Welcome to the first home in our new ‘Spacelift’ series on inspiring solutions to folks’ decorating and design conundrums. Read on to learn how the character-lacking ‘before’ dining/living room in Kathryn Price’s Western Springs home became this glossy ‘after.’
Meet: Kathryn Price, 36, a stay-at-home mom of three (ages 2, 3 and 5). Has law degree. Getting her master’s degree in divinity. Believes the home is “a sacred place.” Believes being surrounded by beauty is good for the soul. Loves: thrift shops, flea markets, eBay, the “thrill” of a bargain and the “whole idea of recycling, of giving new life to something.” Obsessed with: decorating magazines, Anthropologie catalogs, mixing old and new, and a look she has heard other people call “French Bohemian.” Feminine, classic, slightly offbeat.
The house: Late 1950s split-level in Western Springs
Confessions: “I never really felt like I had my own sense of style. I know when I see something I like, but I don’t know how” to put it all together in a room.
Bottom line: “I can get a houseful of good junk. I just don’t know what to do with it.”
Enter: Julie DiOrio, 25, a Chicago-based designer. Also a keen “alternative” shopper. Also a lover of vintage. Also allergic to matched sets.
DiOrio on Price: “Kathryn has a good eye. …. She had all these antiques and vintage things … all this cool, eccentric stuff.”
This would include: An old Pottery Barn dining table (found for $200 at an antiques mall); set of four Midcentury Modern dining chairs ($20 at a garage sale); vintage egg prints (about $120 for 20 prints, purchased on eBay).
DiOrio on strategy: Get rid of very little. Instead, repaint, reupholster, rejigger.
The theme: Feminine, pretty, Asian-inspired
Sub-theme: Got to be kid-friendly
The end: “At 36, finally I can say we have an adult house. … It’s so nice to not have this crooked chair that doesn’t really match with that outdated couch. It’s nice to be able to feel that things are actually connected. … Walking into this room makes me feel good every single day.”
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The skinny on the ‘lift’
1. Bought rose-colored silk curtains (108 inches long). “They should always puddle at the bottom. It makes your windows look like they’re wearing short pants if you don’t make the curtains long enough,” Julie DiOrio says.
2. Added trim molding
3. Made rose accent wall
4. Moved thrift shop rhino from atop buffet to this showcase setting
5. Replaced old chandelier with a vintage black one
6. Framed and grouped together vintage Italian prints of saints bought on eBay
7. Splurged on hand-painted wallpaper inspired by chinoiserie
8. Gave Kathryn Price’s table new look with high-gloss gray paint
9. Took Price’s vintage buffet and painted it black
10. Repainted vintage cane-and-straw chair light green and gave it tribal-looking pillow
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* Added crown molding. “It takes the room to the next level,” Julie DiOrio says. “It makes it more elegant and more pulled together.”
* Bought new gray-upholstered sofa
* “I really love having a little table [see glass-top table] in here, just to be able to do work,” Kathryn Price says.
* Recovered vintage side chair with pink faux leather cover
* Painted vintage coffee table high-gloss gray
* Added blue/gray braided rug
* Painted vintage cabinet with bamboo details soft yellow
* “These [art panels above the sofa] were a steal [$125 for the set]. They look like old Asian panels” but are plastic covered in some type of resin that’s been hand-painted,” DiOrio says.
* Framed group of egg prints bought on eBay
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Source details
How the makeover in Western Springs came to be (we included prices when they were particularly stunning):
The pros
Interior design: Julie DiOrio, 773-722-7035, julieldiorio@yahoo.com
Hand-painted wallpaper, furniture painting and other painting: Cathy Murray, 630-989-5571, gunner1383@yahoo.com, cathyscustompainting.com
Living room
Walls: Benjamin Moore Iced Cube Silver No. 2121-50 in a matte finish that is durable and wipes up easily.
Trim work: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace No. 2121-70 in a semi-gloss finish that pops against the matte walls.
Sofa: Rochelle from Crate and Barrel, 800-996-9960, crateandbarrel.com
Black-flowered panels hung behind sofa: $125 for the set at Lincoln Antique Mall, 3115 W. Irving Park Rd., 773-604-4700
Desk/table: Vika Glasholm tempered-glass tabletop with floral design ($79.99) and Vika Lilleby trestle legs ($9 each), which the homeowner painted black, from IKEA, 1800 E. McConnor Pkwy., Schaumburg, 847-969-9700; and 750 E. Boughton Rd., Bolingbrook, 630-972-7900
Egg prints hung over desk/table: Homeowner purchased on eBay, about $120 for 20 prints; DiOrio framed them herself using gold mats and black frames from Hobby Lobby (hobbylobby.com for store locations).
Vintage coffee table: Lincoln Antique Mall, painted Benjamin Moore Steel Wool No. 2121-20 in a durable oil-based paint, high-gloss finish. Caution: Oil-based paints are not for amateurs.
Rose-colored retro chairs: Homeowner’s collection.
Vintage desk chair: Homeowner’s collection, re-covered in pink faux leather.
Vintage etched-glass lamps with silk shades: Homeowner’s collection.
Vintage y ellow cabinet: Lincoln Antique Mall, painted Benjamin Moore Sundance No. 2022-50 in oil-based paint, high-gloss finish.
Braided rug: JC Penney.
Rose-colored silk curtains: About $70 a panel on sale at Linens ‘N Things, 866-568-7378, lnt.com
Black curtain rod: Really a white Shabby Chic rod from Target, spray-painted black, 800-800-8800 for stores.
Dining room
Rose-colored accent wall: Benjamin Moore Rosy Tan No. 2091-50 in a matte finish that is durable and wipes up easily.
Dining table: Homeowner’s collection, painted Benjamin Moore Pewter No. 2121-30 in a durable oil-based paint, high-gloss finish.
Vintage buffet: Homeowner’s collection, painted Benjamin Moore high-gloss black enamel.
Vintage black chandelier with smoky prisms: $250 at Rosebud Antiques, 5349 S. LaGrange Rd., Countryside, 708-352-7673.
Vintage Italian prints of saints (framing the window): Homeowner purchased on eBay, $30 for about 16 prints; DiOrio framed them herself with mats and frames from Hobby Lobby (hobbylobby.com for store locations).
Fireplace
Vintage faux fireplace with faux logs: Rosebud Antiques, 5349 S. LaGrange Rd., Countryside, 708-352-7673, painted Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace, No. 2121-70 semigloss.
Large gold mirror: About $90 at Salvation Army Thrift Shop, 509 N. Union Ave., 312-421-0136.
Black vases/urns: Hobby Lobby, hobbylobby.com for store locations.
Green plants: IKEA, 1800 E. McConnor Pkwy., Schaumburg, 847-969-9700; and 750 E. Boughton Rd., Bolingbrook, 630-972-7900.
— Karen Klages
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kklages@tribune.com
