Lake Shore Remodel in Progress

The furniture is mostly in for our remodel on Lake Shore Drive near Division. We are still waiting on some lamps and other items, but it's all filling in nicely. Black chairs are the owner's original chairs that have been recovered. The leather chairs and sofas are all new as is the coffee table and rug underneath. The bookcase is a custom piece we designed and had fabricated by Joliet Cabinet. 

 

Piggy-Back House Progress

The latest shot of the expanded master bedroom area. The new windows are in on the north wall. The master closet is tucked in behind the bed wall. To the left are the nooks. The larger openings below will be filled with custom built-in dressers. 
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Evanston Lair

We were asked by our client to do something with his small home office. More storage, a cooler space and maybe a place he would like to hang out. We came up with the "Lair" concept. Not the typical "Man-Cave" but instead, a place to easily move from working to relaxing.

Lakeview Bedroom Remodel

We are finally posting pictures of the bedroom remodel we completed about a year ago. The project consisted of shifting walls and adding and moving doors in order to turn a three bedroom condo into a four bedroom condo with the arrival of our son, Oliver.  In order to save space we lost the walk-in closet and instead built a custom wall of closets. The bump out you see is the closet for the new bedroom beyond. 

EXTERIOR BEFORE

Lakeview Coffee Shop

A prominent and fast growing coffee company based in Chicago was looking into expanding their store. MPink was asked to solve the issue of creating a temporary space with the feel of an art installation. The resultant design included prefabricated wood boxes that could be used as seating, lighting, and display. These boxes could be repositioned at any time. Striking images related to the coffee's origin would be printed on translucent panels. These panels would act as artwork while at the same time providing information about the process that occurs before you put that first sip of coffee to your lips each morning, a focus that is important to this local store. 

LAKESHORE DRIVE INTERIOR

This Lakeshore Drive apartment need a quick interior remodel and update for a new owner. We designed a bookshelf piece to anchor the corner of the room. Furniture selection included a new dining table and chairs, sofas, nightstands, lamps, and club chairs. A new coat of paint makes a world of difference and expands the space. Other updates included new kitchen cabinet handles, a new toilet, electrical updates, and some major patching and refinishing of the parquet floors to match the existing floors.

Lake Bluff Makeover

We wanted to share this project we finished in Lake Bluff a while ago but it has yet to make it onto our blog. The addition of the new front pergola was a great way to celebrate the entrance to the house. New windows in the dining room open up the home to a beautifully landscaped front yard.  Flagstone was used for an enlarged front walkway and a new deck made from ipe wood replaced the original crumbling concrete pad.

Piggy-Back House Remodel

We're well underway what we're now calling the "Piggy Back" House.  This late 19th century balloon frame house has been changed, gutted and renovated over time. The original footprint remains with a newer addition "piggybacked" over the top of the roof and walls. We even uncovered the original siding and windows inside an interior wall. It truly is a layered home which makes this renovation very special. The new owners have asked us to reconfigure the second floor and add a bedroom. The master suite will now be more efficient and elegant.  We've also completely re-structured the ceiling in the master suite area to both stabilize it and provide a dramatic space. 

Ravenswood Green Garage Update

The Green Garage is complete. These photos are taken just before the final staining of the deck and wood has occurred. We'll update with new pics as soon as we take some of the final stain and wood sealing. We encountered some issues with using "green" wood sealants but the new product seams to be working better. We are still fine tuning some drainage issues with our floating planters but should have that worked out soon. 

Great shot of our clients in front of the garage. Green Cross installed a burnt wood fence. The shadows from a tree across the way really provided an unexpected but beautiful effect on the west side.  

The work on the garden itself continues. We can't wait to see it all in full bloom, but it's already looking great!

The green roof has filled in very nicely. You can see how the floating planters on the left and right will tie in to the green roof.
The benefits of a green roof inculde: energy conservation, reduction of storm water runoff, absorbing carbon dioxide, filtering air, and protecting the roofing membrane from environmental effects such as ultraviolet radiation. In our case, we've done all of this as well as providing the owners with an extra bit of real estate to use as a backyard in the air.