Our Style: My husband and I bring different styles that result into what you see in the apartment. Peter has a love for the clean lines and functional design. I’m inspired by a blend of southern and french aesthetic, coming from my family’s cajun french roots.

Inspiration: We’re inspired by a lot of things that end up influencing our taste. It’s a blend really.

Favorite Element: Our favorite element of the apartment is its open layout. A non-negotiable was to be able to entertain in a kitchen that opens to the rest of the common space.

Biggest Embarrassment: Our very full closets.

Proudest DIY: Our proudest DIY project is probably the molding projector frame. It’s simple but does the trick quite well and we love that it uses what was already there to create a new function.

Biggest Indulgence: It’s a toss up between our addiction to Heath Ceramics and just about everything we see at HD Buttercup.

Best Advice: Search craigslist often.

Dream Sources: HD Buttercup

My Style: Elegant Bohemian, hints of global influences from the middle east and Asia. I want a home to have layers, for each object to have some character, and you discover more details the longer you look. I want the well edited home of a traveler. I have not traveled nearly as much as I hope to. I can’t wait to see what my house looks like when I’m 80!

Inspiration: Mohr & McPherson. I have managed the venerable direct import retailer for 15 years. We have shopped in India and China and countless other counties for 20 years. When you see so many beautiful pieces it makes you really think about what is timeless. I love vintage Teak wood cabinets from 1930′s India, natural finish, glass front sliding doors. I love pairing aged Teak’s handsome and understated elegance with a red lacquered and gold painted antique armoire from China. My time ‘shopping’ at Mohr & McPherson is the inspiration behind my new project hosting international trunk shows, A Curated World.

Favorite Element: Having two bedrooms. My screened in back porch is set up with a bed and I often sleep down there on cool summer nights.

Biggest Challenge: That I don’t own the house, and the super ugly wallpaper throughout the hallway and stairwell from the 1st up to the 3rd floor. I didn’t put any nails into it until recently. Now I can’t stop. I just installed a six panel antique Japanese screen. It will cost me a good deal some day, but it is so worth it.

What Friends Say: My new venture, A Curated World, is about telling the stories of your travels through what you bring home. My friends say the space is curated, everything has a history. And It’s a great place to gather, eat, drink and talk. I like to host and I love my always-growing collections of serving pieces.

Biggest Embarrassment: Really it is that every object has a very specific place and position, etc. I could stand to loosen up about that, but I really don’t want to!

Proudest DIY: Hanging art straight and in the right spot on the first try every time! Not kidding, It’s a gift.

Biggest Indulgence: Flowers. I love the smell of Lilies and buy three fresh bunches every Sunday. They last so long that the healthiest overlap so I usually have like five bunches going.

Best Advice: Buy furniture like you would buy art, let it speak to you. If you follow that rule and edit accordingly the pieces you do buy find their place within your collection. A common thread starts to define your taste and it becomes easier to spot what is actually right and not just a fleeting whim. Look for the intrinsic value in something, look for quality craftsmanship because it looks better forever. The details matter. A quality crafted item has a different presence than home furnishings made poorly out of second rate materials.

Dream Sources: Shackleton Thomas in Vermont for Miranda Thomas pottery, the Charles Shackleton desk of my dreams and Juliska glassware. Also pottery by Frances Palmer.

Todd’s longtime girlfriend J.R. recently moved in to the apartment, introducing many playful elements into Todd’s systematic style. Both avid collectors: Todd loves to scour the web and flea markets for memorabilia related to World War II, while J.R. spends her spare time making shadowboxes and terrariums. Her world consists of tiny, delicate things. One trait that J.R. and Todd share is an unparallelled fastidiousness. Looking around their home, everything has its place. From the tiny monster who lives on top of WWII volumes to the angle of the fan near the window, no detail is too small to be overlooked.

Future plans for the apartment include turning the master bedroom into “a cloud”, a floor to ceiling bookcase to house their collections and several kitchen upgrades. With J.R. and Todd at the helm, it’s bound to turn up aces.

My/Our style: Mid-Century/Modern/Industrial…just like everyone else:) We both really like clean lines and for the space to feel open and flow from one room to the next. At the same time we like to incorporate found and industrial type objects. We love to collect a variety of old things and like having them out to see and enjoy on a daily basis.

Inspiration: We love black and white films, Chicago architecture, vintage machines of all types, and museum dioramas and displays. We also get a lot of our inspiration online or from the homes of our friends.

Favorite Element: The high cement ceilings, brick wall, large windows and cement columns are great loft elements we love.

Biggest Challenge: The biggest challenge is picking what project to do next on a budget! We’ve come a long way in a year, but there is still more we’d love to do. Though we have similar design tastes we have different aesthetics: one is a Kubrick-white minimalist while the other, more adventurous in color. So,while we don’t always agree on color or which lamp to buy, we try to hold off until a unanimous decision is made.

What Friends Say: “Wow, this is such a great space!” Everyone so far seems to like our place. We like to show them the pictures as it was when we bought it so that they can see what we’ve done and where we’re going. Many of our friends have taste similar to ours so they dig it.”

Biggest Embarrassment: The carpet in the bedroom. (To be replaced by hardwood; that’s next on the list!) We’re also looking at new kitchen countertops.

Proudest DIY: Todd and a friend of his renovated the bathroom in a few days. When we bought the place it was obvious that nothing had been done to it since the mid 90′s when it was converted from a warehouse into loftominiums. Everything was beige and boring, the bathroom especially. The space was crowded by a enormous, and hideous, double sink vanity and large medicine cabinet. The floors were a very plan, beige colored, tile. We put down new tile, tore out the sink and medicine cabinet and replaced them with two pedestal sinks and separate mirrors. We added baseboards and painted the walls. Finally, he put up a vintage office door with a WC stencil on the glass to the entrance of the bathroom. The sinks alone made a noticeable difference as far as space. The bathroom isn’t completely finished yet, but the few hundreds dollars invested so far have made a huge improvement.

Biggest Indulgence: Professionally installed hardwood floors! Todd DIY’s as much as he can and has gotten a lot of help from friends. That has saved us a lot of money. When we bought the loft, the floors were carpeted throughout with a corporate-office-brown carpet. We knew we wanted hardwood floors but has had no experience in installing them. Todd also didn’t want to be living in dust and clutter for a month while he attempted to put them in. In the end we decided to have the floors installed by professionals. They delivered the floors and had them installed within a few days. It cost more, but we’re glad we took this route.

Best advice: As stated above, when we bought our home it was very dated and boring as could be. The actual space was nice though and we could visualize what it would look like with some color and a little renovation. It would be nice to be able to knock out all of the projects at once and have it exactly as we want it. However, like many people we live on a budget. We can’t do everything at once. Aside from paint, Todd hasn’t even touched our bedroom yet. Our advice to others would be to make a list of what you want to do and then prioritize it. Be patient. We have a long way to go yet, but we’re very happy with what we’ve done so far. Also, look at the little things you could do to make a change. Todd’s first week was spent repainting the walls. That alone made a big difference. Finally, DIY, DIY, DIY!!! Don’t be afraid to try things. Todd’s learned not to touch plumbing or electricity. Aside from that, give it a shot.

Dream source: We have gotten pretty good at searching out items that we like without going to the resale shops and paying the ridiculously huge mark-up price. We would love to find an old factory or warehouse full of untouched tables, lighting, chairs, etc. In lieu of that, we dream of the architecture and design collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and Museum of Modern Art; and Scandinavian flea markets.

Our Style: Wabi sabi — eclectic, industrial, nostalgic

Inspiration: Growing up, my Dutch grandparents would use a word to describe the coziness and good feelings that can come from the home: gezellig. The word translates literally to “cozy” but I understood it as more than that. For both Ben and I, that word has come to describe the vibes we strive for in our home; regardless of what it looks like, we want it to feel good to be in.

Favorite Element: The wide-open space, tall ceilings and sense of freedom paired with more intimate spaces.

Biggest Challenge: Two very different design personalities coming together to cohabitate peacefully.

Biggest Embarrassment: Dust bunnies….They’re prolific little critters!

Proudest DIY: We used to live in an old carriage house in CT with lots of green space to roam and plant a garden. It was a crazy change moving back to the city, but we love our makeshift herb planter. Its not huge, but enough to grow lots of delicious herbs throughout the spring/summer/fall and bring just a bit of the farm life back into our city living.

Biggest Indulgence: Having not one, but two tables by very talented wood worker David Ellison.

Best Advice: Curate your life.

Our Style: Not sure I have a particular “style.” I just buy what I like and it usually fits. Maybe eclectic?

Inspiration: I love reading Swedish design blogs. Everyone seems to know how to decorate in Sweden. I also like some of the British design magazines, they always have something interesting that the American magazines lack.

Favorite Element: The dining room. I feel like a grown up, finally having my own dining room.

Biggest Challenge: Since our flat is over 100 years old, closet space is limited. Creative storage solutions are a must. I have a cupboard in the den that i filled with toys and miscellaneous “junk.” Under the bed storage and wall hooks are great as well.

Also, designing on a budget.

Biggest Embarrassment: Living on the second floor makes window washing difficult. I haven’t figured out how to do it without killing myself, so my windows are filthy. I guess I need to bite the bullet and hire a professional.

Proudest DIY: Our kitchen. We designed it, gutted it and installed it. I like it a lot.

Biggest Indulgence: McRoskey Airflex mattress and boxspring. The most comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on.

Also, fresh flowers.

Best Advice: Edit. Paint can transform any room and it’s cheap.

Dream Sources: Paris flea markets. Amsterdam