A Southern-Inspired Chicago Apartment

Name: Travis
Location: Lakeview — Chicago, Illinois
Size: 1000 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years, rented

Travis grew up in Louisiana and Texas, but has been living in Chicago for a medical residency for the last couple years. He made sure to bring his southern roots with him in the form of decor.

Travis’s apartment has a sort of dark & gothic feel to it. He attributes this to all the “dead things” around the apartment. He has taxidermy, bones and shells in every room. Many of these things he found in the wild, like the dolphin skull he found on a beach in Galveston, TX, and made a stand for.

Travis made many of the things in the apartment, including all of the paintings but one: the monkey over the piano. He bought that in a thrift store in New Orleans. He describes his paintings as “a bit dark”. He also made the shelving in the bathroom and repurposed the china cabinet in the dining room into a bar area.

My Style: A mix of industrial items with natural elements (ie. dead stuff) that somehow will never fully escape the influences of a Southern Living Magazine. All must be dog proof.

Inspiration: It would be nice if I could name a designer but there isn’t someone I have ever studied or been drawn to so… I would have to say my mother, Nanette, and Grandma, Joyce, who both curated great homes. Additionally, my dad and his fondness of rocks and outdoor activities from my Boy Scout days.

Favorite Element: Each of the paintings I managed to create myself. Often a bit dark and not everyone’s taste but I enjoy them immensely.

Biggest Challenge: Moving many of these items from Texas!

What Friends Say: Most commonly, “Yea, this is about what I pictured it would look like.”

Biggest Embarrassment: Sometimes the dog has an accident on the balcony. (Well, I call it an accident. For him, it was surely what he set out to do out there.)

Proudest DIY: Large Okapi Painting (copy of a Walton Ford that I could likely never afford)

Biggest Indulgence: Monkey painting with hamburger under glass purchased in New Orleans thrift shop. It makes no sense. The only painting in the house I didn’t do.

Best Advice: If you find something you really like, it is worth moving it with you.

Dream Sources: Primitive Chicago. New Orleans Thrift shops including Dop Antiques. Jayson Home.

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