Houzz Tour: Vintage Treasure Trove in Chicago

Fisher moved to Chicago from Los Angeles, and much of her style reflects the laid-back desert vibe of her former city. "I feel like I'm subconsciously echoing the sunny desert with whites, wood tones, woven patterns, succulents and pops of yellow," she says. The vintage yellow chairs add a bold statement to the room, but Fisher hopes to upholster them in brown leather one day to make them more timeless.

The coffee table is actually two separate parts — Fisher found the base at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena first, and then found the glass top on Craigslist.

Yellow chairs: vintage; lamp: Arco floor lamp; rug: Tangiers Rug, Pottery Barn; side table: IKEA; coffee table, couch, and green lamp: vintage

Although Fisher has redone several of the pieces in her home, almost all of them were done out of pure necessity. The dining table is made out of a hollow core door and two sawhorses from the Home Depot — a configuration she came up with the night before a party, after realizing there was no place to serve the food.

The console just behind the table is an old radiator cover that she found at a flea market in Kentucky. "I've been lugging it around with me for almost 10 years. I'm hoping to have it refinished and powder coated someday," she says.

Chairs: vintage Cesca knockoffs; cowhide: vintage; shell lamps: eBay

Here, Fisher's corgi-beagle, Bunny, gets comfy on a vintage rug. "I love that the apartment feels like me," she says. "It's put together but laid back and ready to party. It's important that I can have friends, kids and dogs over and not really worry about my stuff."

A mini butcher block island gives Fisher some extra workspace, since she was lacking in counters. Rows of photo-booth shots line her fridge for a little kitchen flair.

"My approach to laying out a room is to just go for it," she says." You can think about it, draw it, CAD it, but nothing works as well as you, some muscle and a room full of furniture."

Painting the bedroom black might not be the first thing that occurs to renters with small spaces, but it's made Fisher's bedroom feel more cozy and natural. "I wish I'd done it a year and a half ago," she says. "I still can't tell if the room looks smaller, but it feels amazingly cozy and like a perfect little cave. I love it. Don't be afraid to paint small rooms dark colors!"

The side tables were another Craigslist find. The seller told Fisher that his father had made them when he was stationed in Italy during WWII, and the marble tops have his signature on the bottom.

Bedframe: Ikea Redalen; paper pendant: Craigslist; suzani fabric: vintage; wall paint: Benjamin Moore; side tables: vintage

Vintage treasures and jewelry litter her bedroom dresser in a elegantly styled vignette.The bedrooms have been really hard to design and lay out, as they're both small and the master has an odd shape. Neither gets good natural light, which has been hard to work with too. Lack of direct sunlight is the one thing Fisher wishes she could change about her apartment. "It's almost impossible to keep plants alive," she says.

Using a trick she learned from a roommate's mom, Fisher curtained two walls in the guest bedroom to soften the space and make it feel bigger. Vintage fabric and a pair of antique Chinese hats add texture and style to the simple and relaxing room.

Bed frame: Ikea; fabric: vintage wool weaving; side table: IKEA; floor lamp: vintage; blanket: Ikea

More Houzz Tours:
Life in the Vintage Renewal Loft
Vintage Style with a Fresh Twist
Artistic and Peaceful in Ann Arbor