Interior designer Shelby Girard has lived in this apartment in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago for only 11 months. When she moved in, she immediately loved the great natural light, high ceiling and open kitchen. Because of the orientation of the apartment, you can see both the sunrise and sunset in the space. Shelby works for an interior design start-up, Havenly, that offers accessible and affordable design services. And she put her budget decorating skills to work when it came to decorating this space. The apartment is a blend of new and old with a lot of DIY thrown in. Shelby says that she always tries to curate meaningfully and bring in things that are practical but beautiful. She doesn’t like superfluous decoration so tries to incorporate objects that have either a personal history or are found or reclaimed. The result is a modern home that feel personal and warm. And thanks to Joshua Clark for the lovely photos! Image above: This is where we lounge. The sofa and Arco lamp are from a super discount furniture warehouse in Illinois.

The tables are from T.F.A. in St. Louis. The pillows are from West Elm and CB2, and the rug is from Ebay. My grandfather Frank Girard was an artist and most of the artwork in our apartment is his. This one, called White Relief, won first place in the 1964 Missouri Art Show. Image above: Above our bed is another Frank Girard abstract. This one was hanging outside at my grandparents home for years so is a bit “rustic.” The black and white throw blanket and pillows are IKEA, as are the nightstands which I stained and updated with Anthropologie knobs. The lamps originally had white shades I painted black and the bases I made from fabric. See more of this Chicago home after the jump! Image above: The dining table is made from a cedar door that was in the attic of my parent’s old home. The table legs are IKEA and the dining chairs are Room and Board. I love how our kitchen is open to the rest of the living area since I do a lot of cooking. Image above: This giraffe has been hit with a lot of cooking grease.

The print is by Sharon Montrose from The Animal Print Shop. The ikat patterned bowls are Anthropologie and the fabric around the planter is an old tapestry. Image above:  The mason jar and copper vases are from my dad’s farm. Image above: Another one of my grandfather’s paintings hangs above our kitchen peninsula. The marble board is from Home Goods and the bowl holding lemons is Nate Berkus for Target. That’s me drinking coffee out of my favorite mug. Image above: We turned the second bedroom into a studio space since we are both designers. The cowhide is from Ebay. Image above: The acrylic shelves are from the Container Store and are displaying a collection of models made by ch. The lamp is from Brownstone Antiques in Chicago and has been painted black and gold. Image above: The antique mirrors are two of my favorite items in our home and I love how they reflect the artwork on the facing wall. They are both from Treasure Aisles Antique Mall in St. Louis.

The TV stand is IKEA and the vertical shelf is from CB2. Image above: The bull skull is from Woolly Mammoth Antiques and Oddities in Chicago. The branding iron was a gift. Image above: The bird is another Sharon Montrose print. We picked up the white quartzite on a hike near Taliesin West in Arizona. Image above: We designed and made our bed frame ourselves with wood and stain from Home Depot, mid-century legs from Etsy and antique hardware.decorate your room like tumblr Image above: My Dad bought a bust of Robert E. Lee at an auction thinking it was Sigmund Freud. wedding ideas for a budgetNow he wears my necklaces. dining room decor on a budget

The dresser is from the Miriam Foundation in St. Louis and the artwork is by my grandfather Frank Girard. Image above: We made this lamp from old photography monopods and an IKEA lampshade. The artwork is by my grandfather. Image above: The bathroom towels are from Home Goods and the wall paint is Sherwin Williams Gray Clouds. Image above: The mugs are Anthropologie. christmas tree decorations for birdsThe bird is another Sharon Montrose print, and the print of the girl is by my good friend Morgan Levy, a very talented photographer.what are the best colors to paint the exterior of a house Image above: The wall paint in the living room, bedroom, and studio is Glidden Bright White.christmas decorations buy online uk

We Are Design InsideLuxurious yet approachable interior designers and decorators in Chicago, Milwaukee and Online. Why You Need an (Approachable) Interior DesignerWe are Design Inside, an approachable interior design firm that designs beautiful homes in Chicago and Milwaukee. We focus in taking your boring living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom or any other room of your home that you aren’t loving anymore and turn it into a space that you will love for many years to come. If you are ready to finally ditch that worn out sofa from college or the builder basic countertops that came with the bathroom in your new home, you have come to the right place. Let our experienced team of interior designers guide you through the interior design, remodeling and decorating process to make sure that your project ends up looking great with the least amount of frustration along the way. Recent Interior Design Projects in Chicago, Milwaukee and OnlineWe love helping our customers dream, design and implement new rooms for their home that not only make them happy but make them want to be in that space as much as they can.

Here is a small sampling of our 200+ projects that we have completed over the past few years. Let Us Help You Out Let’s face it, its a bit intimidating to bring someone into your home and help you select a new sofa or design an entirely new kitchen. It’s crucial that the final space is liked by everyone in the house, fits your needs, your budget and looks great! We can help you out for a few hours with our hourly design sessions, or a few months with our design projects. Whatever path you choose, we will be there to help make the home decorating and renovation process is as easy as possible. Are you are planning on spending a few hundred dollars picking paint for your home, or, a few thousand dollars renovating the entire place? We can help make sure that you use your budget wisely so you can have the home you always dreamed of. How It WorksOur interior designers and decorators can help transform your space into what you have always wanted. Because homes come in all shapes and sizes, we have a variety of offerings to help you along the interior design process.

One of our designers will come to your home in the Chicago or Milwaukee metropolitan area to help you out first hand.  We have a variety of design, construction and decorating packages available to make sure that you get the right amount of help for your project. If you don’t live in the Chicago or Milwaukee area, you can work with our talented designers remotely to address your specific design needs.  Unlike other online design firms, our designers are trained employees of Design Inside, not subcontractors. Reviews and TestimoniesWe have helped hundreds of customers just like you with their home design and decorating projects. Here are a few online reviews from our past customers. I can’t say enough good things about working with Bill and Katy. I hired them about 4 years ago for work on my master bed and bath, and then 2 years later for the rest of my place. They did fantastic work, and I continue to get compliments on my place… people are surprised that a single guy living alone can have such a nice place.

Almost offensively so, now that I think about it. We worked with Kathryn Cherne and it was a great experience! She was able to listen to our ideas and incorporate our design style into the color choices. A Big Yelp Woohoo! As good as it gets!The only downside is I have to fess up to receiving help from Design Inside when I get compliments from my friends…Thanks Kathryn and everyone at D.I.!!!! Kathryn and Bill are the house therapists and they can help you get your stuff together in a non-threatening way. They are really nice, down to earth people, not stuck up designers who only work in certain zip codes.  They never made me feel bad and I was really inspired to start working on my place. I really can not speak highly enough of not just their design work but the designers as people.  Emails at all hours of the day/night are common because they will do what it takes to meet a deadline.  They will also do whatever it takes to get the project completed – no matter what it means.

We contacted Design Inside because we were having difficultly picking out colors for our new condo.  We had never used a designer before and after using them I will call them any time we need any major work done.  They exceeded our expectations in every way and did a great job of finding out what our style was before they even started working. Interior design can be one of the more overwhelming things in life…I’ve heard so many horror stories about decorators not worrying about how much you spend and just rushing through the job. Design Inside was NOT like this at all! From start to finish the Design Inside team has an incredible design style, is very very respectful of budget and are great communicators. I personally really enjoy interior design and the team worked with my tastes and opinions very openly, a great experience. I will work with Design Inside again in the future, there’s no doubt. Abigail was fantastic to work with and helped pick all my paint colors!