At Home With: Kelly and Jeremy in Rogers Park

A few weeks ago I journeyed up to my old ‘hood, Rogers Park, to check out Kelly and Jeremy’s one-bedroom condo.  Kelly is a regular thrifter (she admits to me she hits up the Markham Unique a few times a week) and a pro at shopping Craigslist.  She’s even done sketchy Craigslist furniture buys under highway overpasses at night, and refers to “adventures” she’s had with certain Craigslist finds in efforts to bring them home — like strapping a table to the roof of her car outside a barn in a blizzard.

The thing I like about Kelly and Jeremy’s condo: it’s not your (now becoming) typical run-of-the-mill, mid-century modern inspired vacant looking apartment.  The furniture is big, the knick-knacks are all inspired by the classical civilizations (and phalluses), and, despite it looking super put-together, not a piece of furniture in the entire place was purchased new — except for maybe the stuff Kelly bought in junior high and high school.  Kelly tells me she started decorating at a young age; while other kids saved up their allowance to buy video games and sports equipment, she was purchasing end tables.

I had to laugh when Kelly told me she went through an Americana decor phase in middle school.  I went through a similar stage with Southwestern decor, complete with teal and purple howling coyotes, around the age of 9.  I think those of us with an interest in furniture gravitate toward easily identifiable styles of decor at young ages in an effort to establish an identity, however cringe-worthy it becomes in the future.

The one thing Kelly hasn’t done, despite her uber-thriftiness, is shop estate sales.  She admits to being slightly intimidated and/or creeped out by the process.  I told her I would try and break her of that feeling.

Name: Kelly (and Jeremy) Loris

Occupation: High School Latin teacher (Jeremy waits tables at a restaurant downtown)

Age: 32 (Jeremy’s 35)

Rent or Own?: own for 5 1/2 years

Size of dwelling (square foot): around 700, if we’re lucky

Number of bedrooms: 1

Number of occupants in the dwelling: 2 plus a magnificent peke named Olympia

What do you like BEST about your living space?

The exposed brick. The open layout, which makes it feel bigger than it is. The amount of counter space we have, even though our kitchen is pretty small.

What do you like LEAST?

There’s no in-house washer/dryer. I wish I had an actual patio. I wish we had one more bedroom.

What are your future plans for the space?

We need to paint the bathroom and the kitchen. I’d really like a tile backsplash in the kitchen. I’m currently shopping for a new desk for the living room. I’m sick of the one that we have. I don’t want shelves on top anymore. Now I want drawers on the bottom. Wood. Old. I’m also tossing around the idea of (somewhere in the future) taking out those big bookshelves in the living room and adding floating shelves that attach right into the brick. Oh, and I need to do something with the wall in the bedroom that houses the bookshelves. I’m considering a collage-ish. Your recent post about your decor as a kid got me thinking about what I liked about my space growing up. And even up through collage I always had a space on a wall reserved for photos and show stubs, stickers and postcards and what-not. I’m trying to figure out how to make that happen but still have it look tasteful and not just like a big mess. Did I say headboard? We need one of those as well.

What improvements have you made thus far?

This summer we completely ripped out our old wooden floors and laid new oak floors. (with a lot of help from a lot of very good friends) It. Was. Hard. But worth it. The old floors were broken and wretched. Because the walls were dirtied in the process we went ahead and painted the living room, dining room, and bedroom (including the ceiling!). I sold our old bedroom furniture and bought most of the furniture you see in there on craigslist. We’re always tinkering with the furniture and knick-knacks, the arrangements, etc. But the floor (and painting) was our major renovation.

Most prized piece of furniture?

I’m emotionally attached to the dining room table because it was such a pain in the ass to bring home. I bought it on eBay for $1 but I had to go pick it up from a farm in Indiana. In a snowstorm. By myself. Then drag it home on the top of my car (again, in a snowstorm). Then carry it up our back steps (again, alone, again, in a snowstorm). So we’ve been through a lot together. I’m also really fond of my old steamer trunk (eBay, $20) and my latest Craigslist acquisition ($100) the big pine wardrobe for the bedroom. It replaced two big pieces of furniture in there and has made my life better.

Most prized piece of decor?

Almost every piece of decor in my house is special to me in a different way, so this one is hard to answer. I think I value most the souvenirs I’ve brought back from my travels overseas: rugs from tunisia, my houka from Jordan, pottery from Greece and Italy. They weren’t bought with thrift, but they mean a lot to me.

Do you collect anything?

What do I NOT collect? We eat off of Pfaltzgraff brown dripwear that I’ve collected over the years. I have more pottery (a lot of that drip-glazed as well) than anyone ever needs. We have too many books. I can’t get rid of them. Each of them is a little memory. I have a basket filled with programs from every theater show I’ve ever been to. I have a million photo albums and photos. I have a tray full of Greek green glassware. I actually have a lot of ‘classically’ themed decor: pictures and statues and the such. I have a wall of silly cakepans in my kitchen. When we repaint I’m going to pare that collection down to silver pans only. It’s too messy and big as it is. My friend Julie says that my degrees in archaeology and anthropology have made me an archivist. I keep everything. I document everything. I think I just have a wicked bad memory, so I have to keep evidence of everything near me, so I don’t forget.

Does your lifestyle or work impose any requirements on your living space?

We have a “special needs” dog. So she goes on a potty pad in the kitchen, which creeps some people out. We always have to worry about protecting our kitchen floor. Husband works from home, a bit, so we do need a pretty comfortable work space for him to write out his schedules. I think a new desk will help with that.

What are your favorite thrift stores?

I deeply believe in Unique. The one in Markham is amazing. I think the Uptown Unique has the best ’stuff.’ Brown Elephant is good for furniture, especially in Andersonville.

Any Craigslist search tips you can impart?

Mostly I’ve learned a lot from BackGarage. I recently downloaded the Craigslist Toolbox, primarily for the picture preview. It makes a huge difference. I also check it often, because I’ve lost opportunities in the past being too slow to notice and respond to posts.

See more photos from Kelly and Jeremy’s Rogers Park home here.

Check out sets from all the At Home posts on Flickr here.