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The cost of kitchen design in Chicago according to Home Advisor is $4,331 to $22,610 dollars. That's a pretty wide range, but since it comes from Home Advisor's data, I suspect it's true for kitchen designers hired through Home Advisor. It's a commonly held idea that design should cost 10 to 12% of your project. If your project costs $40K, which would be the cost of a small condo kitchen entirely redone, design work according to this formula should run $4,000 to $5200. Many interior designers...

All great interior design starts with understanding your needs first.   Creating your perfect home office is no exception.  Many of the seven steps to a perfect home office are about understanding your needs. Open vs. Closed Do you want your office in the middle of the action or off in a quiet corner of the house?   If you live alone, finding a quiet corner of the house is less of an issue because any part of the house can be quiet.  If you have young kids, you...

You just moved into a new place with your pet and you’re wondering what your options are to make it more functional for both of you? Here are 7 design solutions to give your pet a place to meet their needs while also meeting your needs to have a beautiful, functional home.   1. Cabinetry for Food Bowls and Food Storage Pets’ food bowls almost always look like an afterthought. They’re often located against a wall in or near the kitchen where all aesthetics of a cleanly designed room...

You love the look of your kitchen but what do you do if you don’t have enough storage space to keep things organized and functional?  Here are 5 kitchen storage solutions to create space, better use kitchen space and make your kitchen more functional.  They might even give your friends “kitchen envy.” Add a Pantry Add a matching pantry to the end of your existing kitchen cabinets or on a separate available wall.   Done in combination of painting kitchen cabinets, it can...

You’re renovating your bathroom in Chicago and you’re wondering do I need an interior designer, an architect, a design/build firm or just a good builder to guide me through the process.   It’s the first question to ask when doing any renovation and the answer is not one size fits all.  Much depends on your budget, the size and complexity of your renovation, and the choice professionals available to you that you might hire. Let’s start with your budget.  If you’re looking to...

With updated photos, we'll show you this remarkable home renovation designed by one of Chicago Top Designers, Karl Sponholtz of Habitar Design.  For those who ask: Can home renovation increase the value of your home above the cost of the renovation, here's one example where we believe that happened.   Keep reading to see the before and after pictures, and click here to view a virtual home tour. The home started out as 1985 contractor special with basic finishes and poorly...

This Mies van der Rohe condo interior design and remodel in Chicago was so stunning that the final result was much like a butterfly born from a caterpillar.  Done by Habitar Design Senior Designer Kapan Shipman, it was the creation of a unique unit unlike any of the parts it came from.  The bones she started with were two units previously combined by eliminating the party wall.  The result was a large central space and numerous small outdated rooms including 2 small...

You have made all the major decisions for your new bathroom and kitchen renovation and now it is time to pick the grout color! At first consideration, the grout color does not seem particularly important, especially when compared to all the larger items you need to decide on in a renovation. In fact, you might not even realize that it can add another level of impact in your new space. Grout can blend in with your tile, create high contrast, or fall somewhere in between. Here are three things...

Subway Tile; the most classic choice of all tile materials. To no one’s surprise subway tile was originally designed for subways. Simple, white and keeping spaces light and bright, over the years it has become one of the most desired and cost-effective tiles you can incorporate into your home. We have rounded up 8 of the most popular layout designs to inspire you to break free of standard patterns and create a unique look in your own bathroom or kitchen! 1. Offset Pattern – Horizontal Starting...

You just had a beautiful built-in created in your home, now how do you perfectly style your bookcase to capture the great look you want and carry your personality into the corners of your bookcase? To find out, we interview Hannah Lewick and MacKenzie Cain of Habitar Designer. Here are their 6 tips to style beautiful shelves. 1. Start by clearing the shelves and stepping back It is the obvious first step. It’s best to start with a blank slate, get everything down and then look at your shelves...

Mid-Century Modern has a lot of grays, whites, and rectilinear shapes, which can create some very clean lines and cool spaces.  Succinctly put, less can be boring. (Sorry Meis!)    So what to do?  Now a days, it's possible to mix in contemporary elements to add more visual interest into your interior design.    "You can't be afraid to use different styles that work together.  A home, means clients have their individual tastes and the...

When the D's moved to Chicago, they wanted their new River North condo to have clean lines and be warm enough to spend days in cozily reading and playing board games.   Husband and wife, together since high school, hail from upper New York state on the water just south of Canada, so rustic elements and the color of water on sunny and cloudy days were a natural fit.  These colors along with photos of water near their old home tied all those homes together making their new place...

We just had to share a few more of MacKenzie's amazing photos from her wanderings.  Hey, we're lucky she came back!   Don't you wish you were on this adventure?  MacKenzie Cain of Habitar Design, is a Chicago based residential interior designer specializing in kitchens, bathrooms and built-ins. 

You want to make your kitchen look great (or at least better) and you don't have much of a budget, no problem. I have about 20 years of experience in construction and renovation and some amazing transformations can be done on a tight budget. Here's a few to give you the most bang for your buck.   1.  Painting Cabinets Painting is always a great bang for your buck whether it's on the walls or to rejuvenate cabinets.   Painting cabinets is much less expensive than...