for our first sneak peek of the day/week we’re so pleased to share the chicago apartment of talented photographer emily johnston anderson. besides having a fantastic photographic eye, emily has a nack for great vintage (and used) furniture finds. she and her husband, jacob (an independent radio producer), both consider themselves story-tellers and love that the pieces around their home have had other lives before coming to them. don’t miss the complete peek which continues after the jump, and click here for additional images. [thanks, emily!] -anne
[above: We kept a neutral palette in the living room as well. The grey walls are soothing all year round, and we're so thankful for our wall of south-facing windows, especially in the Chicago winter. We often perch on the sofa and look out of them across the rooftops. The papier-mache bird is from Perch in New Orleans (thanks d*s guide!), the prairie smoke print is by a dear friend, Jen Anderson-Tarver and was part of her wedding invitation. I've had the vintage arm chairs re-upholstered once, and I'm contemplating having them covered again in natural hemp linen.]
Jacob was a school librarian and brought home the card catalog when that system became obsolete. We store all those little homeless things from around the house in it–keys, miscellaneous cords and phone chargers, candles etc. Our favorite dinner-time entertainment is the white gurgling cod pitcher from Dartmouth pottery — found on eBay after we discovered one at the house we rented for our honeymoon!
CLICK HERE for the rest of Emily’s peek (and all 14 images on one page) after the jump!
The butcher block is from Crate and Barrel, I think, but I accepted it as a partial down payment for a wedding in the very early days of my business. The couple selling it on Craigslist turned out to need a photographer so we swapped! The cupboards were already painted white when we moved in.
We spend a lot of time in the kitchen, hatching up new dishes (there’s blueberry compote on the stove in this shot). I learned the pleasure of baking from Carol at Milk & Honey Cafe here in Chicago, and now make bread as often as possible, so the lovely light in the kitchen doesn’t go to waste! I love the color palette in here, white dishes, stainless cookwear, wood counters. We’re completely smitten with our espresso maker, and I couldn’t live without the perfect cappucinos Jacob makes everyday! Sometimes, he needs a place to jot down story inspiration while he’s in the kitchen. The chalkboard fits the bill for my meal ideas too.
Jacob and my dad put up the simple plank shelving one afternoon a couple of years ago with scrap wood from a photo studio where I worked with the inspiring Lauren Krysti, and they’ve been perfect for storage and display in the office area too. On the shelves, our white china is from Sophie Conran for Portmeirion, and our cork collection in the square vase is signed by the friends we’ve shared dinners with since we were married two years ago. We love long drifting dinner parties, and have them as often as possible. We even moved our dining room out to the alley recently for a big family birthday dinner when the weather was so beautiful we couldn’t bear to stay inside!
I know it sounds loony, but the color for the bedroom walls came to me in a sudden flash mid-conversation with a friend (about something entirely different). It was a vision of light filtering through a deep verdant jungle, and the color’s made the bedroom a wonderful retreat, separating it visually from the rest of our place–which is nice in a small home that can make one feel a bit cooped up, in winter especially!
I made the denim whale pillow for Jacob for Valentine’s day. He’s got a thing for cetology and Moby Dick.
The Russel Wright sugar and creamer set was a Christmas gift from Jacob, discovered at a vintage shop in Houston. The tiered tray jumped out at me at the Salvation Army in a middle-of-nowhere town in the midwest on a road trip lunch stop!
The Lane coffee table was another recent obscure resale shop steal.
The extendable teak slat bench is my favorite new find from a local shop that (sadly) just closed. I have a mild obsession with bluperum (that lovely green cloud on the table) since I photographed my friends Meg & Robb’s wedding a few weeks ago (recently featured by Janie at The Bride’s Cafe).
