Best of Houzz 2016

Habitar Design Chicago is proud to announce that we have once again been voted by the Houzz community as a winner of the Best of Houzz award!

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RE: Chiropractic and Wellness in Andersonville

RE: Chiropractic & Wellness in Andersonville, designed by our very own senior designer Kapan Shipman, was chosen by Crain’s Chicago Buisness as one of the coolest offices in Chicago in 2015!

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New Video – Habitar Design

Habitar Design Chicago is proud to show you our newest video showcasing some of our clients in their newly renovated homes. They have some wonderful things to say about us!

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4 Window Treatment Options to Help Block Out the Sun

Window treatments provide an important piece of the overall decorative scheme often overlooked by homeowners under the burden of making so many other design decisions. They’re crucial because they help control privacy and light, and even provide insulation.

You should consider the room’s overall function when selecting window treatments. In a bedroom or media room you may want darkness, whereas in a kitchen or living room you’ll need window treatments only to suppress the harsh afternoon sun. Below are four different types of window treatments that help in blocking out the light and aid in your sleep.

Alternative Woods for Eco-Friendly Homes

Check out our Associate Senior Designer, Hannah Tindall’s featured article on Angie’s List! Hannah’s insight on unique alternative wood types can help you to make a beautiful statement in your home.

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Pros and Cons of Different Types of Fireplaces

Check out our assistant designer, MacKenzie Cain’s featured article on Angie’s List! MacKenzie’s tips will help you to make an educated decision on which type of fireplace is right for your home.

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Floating Shelves Are the New Gallery Walls

Check out our Associate Senior Designer, Hannah Tindall’s featured article on Angie’s List! Hannah’s insight on art shelves can provide you with ways of styling prints, paintings, and more in your home.

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Tips for Building a Custom Shower

Check out our Assistant Designer, MacKenzie Cain’s featured article on Angie’s List! MacKenzie’s tips provide you with helpful advice on how to achieve a beautiful and leakproof shower.

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Learn How to Use Accent, Task, Ambient Lighting

Check out our very own Associate Senior Designer, Hannah Tindall’s featured article on Angie’s List!
Her article will enlighten you on the three basic types of lighting and how they can be used to illuminate your home.

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Bringing the Outdoors In – Popular Indoor Plants

One of my favorite ways to bring life (literally!) to any living space is to add strategically placed plants to the room décor. Not only do they add texture and a pop of color to your home, but they create a healthier living environment for you and your family boosting oxygen and moisture levels and removing toxins from the air. Below are a few popular indoor plants that look great and are easy to care for!

7 Elements of Perfect Mudroom

A mudroom is usually used as a home’s secondary entrance; often the room adjacent to the garage or back door. Mudrooms aren’t always included in a traditional layout, but they are definitely a room that people desire. Having a mudroom is crucial in helping to keep your house clean and organized, especially in these winter months. Here are 7 elements to include in your mudroom that will maximize its potential and create a much more efficient space for you and your family.

Seven Finishes You Should Know About Before Remodeling

If you are in the process of remodeling a kitchen or bathroom, fixture finishes will be a big part of your selection process. While Chrome and Brushed Nickel are two of the most popular options, there are many other beautiful finishes out there that can add the element of texture and interest to your home. In the past year or so, we have seen brass make a big comeback, while matte black has gained momentum as well. Oil rubbed bronze has always been an undervalued, yet readily available option, while finishes such as copper and white aren’t seen as often, but can really make a statement. Below is a list of some of my favorite unique finishes that are trending currently, along with the pros and cons related to them!

Selecting the Right Paint Finish

You’ve finally selected a paint color – a difficult decision in itself. You’re at your local hardware store ready to make a purchase and the cashier asks you what finish you would like. Maybe you hadn’t considered this or even know the difference from one sheen to the next. Here we break down the 5 different types of paint finishes so you will be fully prepared when asked this question in the future.

9 Things to Consider when Installing a Barn Door

Both functionally and aesthetically pleasing, barn doors have been known to capture homeowners’ attention. Made of nearly any material, barn doors can add character and style to any space. There are many things to think about when selecting and installing the perfect barn door.

Here are 9 questions you should ask yourself before installing a barn door in your own home.

A Book of Every Color, 271 Years Before Pantone

Over the past few weeks, a book titled Traité des couleurs servant à le peinture à l’eau [Treatise on the Colors Used to Paint with Water] gained popularity on the internet after medieval book historian Erik Kwakkel posted images of the book to his Tumblr page. I have to say that, being a designer, this is probably one of the most beautiful and fascinating books that I have ever laid eyes on.

Three Tips to Keep Your Upholstery Looking Like New

You just purchased a new sofa for your home. You have spent a lot of time picking out the ideal fabric to compliment the sofa’s beautiful style and shape. With all that time and money spent on selecting the perfect sofa, keeping it looking like new is of the utmost importance. Here are 3 simple tips on how to do just that:

Defining Small Spaces – Unique Partitions

I recently worked on a project where a client wanted to create a more defined entry way that wasn’t totally cut off from the rest of the room. Her front door was smack dab in the middle of the living room. This lead me to do some research on partitions looking for a way to turn what could be an eye sore in to a functional focal point in the space.
There are a number of materials that could be used to create unique partitions. Lumber from your local lumber yard could be finished, stained and assembled in a grid pattern to create a modern, translucent wall that adds warmth and texture to an industrial space.

Kitchen Transformation by Habitar Design

Our clients sometimes hesitate to invest in their units because they don’t want to out- price their neighborhood. This is a legitimate concern. It is often true but not always. It depends on the neighborhood and whether the unit was purchased at a discount. It can be that a kitchen doesn’t fit the house, meaning, it is undersized or poorly laid out. In such cases, the return on investment can be very good.

Pantone Color of the Year 2015: 18-438 Marsala

Around the holidays every year, designers of all kinds await the highly anticipated announcement of Pantone’s color of the year, and this year was no exception. When I saw the color Pantone selected for 2015, I was pleasantly surprised. 18-1438 Marsala is noticeably more earthy and muted than the colors that have been selected over the past 8 or 9 years. From Turquoise to Emerald to Tangerine Tango, Marsala is definitely a nice change of pace.

Color Palettes for 2015

Last month, my colleague MacKenzie and I had the opportunity to go to the Merchandise Mart to participate in Sherwin Williams’ presentation on their color forecast for the upcoming year. These events are always fun to go to because we get a little glimpse of what trends we can expect to see in the design world over the next 12 months. The color schemes that Sherwin Williams creates are inspired by what’s happening in the world around us; anything from advances in space travel, to the upcoming Olympics in Rio. Sherwin Williams thoroughly does their research finding work of inspiring designers, artists, scientists, etc. that relate to these topics, and draw interesting and inspiring color palettes from their projects. One thing is for certain: the upcoming year is going to be filled with a lot less gray and a lot more color! Here are a few palettes that can hopefully inspire you as you work on projects throughout your home in the upcoming months: