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Things I Love – #23
These are items I purchased and love in our Chicago apartment’s Master Bedroom. As I’ve mentioned before, we put together our Chicago apartment very quickly, so you’ll see I purchased furniture mainly from a few stores I have used before (and where we happen to have designer discounts.) Over time I’ve added in accent pieces that are a little more unique. My current project is to add artwork in the apartment hall and guest bedroom. (Click on the photos or blue words below for more information.)
West Elm Grid Tufted Tapered Leg Bed in Stone Twill – I really like having an upholstered headboard for reading in bed and I like the clean lines of the tapered legs.
West Elm Upholstered Bed Leesa mattress (original) – This is an incredibly comfortable memory foam mattress. We actually look forward to our stays in Chicago just to sleep on this mattress. Note: The original Leesa mattress is currently on sale.
Leesa Mattress West Elm Penelope Grand nightstands – I love the combination of wood and marble; and it’s the perfect size.
Penelope Grand Nightstand Zippered Mattress Protector – This prevents any sweat, dirt, mites, etc. from getting into your mattress which means your mattress is not only cleaner, but should last longer.
Mattress Protector Bamboo Mattress pad – A hypoallergenic, cooling, plush mattress pad.
Mattress Pad Pottery Barn Morgan sheets – These 400-thread-count organic cotton sheets are luxurious and they get softer with every wash.
Morgan Sheets in Twilight Buffy comforter – Another great find that is making its way onto every bed we own. This comforter is made from Eucalyptus and plastic bottles. And, it’s naturally resistant to dust, mites and mold.
Buffy Cloud Comforter West Elm organic cotton duvet – You definitely want a duvet cover for you comforter so you don’t have to clean your comforter as often. The exact duvet we have is no longer available, but I have the style below on our guest bed and I love it.
West Elm Cotton Pintuck Duvet Pottery Barn Velvet Quilt – The navy velvet is a nice contrast with all of the lighter colors and fabrics. Bonus: It also coordinates with the navy accents in the living room and kitchen. When you have a small space, it’s nice to tie it together with repeating colors. (The exact quilt picture below is no longer available, but Pottery Barn has several velvet quilts. I recently purchased this velvet quilt for our house in Saint Paul.)
Pottery Barn quilt Gray Malin art – I’ve shared this photo on my blog before… I own several of Gray Malin’s photos and this one just makes me happy.
Gray Malin Color Balloons I Navy & gold Safavieh lamps – These lamps tie together the navy quilt and the gold hardware on the nightstands. (This exact style is no longer available, but Overstock has many other navy lamps available.)
Safavieh Lamps Leather catch-all – My husband needs a place to empty his pockets at night so I found this cute holder on Amazon.
Leather catch-all If you have any favorite bedroom pieces (furniture, sheets, art work, etc.) please share in the comments.
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Things I Love – #10
All of these items are in our Chicago high-rise apartment, which I chose to furnish in a Mid-Century modern style. This is a very different style from the more traditional furniture in our 100+ year old house in Saint Paul, but I really love it. Since I was setting up this apartment quickly, you’ll see a majority of the furniture is from West Elm. Our company works with West Elm on the commercial furniture side so I was familiar and comfortable with the quality of their furniture. (Click on the photos below for more information.)
Overstock Safavieh Hudson Diamond Trellis Shag Rug I have several Safavieh shag rugs in our Saint Paul home. I love the feel and quality… and the price! This 9′ x 12′ neutral rug helped to define the living room space and really pulls the room together. (Don’t forget a quality rug pad will make even the most inexpensive rug feel luxurious.)
West Elm Urban Sofa in distressed velvet ink blue This is the first time I’ve selected a couch with color, but the ink blue really comes off as a neutral in the space without being boring. The back of the couch is low so it doesn’t block the view and if you remove the two back cushions, it’s wide enough for a make-shift guest bed.
West Elm Lucas Leather Swivel Chair in saddle The Lucas is a classic chair. After I ordered these chairs I noticed them everywhere, including the shared game room space at our Chicago apartment building and in several building lobbies. You can order it with stationary legs, but we love the swivel because we can easily swing around to view the Chicago skyline.
West Elm Mid-Century Pop-Up Storage Coffee Table in walnut This is a beautiful table with both wood and marble. It’s also practical because a portion of the table lifts up for hidden storage and for working on a laptop while sitting on the couch. (see below)
West Elm Mid-Century Tripod Floor Lamp A simple modern lamp that adds light but doesn’t distract from the rest of the room.
West Elm Retro Tripod Nesting Tables Two great tables that I actually separated in the living room. They’re just the perfect size for a beverage and appetizer plate.
West Elm Mid-Century Buffet, Acorn Our TV is mounted over this storage piece. It’s perfect for storing miscellaneous items like our laptops, extra blankets and paperwork.
Our Chicago living room. Modern Hanging Mirror from West Elm, Roman Numeral Wall Clock from Etsy, pillows from West Elm and Restoration Hardware. 
Our Chicago kitchen. Due to limited space, we chose to have counter seating and not a dining room table. The four Jones counter height stools in Blue Antique Stripe are from Pottery Barn. The sign is custom from Smallwood Home. 
The morning view from the Lucas chairs. 
The night time view. What do you think of the Chicago apartment? Would you like to see the bedrooms? Comment below.
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Expanding to Chicago
I haven’t posted anything on my blog in several months, so I want to share what’s been happening in our lives. My husband, John, and I have owned a commercial office furniture dealership in the Twin Cities for over 20 years. Earlier this year we were asked by our main manufacturer to open a second location in Chicago. After much discussion about how much time we would need to spend in Chicago getting things up and running, John and I decided to rent an apartment in Chicago for 12 months. We both love Chicago and are very excited to have the opportunity to spend more time there.
For two months, I was glued to my computer searching for, reviewing and prioritizing apartment rentals. Renting an apartment has gotten a lot more complicated since our last apartment 30 years ago. First, there are multiple listing sites and not every apartment lists on every site. Second, brokers create bogus addresses to get you to contact them instead of the management company at the apartment building. We did end up working with a broker, but I still checked all of the rental listing sites instead of relying on the one site the broker company utilized. The nice thing about working with a broker when you’re moving into a new city is they set up all of your showings on the days you will be in town and they will give you information about each apartment and the surrounding area (e.g. the nearest grocery store, bus line, access to the L, crime, etc.)
In July, we toured ten apartments, but we were disappointed with the layout or dated décor in all of them. We got lucky on our eleventh and final apartment. It was a new building with the exact floorplan we wanted, great appliances, wood floors, granite countertops, lots of windows and a wonderful location. Our apartment is in River North less than a mile from Michigan Avenue and the Riverwalk but next to a quiet, residential neighborhood and park. It’s also three short blocks from the L and only one stop from the Merchandise Mart where our new office is temporarily located.
After we signed a lease, I spent a week laying out furniture, finalizing fabrics and finishes, and placing orders. A few items like the couch and barstools took 6 – 8 weeks so everything needed to be ordered ASAP to meet our August 31stmove in date. Fortunately, we already had a relationship with an installation company in Chicago who has a large warehouse space and agreed to take delivery and store our furniture until we moved in.
Luckily for us, my parents agreed to come to Chicago and help us move in. We flew in early on August 31stto finalize paperwork, complete a walk-through and start moving in. In addition to the four of us, the installation company sent four guys to deliver and help assemble our furniture. By the end of the first day we were exhausted, but we had beds to sleep in and most of the apartment (including the kitchen – thanks to my Mom!) was set up. We spent the rest of the weekend shopping for accessories, hanging artwork and exploring Chicago with my parents.
We have been back to Chicago approximately every 10 days since we moved in and it’s so nice to have a place to call home instead of living in hotel rooms. This expansion is exciting, exhausting, exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. And having two homes is sometimes just downright confusing. There’s nothing quite like waking up during the middle of the night and thinking “which city am I in?”
