If you know me at all you probably know that my fiancé and I spent the last year in a living hell of an apartment on the North Side of Chicago. Not that the location itself was bad, just the thinness of the walls in combination with a close proximity to at least 6 college boys. And while moving in these uncertain times seemed a little daunting at first, there really wasn’t another option for us. So we moved…again.
Our new building is in the Lakeshore East neighborhood, right in the heart of the city. It is close enough to walk to work(if we ever stop working from home) which is a really nice option considering we aren’t keen on public transportation right now. The place has come together nicely incredibly quickly and it already feels like home! The best part is not constantly being on edge for the ever-present fear of electronic bass vibrating the walls and reverberating down your spine at all hours of the night. Did I mention we had horrible neighbors at the last place?
When you walk in the main living, dining and kitchen spaces are all open to one another. One of the first things we did after we moved in was hang the artwork on the walls to give the space a comfortable feeling.
Since the kitchen is a little smaller than what we are used to, the bar cart was a late addition to accommodate our alcohol and coffee while the overflow pantry items are stored in the large front hall closet. So far that’s working out nicely, and doing the dishes never feels like a chore when you get to admire the view of the lake from the windows.
Off the main living area is one of my favorite spaces in the apartment. I love sitting out on the balcony in the morning to have breakfast and get ready for the day. The view is amazing, spanning from Lake Michigan to The Bean at Millennium Park. We are actually 40 floors up so it took us both a few weeks to adjust to living so high.
I spend a lot of time in the smaller of our two bedrooms. Dubbed ‘the office’ or ‘hobby room’ this is my work from home space while Shane takes the kitchen table. I recently purchased the HobbyBox from CreateRoom and have to say it the best piece of furniture I own. There is plenty of room for all of my art/craft supplies and I get so inspired having all of my tools just inches away from me all day. I love the organization it brings plus it folds up into a stylish cabinet when I’m not using it.
The room is very multipurpose as it also houses Shane’s guitars and keyboard, and serves as both our workout space and library.
The bathroom is decently sized for two people to share. Because the only storage solution was under the sink we purchased a small white cabinet to store extra towels, soaps and things.
In the master bedroom we decided to ditch the dresser and use the record player console we already had for the TV. This worked out fine because the walk in closet was big enough to hold a makeshift dresser and all of our clothes. The nightstands we ordered from Target, and the Harry Potter artwork is from our trip to the UK. We still have to figure out lighting in the master bedroom as the mismatched lamps currently in there are temporary solutions.
At this point there are still a few more art pieces to hang and a couple of items to find a home for, but overall it is very close to being a finished living space. I absolutely love it!