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News and Trends in the World of Interior Design and Home Remodeling
Top Condo Interior Design Trends in Chicago
As one of the premier design spots in the States (and the rest of the world) Chicago leads where others follow. So, when it comes to the top interior design trends for condos in Chicago, the world sits up and takes notice. Without further ado, let’s take a look at what is trending right now - Jewel toned walls and furnishings When you are looking for some style and class, turn to the jewels! Think of the way jewels accentuate your outfit when you step out on the town. Jewel tones in the home...
Top Kitchen Tile Trends for 2019
Making the Most of Space If you only have a small area to cover, then using large tiles make the job cumbersome and means you’ll have to cut just about every tile you place. Hard work! But we can make things easier if we just take a step back and consider what we are doing. Smaller rectangular shapes in sizes such as 2x12 are ideal to make a small space like a backspash not only look fab but a breeze to redecorate. The eye is always drawn to the sink when you walk into a kitchen. If you want...
How to Pick a Great Chicago Interior Designer
After so many design awards and accolades, we are proud to be among the best interior designers Chicago has to offer. Experience has taught us that clients who put in the time up front and find the right match are much more likely to be happy with their design services - and with their end product. Here's a list of tips to help choose the right interior design firm for you. 1. Personality First Find a person you like, trust, and feel comfortable with. Designers vary widely in personality and...
4 Custom Built-In Painting Ideas for Your Space
Custom built-ins and bookcases are a natural focal point in a room. They take up a significant amount of space as well as store and display many of your items. Why not take advantage of that fact? Updating with a simple coat of paint can make a huge impact, completely changing the look of your entire room. Here are 4 painting options that will transform your subtle shelving to something more colorful and bold without breaking the bank. Source 1. Bold Painting the back of your shelving is an...
Dramatic Chicago Home Interior Design Remodel
If you needed some convincing that a whole home interior design remodel is worth it, look no more. These Chicago home owners went for a whole-house renovation, and the results are stunning! Keep reading to see the before and after pictures, and click here to view a virtual home tour. The initial home was dated, dark, and needed a lot of help. Old and worn carpet, damaged walls, you name it. The staircase was completely rebuilt, and windows added into the living space. A ghastly window...
Kitchen Renovation Inspiration! Contemporary & Clean in Chicago
Peruse photos of a newly finished kitchen renovation project from the Habitar Design team! This client wanted a contemporary, clean feel to their galley style kitchen. Though the kitchen layout for galley kitchens are essentially one long corridor, a luxurious and spacious overall look and feel was achieved. Warm and natural materials, open dining areas at each end, and a limited color palette all worked together beautifully. You'll notice that the custom cabinetry (by our sister company...
Elegant Kitchen & Bath Renovation for a Chicago Gold Coast High-Rise
Whether your home renovation is in Chicago or elsewhere, it often helps to spend time looking at before and after renovations in other people’s homes. You can get a sense for the possibilities in your own kitchen or bath, see fixture and tiles being used in real settings, and get inspired! Keep reading for floor plans and photos detailing this Gold Coast high-rise renovation. The Context Located in the Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago, this high-rise home got a complete makeover. The couple...
Incredible Modern Kitchen Renovation in a Chicago Home
You won’t believe this incredible modern kitchen renovation! Our design team worked collaboratively with our sister company over at Stratagem Construction to create this amazing transformation. An Older Home with Several Issues This particular kitchen was in a much older home in Chicago’s Evanston neighborhood. After some serious problem-solving, they opened up a previously awkward space and created something fresh, clean, and modern for the homeowners. As an older home, there had been several...
Have a Little Space? Top Tips from Karl Sponholtz, Senior Interior Designer
Designing and choosing furniture for a little space can be challenging. Whether it’s a smaller apartment, small living space, or even a tiny home, your decor choices can make a big impact on whether your room feels cozy (great!), or claustrophobic and cramped (not so great). Karl Sponholtz, one of our team’s interior designers, was recently featured in the news! Together with Angie's List Founder, Angie Hicks, the interview focused on designing for a little space. Check out the video below,...
Contemporary Bathroom Remodel: Stunning Before & After Photos
You won’t believe this bathroom remodel transformation! We recently renovated this bathroom for homeowners in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood. They wanted a fresh, contemporary master bath to enjoy. The original bathroom was outdated, dark, and generally needed attention. As a result, the design changed dramatically. Here are the highlights of what we did for our clients: First, we switched around the layout completely The older toilet and vanity sink were replaced with contemporary...
How Much Does a Home Renovation Cost? A Comprehensive Guide to the Process From a Chicago Interior Design Company
Home renovation cost isn’t money out the window. In fact, it can be the opposite. Think of home improvement as a long term investment, and you will reap the benefits. Working with a reputable interior designer and home remodeling company helps!. Keep reading, and you’ll be guided through the interior design and construction process and costs, from start to finish. First, what are two main benefits to home remodeling? Benefit #1- Increase Your Quality of Life You’ll improve and customize your...
Remodeling Your Kitchen? These are Key Guidelines for Kitchen Island Design
Kitchen remodeling can be a bit of a nerve-wracking puzzle, especially when considering all the possibilities you can add—even just to a kitchen island. There’s so many ideas, how do you begin to choose? We’re a team of interior designers in Chicago with plenty of experience under our belts. You may have read our article on how to choose a kitchen island design based on seating, and if you keep reading here, you’ll learn some important guidelines when considering walkway spaces, overall flow,...
Kitchen Island Seating: How to Choose the Perfect Design for Your Remodel
Ah, kitchen island design. If you’re remodeling your home, it’s the perfect time to make a big design change in your kitchen layout. Out of a whole WORLD of ways to incorporate islands into kitchen designs, which seating option should you go with? Will you like it? Feeling a little trepidation, maybe? Don’t worry—you’re in luck, because we curated our favorite kitchen island design and countertop seating ideas. Read on to find out our top 3 picks! Plus, get some inspiration from kitchen...
This Beautiful Chicago Home Renovation Will Make Your Jaw Drop
Sometimes, a partial home renovation isn’t enough. And in this case, these Chicago homeowners invested in an entire home remodeling that completely transformed a standard two flat building into a beautiful house—a well designed, dream home that will last well into the future. With a fresh, open layout (we even moved the staircase!), custom kitchen cabinets, and so many perfect details to enjoy, this home is now worth far beyond the cost of renovation and the original house value. Now, let the...
Should You Choose Open Shelving in a Kitchen Design?
Kitchen renovation and design can be intimidating—and exciting! Open shelving is a big trend, which you already know if you've been searching for dream kitchen ideas. Should you go for it? As an experienced home remodeling company in Chicago, we have quite a few luxury kitchen designs under our belt that take full advantage of floating shelves. Keep reading our top 5 reasons to choose open kitchen shelves! Plus, real-world inspiration from our own design portfolio. #1 Get a Bright & Airy...
6 Kitchen Updates to Maximize your Home Value
Selling your house? Or perhaps your new kitchen leave a lot to be desired? Maybe you’re thinking of remodeling the kitchen to maximize resale value, but have no idea where to start. Read on for six simple, but effective, kitchen updates that won’t cost a bundle and will make buyers go “wow!”. Paint Your Cabinets This kitchen update probably has the most dramatic bang for the buck. Cabinet wood varieties and stain colors go out of style but a good coat of paint erases all that. Combined with...
Bold, Blue Bathroom with Hand-Painted Fireclay Tiles
Sometimes all you need is a bold tile pattern to make your space truly unique. For this Chicago bathroom remodel, our homeowners were not afraid to go nautical. Designer Kapan Shipman went all in, using Mayan Blue Fireclay tiles in Ogee Teardrop and Half Offset patterns. We love getting the chance to work with Fireclay; their tiles are absolutely gorgeous and each one is hand crafted and painted in California. It may take a little longer to produce, but the results speak for themselves.
Pros & Cons of the Top 5 Kitchen Layouts
What kitchen layout will you love? When preparing for a kitchen remodel, there's lots more to consider besides "do you like to cook" A good kitchen remodel not only plans for homeowner usage but considers existing plumbing and piping layouts, foot track, and effective storage solutions. By carefully planning a new layout, or making existing changes to your current layout, you can drastically cut down on costs, while still getting the kitchen of your dreams. Today, we are running through the...
Before & After: Fun, Contemporary Home Makeover
Chicago is a wonderful city with incredible, historic architecture, but oftentimes these old buildings have dated interiors that desperately need a facelift. So when Paolo Presta, host of the delightfully fun web-series, A Spoonful of Paolo, and his husband and Executive Producer, Patrick Thomassie, relocated from LA to Chicago they wanted to something contemporary and fun, without losing that old Chicago charm. Our designer, Hannah Tindall, was up to the task! To match Paolo and Patrick's...
Styling (Not Stuffing) Your Built-In
At Habitar Design we create and build some extraordinary custom built-ins and shelving for our clients. And after we're done, they always ask, now what? So we brought in our designer, Mackenzie Cain, to give us 3 simple tips for keeping your built-in shelving chic, stylish, and useful. 1. Books Books are probably the biggest culprit when it comes to overstuffing your built-in. Moderation and style is key. Place your larger books on the shelves first, spacing them out across the built-in and...
Add Some Polish with Trim & Panel Moulding
Wainscoting, panel molding, chair rails...homeowners tend to use these words interchangeably, but the overall result is the same, bringing elegance and sophistication to your home. Wainscoting and other wall panels were originally designed and used as wall protection to bring warmth to cold stone walls. Today, panelling comes in all shapes, sizes and styles. You may be familiar with more traditional home wainscoting, but as you'll see in the photos below, trim and panel moulding can easily...
Stain Removal: An After-Party Guide
The holidays are upon us, and that usually means a house full of guests and house full of mess! If you woke up this morning with red wine stains on your brand new, white Karastan carpet, you're in luck. We've compiled the ultimate guide to getting rid of common party stains below. But cheer up, if none of these work you could always redecorate... Red Wine Oh red wine stains, you are the bane of all interiors! The number one thing to remember with this type of stain is to catch it early, keep...
Take the plunge into 2018 with Ultra Violet
Are you bold enough to go purple? Or better yet, Ultra Violet! It's officially been named the color of 2018 by PANTONE, the world's "authority on color." So what does this mean for interior design? If you're feeling bold grab a paint can and go wild. Ultra violet is an adventurous color with luxe connotations. An ultra violet couch or wall will make a statement in any room. Pair it with gold velvets and funky teals for a glam look. Or make it modern with bright whites and clear acrylic...
Go Minimal for the Holidays!
If lugging a bunch of garland, blinking lights and ribbons into your house is giving you panic attacks this year, go minimalist! Simple, stylish holiday decor doesn't have to be boring, either. Check out our inspiration and tips to cut the clutter and keep your home stress-free this season. Simple wreaths & garlands. Using a single strand of garland, or even faux garland, cuts down on messy needles and makes a sleek statement in your entranceway, stairwell or walls. Pick one color. All the...
Pros & Cons of Top Cabinet Finishes
Cabinet finishes are one of the most visible design decisions in any kitchen remodel. There are so many different lacquers, paints, and glosses it can quickly overwhelm homeowners looking to update their space. Don't fret! Our Construction Project Manager, Nick Reidel, gives us some handy tips on the 4 most common types of cabinet finishes: Painted with Pre-Catalyzed Lacquer If you want a lacquer thats strong and durable, but still looks great, then pre-catalyzed lacquer is a great option....
All About Kitchen Cabinets
Cabinets are one of the most visible design decisions in any kitchen remodel. Picking finishes, hardware styles, not to mention storage space, they can quickly overwhelm homeowners looking to update their space. Don't fret! Our Construction Project Manager, Nick Reidel, gives us some handy advice as we lays down the basics of kitchen cabinetry. Picking a size Think about your current kitchen space and how much more or less storage you need. Cabinets can be installed from floor to ceiling to...
Visionary West Loop Loft Remodel
If you've ever seen a Chicago West Loop loft then you're familiar with the standard look; original hardwood flooring, industrial ceiling beams, exposed brick walls and oftentimes dated bathroom fixtures and plumbing. The homeowners had a distinct vision for a clean and open space, while still keeping everything warm and inviting. Designer MacKenzie Cain was able to transform their spacious loft into a comfortable living environment that reflected the homeowners love of travel and contemporary...
Podcast: Interior Design Tips for Your Living Room
We're pleased to announce that one of our designers, MacKenzie Cain was recently featured as a guest on Angie's List "Chat with the Experts Podcast" with Kiel Hauck. Click below to find out what trends are happening in 2017 and how you can better utilize them to redesign your living space! Listen Here >
Habitar Among the Best in the Home Design Industry
Check out some of the recent list we've made. 2016 was an excellent year of rewarding projects, both big and small. A warm thank you to our wonderful clients that make all of this possible. We hope to always provide you with outstanding service and 100% satisfaction. Here's looking forward to what 2017 brings! Top 200 Influencers in the Home Design Industry 2017
The Best Interior Designers in Chicago
120 of the best interior designers were reviewed, and Habitar Design was one of 20 to be featured on this list of top 20 Best Designers in Chicago! Check out the list below. Top 20 Best Interior Designers in Chicago