A Light-Soaked Chicago Apartment Went from Gray to Quietly Colorful
“What first drew us in was the neighborhood. It’s quiet and walkable, and being close to our favorite restaurants as well as friends and family made it feel like home,” begins photographer Alexa Viscius, of the apartment her and her partner, Adam Schubert, bought six years ago.
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The space — a 912-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment built around 25 years ago — wasn’t super exciting when they first moved in. Alexa describes it as “very neutral.”
“It was mostly a gray box with minimal detail, but the living room windows were the one element where we immediately saw potential,” she describes of the floor-to-ceiling windows that let in lots of natural light.
But while Alexa says the apartment wasn’t “especially distinctive” when they bought it, “we liked that it felt like a blank slate. That allowed us to slowly shape it into something that reflects how we actually live.”
Alexa and Adam have shared their home with Chicken (the precious 3-year-old white cat) and Birdie (the equally precious 10-year-old gray and white cat. Most recently they added 11-month-old Arthur, their extremely precious son.
Resources
PAINT & COLORS
- All Rooms — Benjamin Moore “Flat White”
- Arthur’s Room —Benjamin Moore “Eggshell” and “Basil Green”
LIVING ROOM
- Couch — Estate Sale
- Mantle Art Piece — Self-made
- Vintage Chrome Candle Sticks — Broadway Antique Mall
- Yellow Tapestry — Alyx Harch
- Orange Spotted Snake Sculpture — Floor Dekkers
- Drawing of Adam and I — Wedding Gift from my Sister
- Chair — Estate Sale
- Light — Hay
- Laminate Coffee Table — Estate Sale
- Pink Chain Lamp — Thrifted
- Rug — Rugs.usa
- Little Brown Milking Stool — Antique
DINING ROOM
- White Laminate Drum Table — Facebook Marketplace
- Dining Chairs — Garage Sale
- Painting — Alyx Harch
- Globe Lamp — Estate Sale
- Curtains — Estate Sale
- Curtain Rod — Home Depot
- Flower Arrangement — Nerine
- Frilly French Glass Lamp Shades — Etsy
KITCHEN
- Coffee Pot — Garage Sale
- Calendar — Designed and Risograph printed by me!
- Paper Chip — Alyx Harch
- Brushed Silver Cow Platter — Modern Drama
- Green Uphaulstered Stool — Estate Sale
- Grass Bunny — Lowes
BEDROOM
- Bed Linens — Brooklinen
- Painting — Daniel Champion
- Dried Flowers — Wedding Bouquet by studio poppy
- Seafoam Vase — Thrifted
- Giant Glass Brick Pedestal — DIY
- Side Table — Vintage by Christian Hallerod
- Ceiling Light — IKEA
- Ceiling Medallion — Home Depot
- Patchwork Bed Spread — Alyx Harch
- Wardrobe — IKEA
- Photo Above Bed — Me!
NURSERY
- Crib — Nestig
- Shelf — IKEA
- Hamburger Bun Feet — Etsy
- Lamp — IKEA with
- Lamp Shade — World Market
- Ceiling Light — IKEA
- Ceiling Medallion — Home Depot
- Ottoman Blanket — Alyx Harch
- Japanese illustration Board — Hanazono Shrine Antique Market
- Checkered Jute Rug — Rugs.usa
- Apple Rug — Revival
- Orange Bedspread — Thrifted
- White Arm Chair — IKEA
- Toy Apple — eBay
- Toy Rocking Horse — Estate Sale
- Red and Blue Pillow — Estate Sale
- Yellow Chair — eBay
- Wooden Chair — Estate Sale
- Apple Print — Enzo Mari
- Black and White Swirl Print — Alexander Calder Lithograph
- Crystal Rock Lamp — Gift
- Vintage Baby Umbrella — Antique Mall
- Bunny Switch Plate — Antique Mall
- Baby Blue Riso Calendar — designed and printed by me!
BATHROOM
- Double Wall Sconce — Etsy
- Sink — eBay
- Haircream — Sparrow for Everyone
- Medicine Cabinet — Kholer
- Cabinet — IKEA
- Flower Painting — Antique
- Abstract Painting — Camilo Medina
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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