantastic news from IOWA.
Good Luck!
Beautiful! The dining room is perfect. Those chairs!
You must tell us what that grey paint is.
Is that a pterodactyl painting?!?!?!!?!
Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I will look up the gray color and get back to everyone. The bedroom is about 8x12. Long and narrow. Took quite a few measurements to get a bed that fit (thinnest frame possible). The nightstand on the left is one of the cubes from west elm that we deconstructed to make two separate table areas.(living room in front of window and the bedroom side table.) The painting is of birds. Flea market find we couldn't resist... Almost left it there. I wish we could submit more than 5 pics:)
The paint colors are:
Living Room Behr Cromwell Gray
Kitchen is Bicycle Yellow & Ralph Lauren Hopsack
Thanks again for the interest!
William--
I think the thing that bugs me most about the bedroom is the off-center window drapery, and the hanging lamp and prints hung so high.
If you ran draperies that contrasted more with your wall color the entire width of that back wall (floor to ceiling, of course) and placed objects in perfect symmetry - two of those hanging lamps hung much lower to serve as as bedside lamps, two nightstands, each print lower on the wall opposite one another (preferably in a silvered or gilt frame), etc. - that little room could become a luxe jewelbox.
I LOVE this home. I especially love the "throne" chairs in the dining room. I always see chairs like that in thrift shops and want them. So inspiring!
love..love... LOVE your living and dining area!! can see that you guys are FLOR fans! especially love the colour and geometrical pattern of the flor rug and your drapes!! where did you get the black & white geometrical curtain?? well done guys..it's an inspiration... :)
absolutely fabulous living and dining room! I'm in love with your b/w curtains! where did you find them? the print looks familiar, just can't figure out where I've seen it.
Good luck!!
I love this home. Cool drop!
The black/white/yellow combo is not one of my favorites, but even I can appreciate how well you've done with it here. The best part to me? Great light fixtures in each room.
I love the masterful use of space and the flow created from room to room. It looks like a great space for entertaining.
I LOVE this place too! William, where did you get the living room drapes? I need to know! :)
I agree with bepsf exactly about the bedroom though. In fact, I did the very same thing in my little bedroom - I had one small window - and I ran floor to ceiling drapes across the entire width of the wall, and it looks great.
Your colours are great and the place, overall, is so rich and unique I want to come over and hang out!
Good design and decorating!
Hi William,
The picture of your living room excites me. I have one of the leather/bent wood chairs as well--either the same or similar--and have been scouring the internet for a couple years trying to find out who made it. Do you have any idea who designed them/manufactured them?
My chair belonged to my father; I once saw 2 for sale on Queen St in Toronto and did not purchase them at the time--I am kicking myself now.
Wow, gorgeous. I especially love the yellow and navy blue color combo in the kitchen - I think that could go badly but you've made it work. I also really enjoy how you've placed the big, dramatic chairs at opposite ends of your relatively small dining table, with all the little chairs in between. It reminds me of the days of yore when the lord & lady would have their honorary places and all the guests sat in between. But on this smaller scale, it seems kind of cute and witty. Good job.
The best. I think we have a winner. You've done such a fantastic job of combining different elements. And your colors are unusual, but work beautifully. I like the suggestion of a wall of drapery behind the bed. How would black velvet look, do you think?
The colors and textures are marvelous, but the bedroom really bothers me, though i think the owners did the best they could considering the size.
I wonder if there are any plans to minimize the "master closet", which appears to be almost the same size as the master bdrm, and expand the bedroom a bit?
Would have also liked to have seen images of the bathroom and guest/office.
Unless there is a whole portion of bedroom that we aren't seeing, I agree Meapale with a possible wall removal to open the bedroom into the master closet. Even with a little more unseen space on the other end....it's a great little bedroom....but it doesn't blend or match up with the incredible airy cool feel of the rest of your place.
You are a genius at choosing just the right light fixtures. I love all of them!
Great place. Where did you get the curtains in the living room? I got the same ones from Urban Outfitters, but they are too short. I was thinking of getting another panel & sewing it on the bottom to lengthen. Is that what you did, or did you find them in a different length somewhere else? Thanks.
I really love how you've taken vintage pieces, but still managed to make the space feel clean and modern. That's what I'm trying to do, and it's not easy! You have a very well-curated place. Good job.
In the bedroom I would put the curtains wall-to-wall, so that the composition becomes more symetrical (therefore more soothing). The picture and the mirror from behind the bed can be hung on the left wall, or next to the picture on the right wall...
I totally dig your place.
(kinda happy that my home is not competing with yours.)
Wow. So much hatred for the bedroom... As with all small spaces there are rooms that challenging but the master bedroom has not been one of them... Unfortunately it just does not photograph well... Layout has really not been and issue or decorating it's really the photograph. There is no space in the master closet as the washer dryer is in there due to space restrictions... If you saw it in person I think your opinion would be much different. 5 pictures was the max and the assignment was to see from both ends of the room (living dining). Thanks for all the advice but we are perfectly happy with the master bedroom as it is comfortable, soothing and really comfortable to sleep and retreat too.. Our goal has never been to conform to what people believe are design standards. We experiment with different styles and layouts and honestly prefer not to have symmetrical design styles.
You have the same bedroom as me! Very long and narrow!
Livingroom curtains, livingroom curtains, where where, please please...:)
what is the bedroom color? Love it Love it!!
Oh my goodness. I was so surprised to see the dining room table and the four chairs that match it.
When I got married, 45 years ago, this is the very same set my husband and I purchased at Sears. Wish I still had that furniture. It looks great with the two end chairs. Lovely home you have.
I second Chilly.....where oh where did you find the living room curtains? I won't take "Ancient Chinese Secret" for an answer!
This is one of my favourite entries in the contest. Your use of bright yellow throughout the space is great - not too much, but just enough for impact. Where is the living room painting from - the one above the couch? I'm hoping it's available in a print... Can you give me the artist's name and title?
I like your bedroom a lot. It seems like a small space, but it has personality without appearing cluttered. It is quite different from the rest of your apartment, but perhaps the point, since the bedroom should be soothing and restful...?
Both the Dining Room and Living Room curtains are actually sale tapestry fabrics from Urban Outfitters. We had a friend quicky sew them into panels for us. And that Vintage Yellow Seagull painting was found at a Flea Market with a $40 price tag, but we haggled the guy down to $5. It ended up being the perfect piece to bring the room together. Thanks so much for all the positive feedback!
-William (1)
I'll bet there are some people with big spaces who are thinking about downsizing after seeing your space!!
Wow.
Luv IT!
GORGEOUS!
Thumbs up!
Wonderful! You both have a good eye for color, pattern, arrangement... and a good sense for comfort, mix, and thrift! You have our vote!
Your place is amazing! It's very inspirational!
Nice job Williams! We are thinking of staining our existing red oak floors the same ebony color. Did you do it yourselves? We are planning on hiring someone to do it, but any advice you can share?
One idea I had for the bedroom: I think it would look even more dramatic with a curtain that spans the entire wall behind the bed. Just a thought.
Hope to see your space in the finals!
I am in love with the gray color on the wall!!!! Do you have the name and brand info?
Great room,thumbs up.