The GREAT Brick Wall

I currently live in a loft, I say currently because I'm moving soon and I'm so depressed I can't even bear to talk about it right now... The building is an old printing press in Chicago's Historic Printer's Row. I absolutely LOVE it. I have 12 ft (maybe 14...) ceilings, exposed brick, timber ceilings, 8ft windows, and my own vault! :)

My apartment used to be the office so I have a very large walk-in closet that is completely concrete (and a fabulous storage space...it's the length of the brick wall you're seeing) I only wish they would have left the old vault door on. Now that would have been ahhmazing.

I wanted to do something on the brick wall that juts out from the vault. It's such a large space and the brick is a beautiful color and it really grabs your attention when you walk in. Problem was, I didn't know what to do with all that space. So I looked for inspiration from Crate & Barrel, CB2, Ikea, West Elm, and numerous design magazines. Only problem is everything I wanted was $$$$. I just graduated law school so naturally the only $ I have is in student loans ;) I made the best of what I could with things I found and received from all over.

Here's a shot of the wall from the front entrance (a quick peek at my apt too)



The frames are all different shapes and sizes and have come from Ikea & Hobby Lobby. The console table (that I just adore) was a floor sale at Crate & Barrel. It's the Aldo Console table. I got it for $199 from $600, SCORE! Its sister side table is next to my chaise...$99 from $250!



The pictures are from all over. 3 prints I picked up of Firenze when I lived there. A shadow box filled with the business cards of my favorite Florentine restaurants. Another shadow box with wired flowers from Chait Gallery in Iowa City, IA


(artist is Justine T. Zimmer http://www.thegalleriesdowntown.com/dynamic/artwork_display.asp?ArtworkID=6786)

And of course the pictures are from favorite memories of mine. Blizzard in Denver with a dear friend, Antigua with my random roommate from college (still best friends!!), a kiss with my grandma from when I was 2...ah, memories. It's what I like to call a happy wall. I always stop, look and feel complete.

My bamboo plant is a recent gift from my attorney Uncle who gave it to me as good luck for the bar exam. It's in the shape of a triangle, so 3x the luck. I NEED IT!

The beaded bowl is where I toss a little bit of everything. Mostly my keys but you'll find hair ties, pens, stamps in there.

The glass box to the right of the middle is another fave of mine. A gift from the friend (in the blizzard pic) from the Denver Artisans Center. It's truly beautiful and the glass work is phenomenal. I put a picture from my trip to Prague in the holder on the top. It's a box for any and everything...and b/c it's mine it's full of RANDOM junk (of course I cleaned it out for you guys hehe)



Then I have my art books. I wish I could have 1,000 coffee table books. I love art. I love going through the pages and just staring. I got these books at the Printer's Row Book Fair which is a treat itself. Didn't pay more than $14 for any of the books!




So tell me, how do you like to decorate? What's your style? I feel mine is ever changing and as I stumble across many of the blogs on here I'm in awe and intimidated by the creativity that's out there. A lot of you have an eye for design that I would KILL for! Now I just need to keep a running tab of all your smart DIYs and goodies that you find and implement them into my space. Like I said, my apt is always changing and I never really know what I want.

'Til next time!