George and Sara’s Logan Square Lookout
Name: George and Sara Aye
Location: Logan Square, Chicago
Size: 1300 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5
George and Sara are a very creative Chicago couple. He is a creative director and she is a design researcher. In addition to their full-time work, they teach design innovation at the School of the Art Institute, and run a small travel apparel company called Hubwear. Whew! We love it when people are passionate about design.
And, from what we’ve heard, they are just as passionate about each other as they are about design – just check out this really wonderful video of George’s proposal to Sara. Talk about putting your creative side to good use!
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My/Our style: Mid-century modern mixed with whatever style you’d call CB2
Inspiration: We read the Apartment Therapy book and decided that we wanted our new home to be hip, warm, clean, bright and purposeful. George brings the hip, Sara brings the warm and together we work out the rest.
Favorite Element: The view. We adore Logan Boulevard and the second floor vantage point makes it feel like a treehouse. Also the dark wood floors, they were love at first sight.
Biggest Challenge: We gave up TV a few years ago, when we realized that Netflix had everything we needed. So we wanted to optimize our living room for movie-viewing, but this actually left us with no obvious way to arrange the space. We drew multiple configurations of couch, projector and screen before finding the current solution. The screen pulls down into action, making the area feel like its own little theater, and rolls up and out of the way when it’s not in use, contributing to a sense of openness.
What Friends Say: They love the open layout of the front room, and they are usually impressed by the ridiculously large projector screen. They are also curious to see the Hubwear workroom, where we make our t-shirts.
Biggest Embarrassment: There is nothing on the wall above the bed. We haven’t found the perfect thing, so we’ve left it blank. But we have a feeling it might remain blank for a while, and it just feels incomplete.
Proudest DIY: Sara – painting every room in the house, with little assistance and no blue tape. George – laying the Astroturf on the front porch.
Biggest Indulgence: Our bed. George’s mom gave us a bed budget as a wedding present, so we found a memory foam mattress (Room and Board), a tufted bedframe (Crate and Barrel), and a lovely duvet cover (Amenity). The pillows, sheets and duvet itself are also extremely soft and dream-producing.
Best advice: Set a reasonable housewarming date when you move in. We gave ourselves 3 months to paint, buy furniture and generally get the house worked out, and after the housewarming party, we really relaxed. We’ve only made minor changes since then – we really declared our place “done” and resolved to love it as-is.
Dream source: A little shop called Found, in Powell, Ohio. Most amazing and beautiful home store we’ve ever seen.
Resources:
Appliances
LG Fridge
Generic SS dishwasher, stove, microwave
Whirlpool Duet Sport Washing Machine and Dryer
Dualit 2 slot toaster
Krups panini grill
Hardware
Throughout house: IKEA handles on drawers and cabinets
Container Store closets and shelves
Furniture
Living Room:
CB2 Annex Sectional Sofa and chaise
CB2 Halogen credenza
AyeBerman Perforated Side Table
Dining Room:
IKEA expanding dining table
Crate and Barrel Sloane leaning bookcases
Eames Molded Plastic Armchairs with Eiffel base
Magis Air Chairs
CB2 Halogen counter stools
CB2 Halogen side table
Wicker planters from Found, shop in Powell, OH
Master Bedroom:
Crate and Barrel Tate queen bed
Crate and Barrel Nito hampers
West Elm nightstands
IKEA Hovet floor mirror
Hans Wegner Wishbone armchair
Master bathroom:
Container Store boxes (toiletry box and makeup tray)
Crate and Barrel glass canisters
Crate and Barrel Embossed White Numbers clock
Crate and Barrel Nito magazine basket
Crate and Barrel Marimekko shower curtain
Guest bathroom
Ceramic milk jug from antique store
Lotta Jansdotter tissue box
Emily Berman audobon collage painting
Office:
IKEA VIKA HYTTAN stainless steel table tops
IKEA HELMER desk drawers
IKEA BILLY bookcases
Hubwear production room:
IKEA GALANT table tops
IKEA VIKA BYSKE standing height table legs
15 yr old Knight Heat Press
IKEA KOMPLEMENT shelf organisers
IKEA bar stools
Metro shelving t-shirt hanging unit
Accessories
Living room:
Sanyo PLV Z2 home theatre projector
In-ceiling speakers from contractor
Da-Lite screen
Dining Room:
Marc Newson glass ashtray
Durrel Bishop bakelite clock
M&Co. paperweight by Tibor Kalman
Hug salt and pepper shakers
Crate and Barrel glass candle holders
Lighting
Dining Room: Artemide Tolomeo Mega floor lamp
Office: Artemide Tolomeo desk lamp
Hubwear work room: Flos Toio floor lamp
Overhead wall sconce (multiple rooms): IKEA Calypso
Bedroom: George Nelson Cigar Bubble Wall Sconces
Paint
Benjamin Moore Aura used throughout
Living room: HC-144, Palladian Blue
Kitchen: 171, Sweet Butter
Master Bedroom: 562, Cucumber Salad
Master Bath: 618, Robin’s Nest
Hallway: OC-123, Bavarian Cream
Flooring
Dark stained floors
Rugs and Carpets
Living room: Crate and Barrel Pebbles shag rug
Front doorway: FLOR tiles
Window Treatments
Master Bedroom: Restoration Hardware Thai Silk Coffee Banded Drapery
IKEA BOMULL cutains and rods used throughout
Sheers from Bed Bath and Beyond used throughout
Bed
Crate and Barrel Tate queen bed
Amenity duvet cover
Ralph Lauren sateen sheets and pillow cases
Room and Board memory foam mattress
Artwork
Silk screen, pattern print on ultra suede bought at an artist open house in SF
CHROMAsome photography project (hallway) by George Aye
Living room photography by George Aye
Bird mirrors, Index Book, Barcelona
(Thanks, George & Sara!)
Images: Evan Thomas