This Chicago Apartment Shows How to Mix Colorful Collections with Classic Furniture

published now

This Chicago Apartment Shows How to Mix Colorful Collections with Classic Furniture

published now

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About this tour

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Home Type

Apartment

Location

Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois

Style

Contemporary

Eclectic

Bedrooms

Square feet

1500

Sq ft

1500

“Our condo was built in 1935 as rental apartments in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago (on the north side of the city). It was converted to condos about 50 years ago, and boasts a pretty high percentage of long-term residents,” begins Sophie Kihm, a writer and the editor-in-chief of Nameberry.

Credit: Andre Scherding

Sophie describes the living room as a huge space — 21'4'' x 15'9" — so the couple bought a Moroccan rug on Etsy "to ground our primary seating area. The sofa is a vintage Chinese Deco sofa that I had in my house growing up. We recovered it in outdoor fabric (pet safe!) from The Inside. The faces are also from my childhood home. One of my mom's best friends had an art gallery in Chicago (now in Naples, Florida), and he found these heads, which used to top department store mannequins. I love them, and they've had pride of place in every home I've had! The chairs are vintage, from Jacob's family." The poufs are from Fatboy; the box is Jonathan Adler; the side tables are from Heller Furniture; the Chrome lamps are Z Galerie; and the Pendleton blanket was purchased from Hive Modern.

Sophie and her fiancé, architectural designer Jacob McCarthy, have owned this 1500-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment for a year. Jacob and his firm, Misiuna / McCarthy, did the work to bring the old space back to life.

Credit: Andre Scherding

"Our miniature poodle Fendi really has the run of the house," Sophie writes. "We live a 10-minute walk from Jacob's childhood home (and Fendi is BFFs with my father-in-law's dog, Sephora (they both came with these names!)."

“The exterior and interior have slight gothic stylings,” Sophie describes. “Our apartment has recurring arched entries, original trim, and flamed oak doors. We have generously proportioned rooms and ample closet space (that was a deal maker for us!)”

Credit: Andre Scherding

Sophie made the 3'x3' Lego-style portrait using Brix 2 Pix. "It took around 18 hours to assemble. It's one of the most talked about pieces in our home!" she explains. "Both tables in the room were in my childhood home. The large buffet often holds food when we're entertaining. The dining table was my mom's when she was a new college grad. Her subletter put a hot iron directly on the wood, so there was a massive burn on the table my entire childhood (she always covered it with tablecloths). Jacob and I got the table refinished. It cost a fraction of the price of a new table (not to mention, new *solid wood* table) and it's gorgeous now."

"The statue was in Jacob's grandparents' dining room when he was growing up. A few years ago, he connected with the wife of the sculptor, who told him she was the model for the piece. She was friends with Jacob's great-great-grandmother, so the sculptor's wife told him some great stories. The chandelier was the first item we bought for the place. It's HAY, and we liked how it was a more modern take on a traditional form. We have the matching sconces on the side of our fireplace in the living room." The chairs are from DWR.

“The lovely lady who lived here before us owned our condo for over 30 years,” Sophie writes. “The walls were *bright* yellow and she liked French provincial furniture (of large proportions). Some of it was so big, she hoped to leave it behind for us! She did a nice job renovating the kitchen and bathroom about 15 years ago, which gave us a great foundation for updating it ourselves.”

Credit: Andre Scherding

"We love Indian kantha quilts — we were in India in March for a wedding, and kept saying how much the Rajasthani scenery looked like our quilt! We bought the rug from a neighbor who was selling his unit on the opposite side of the courtyard. He was an interior designer and cut the rug to the dimensions of the room. His layout was the same as ours, so we scooped it up for only $50! The art is also from my mom's friend's gallery and hung in my parents' room when I was growing up. The poster showcases the London Guarantee Building in Chicago, which is one of our favorite buildings in the city," Sophie writes. The duvet is from L.L.Bean and the light is from Mitzi.

“Jacob and I have very different personal aesthetics,” Sophie admits. “I love color, pattern, and whimsy, while he’s more of a minimalist (with a penchant for George III furniture). Our styles may seem contradictory, but we’ve found that they can complement each other.”

Credit: Andre Scherding

"This room needed to store all my tchotchkes (erm, collections) and my many many books. It makes for a fun Zoom background. The shelves are CB2, and the desk is Robsjohn Gibbings for Whitticombe. The rug is a 1930s Art Deco Nichols rug that I won at a local auction." The desk chair is Herman Miller, the bookends are from the MOMA store, and the pitcher is Falcon Enamelware.

“We painted all the rooms in our condo a warm white to act as a neutral base for our collections,” she explains. “We opted for classic furniture with clean lines and augmented it with fun patterns and eye-catching colors. Overall, we’d describe our home style as controlled eclecticism.”

Credit: Andre Scherding

The shower curtain and shower curtain hooks are both from Quiet Town. The hand towels are from IKEA. The toothbrush holder is from Haus of London, and the soap dispenser was found on Etsy.

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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