Uncategorized

Oh, The Mod-est Room You’ll See

No, this is not an IKEA showroom. It belongs to one lucky girl with loving and talented parents.

By Christal Y. July 1, 2015

My husband, Patrick, a graduate student in economics and myself, Petra, a Hungarian designer/educator bought a 1920’s condo in the Lakeview area of Chicago in 2012 that needed a complete interior update. It is a top floor condo and we both fell in love with the amount of light and open views it gets from three unobstructed exposures. When our daughter, Vera May, was born, I thought for a long time about how to decorate her city bedroom. I ended up relying on the opportunities our environment held for us! I created a mural wrapping on all four walls of her room by "bringing neighboring buildings in" (in a way you would see it through the walls). I tailored the design to her current eye level, of course! I enjoyed adding details like our neighbors sailing boat to the lake that reminds us on good times. The whole design was "drawn" on the wall using three widths of painters tape. I also painted some of the furniture pieces such as the IKEA drawers she has for her toys. Other furniture pieces were hand me downs and some items were found at flea markets. We bought the carpet from Land of Nod. It looks like it would have been created the same way as the wall graphics!

Throw in a vintage television set and a box of French macaroons, even Wes Anderson himself would probably ask to be invited to Vera May’s tea party. Decorated by mom designer, Petra, this upstairs 1920s Chicago bedroom combines the views of the neighborhood with modern art right onto the walls. Can you believe all it took was tape, paint and easy to find furniture? Read on to see how this unbelievably simple idea came to life.

Who doesn’t love a good “before” photo? This was Vera May’s room before the transformation – see how even a color change as simple as white walls brighten and liven up the entire space.

Petra used painter’s tape to “bring the neighboring buildings in.” The buildings were drawn from her little girl’s eye level so that the transition, from outside the window to on the wall mural, would be seamless. She even included little details, like their neighbors sailing a boat to the lake, to really make this room a storybook come true.

We love how the painted drawers add a third dimension. Sourced from a variety of places like IKEA and flea markets, the mod furniture matches the wall art down to the very last square.

Light pink, green and grey – these colors will brighten up even the coldest Chicagoan winter day. With an abundance of natural sunlight, Vera May’s room is a pastel perfect combination of modern art and DIY love.

Thank you Petra for sending this in! “Like” this post if you love this adorable room as much as we do.

— Christal Yuen