our first sneak peek today belongs to chicago- based jewelry designer winifred gundeck. winnie lives in a 1000 square foot 1 BR apartment in the boystown area of lakeview. she shares her space with her new fiance benjamin, a cat and a dog named guffman. as always you can click here to see full-sized and (many) extra photos of winnie’s home (including additional commentary from winnie). thanks to winnie and benjamin for sharing their apartment with us! there are several photos after the jump so you can click here for the full post or click “read more” below. enjoy!

[Our apartment is a mix of meaningful old and affordable new. It is filled with memories and reminders of my family which is very important to me since I live so far away from them. In fact as I sat down to write these descriptions I realized how empty my home would be without hand me downs and gifts! I’m not set on one style in particular but I do tend to adore Mid Century Modern mixed with just about anything. I LOVE to rearrange furniture and rehang art. It is a totally CHEAP way to give your apartment a whole new feel. Rehanging art usually takes me several hours, sometimes days, and if you look closely my walls are heavily peppered with tiny little nail holes! Also, I recently started using pillows to spice things up and now I can’t get enough of them - they’re like jewelry for your home! When it comes to arranging furniture, I’m not much on Feng Shui but I do believe that a room should welcome its’ visitors with open arms. So, welcome!]

[Left: The piece above the fireplace is a hand print on cotton linen produced in the 1970s by Riverside, Illinois based textile company Elenhank Designers Inc. and is called Beau Jardin. The painting in front of the fireplace is by an Atlanta artist and dear friend of my parents, Nancy Franke. Right: I found the Platner arm chair (above) at an antique store on Lincoln Avenue]

[The ceramic piece on the left hand wall is another item from my grandfather’s house. Teak lamp from the Broadway Antique Mall. Teak chair from my grandfather’s house. The table was another one of the first pieces of furniture I ever bought, and it now serves as a roomy bedside table for Benjamin. Platform bed from West Elm.]

[Left: I love the clean lines of the white “all occasion” table from Ikea which sits opposite the sofa in our living room. Below the table is an old trunk (one of the first pieces of furniture I ever bought) which I just recently painted white. It stores extra bed linens and pillows. The bamboo cushions (purchased at A New Leaf on Wells Street) serve as extra seating during dinner parties. Right: The carved side table to the right of the sofa is one that my grandfather brought back from his travels in India years ago. The top comes off and the table actually folds up like a screen so he just packed it up in his suitcase and brought it home on the plane over 50 years ago. The larger scale white lamp is actually white leather, and the bamboo shade is the original. The multi-colored crochet afghan on the arm of the sofa was made by my Auntie Grace (my namesake), and the sequined pillow is another find from Jayson Home & Garden’s sale world which happens year round in their basement. I think the pillow is wonderful, although my fiance claims the pillow “cuts him”. Who knew a pillow could be so violent?]

[Left: The lined linen curtains from Restoration Hardware help keep the cold air out of our bedroom in the winter. Our dog Guffman helps keep the bed warm too! Duvet from Anthropologie. Right: I did a small make over in the bathroom, replacing the old glass sliding shower door with a plush white shower curtain, removed the glued on mirror and 80s light fixture above the sink and replaced it with a “bamboo” framed mirror that I found on sale in the basement of Jayson Home & Garden. I also replaced the hardware with brass pulls from Anthropologie similar to those in the kitchen]

[I couldn’t afford to redo the kitchen when I moved in so I tried to offset the country style of the white cabinetry, appliances, and floor with a more sophisticated dark brown semi-gloss on the walls. The kitchen stools are from CB2 and the green ikat pillows are from West Elm. ]