Hello friends!  It’s been a while (does every post start like that now??)

I just got back from a weekend in Chicago, visiting my best friend, Kira.  She’s about to move from a super modern high-rise apartment on the river, to a really charming spot in Gold Coast.

The challenge is taking a completely empty apartment, and turning it into something really fabulous. This is where I have been enlisted to help.

This is her first apartment of her own, and while she already has some really good stuff (bedroom furniture, art, occasional furniture and accessories), she’s also going to need to invest in some major pieces to complete the main living spaces.  Since she moves in just a few short weeks, we want to get ahead of everything now, and put together a game plan.

The first thing I like to tackle is the layout.  Over the weekend, we brought a measuring tape to the apartment, to get a sense of what can fit, and where everything should go. Each room is BIG, and based on cable hook-ups, doors, windows, and electrical outlets, it’s set up for a good floor plan already.

Starting today with the living room, here’s the layout we’re working with:

The living room is open to the kitchen with a bar – perfect for barstools, and has an entire wall of windows letting in tons of natural light.

She needs this space to function as both living and dining areas so with the cable hook-up running along the left wall, the ideal layout looks something like this:

Since the living space is where she needs the most new furniture, we need to prioritize what she buys first.  Here’s what’s on the list of essentials and first priorities:
      – New sofa
      – Coffee table
      – TV
      – TV stand

Also on the list, but less essential or decorative are:
      – Dining table for hosting (and chairs)
      – Additional living room seating
      – Lighting (table and floor lamps)
      – Curtains
      – Possibly a rug

With this list of furniture, and a broad layout in place, I put together three layout options that could work for using this space as dual living and dining – good for hosting dinners, and get-togethers.

Option II has fewer seating options, but brings in a desk to this space as well.  Since Kira will be working from home several days a week, I thought it might be nice to have a dedicated work space that isn’t a) the couch b) her bed.  Having a desk makes for a more productive work day at home, and also helps you unplug – shut the laptop, put it in the desk drawer, and leave your work for the day at your desk when it’s time to watch bad reality TV.

In this scenario, I didn’t include a desk chair – I figure one of the kitchen table chairs can double as desk chair, and can be brought back over to the table if company is coming over.  The large side chair here could also be substituted with the dual stools.