Elements of Style Blog

Colette and Madeline in their home

Chicago based reader Colette May contacted me with pictures of her self-designed town home last week and  I had to do a serious double take with the whole “self-designed” bit, since her space looks more professionally done than my own, and I claim to be a designer! Colette’s story is even more inspiring than her space though, so I wanted to share both with you today.

When not busy finding gems for her home, Colette is a partner at Kindle Communications and single mom to 8 year old daughter Madeliene. At 38 she decided to have a child on her own after continuously picking partners who already had children or didn’t want them. It was “the best decision she ever made”, she says, and I for one admire her gumption in taking on such a huge responsibility on her own!  A former model, Colette was tapped as one of Chicago’s best dressed women and has passed along her love for fashion to her daughter, who is already hoping to become a clothing designer. With only their new dog Oliver to add a little testosterone to the mix, Colette has created an utterly feminine space rich with textures that celebrates all things girly!  Recounting her days of playing with Barbies and designing their “dream homes”, she feels a bit like this is her real life “dream home”!

Colette bought the town home three years ago, and says it was quite bland initially.  After renovating the space previous to moving in, the first aesthetic choice she made was to paint all the window frames and railings black (which I LOVE).  Looking at these pictures it’s hard to imagine what would be lost if they were white!  She scours flea markets for vintage finds and mixes high and low throughout the space.  Wanting a new palette but still loving her existing furniture, she decided to reupholster everything instead of start over.  What’s so great about this space is that is entirely crafted out of neutrals, yet is not one bit boring.  Colette’s used so many wonderful textures on each surface that your eye is delighted to dance from one to the next finding interest in each variation.  Adding a knockout punch of black was a genius decision, and only reinforces my commitment to using copious amounts of black in my next home!  I absolutely adore her glamorous yet grown up space and feel pretty lucky to be the first to share it with the blog world!

Now, if anyone knows of a fabulous single man in Chicago who might be worthy…. :)