An Opposite-Tastes Couple Finds a Happy Medium

October 1, 2020

For couples, picking and decorating a home is all about compromise. But let us face it, which can be tough, especially if your tastes and your spouse’s are polar opposites.

Take first time homeowners Mike and Kathryn Zabik. He favors a big urban loft. She favors a farmhouse. He loves contemporary fittings and an open floor plan. She likes to incorporate her grandmother’s antiques and a sense of intimacy in her spaces.

So when they bought their condominium, they understood they’d have to strike a balance. Kathryn started by toning down what she describes as the home’s “mentor sense” by painting the walls, adding wallpaper to the main bath, installing lighting fixtures and dimmers, and hanging art. “I stayed away from anything too girly or preppy,” she says.

She subsequently tapped her buddy, designer Brynn Olson, to assist them fuse the old-world bits with modern furnishings by adding wall and window treatments and accessories. “I love historical bits, but I know how intimidating they could be,” Kathryn says. “I earn a great deal of decisions about how to make them appear natural and comfortable in our modern space.”

at a Glance
Who lives here: Mike and Kathryn Zabik, and their miniature dachshund, Charlie
Location: Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago
Size: 1,500 square feet; 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

Cynthia Lynn Photography

Many of the couple’s decor items are gifts from Kathryn’s grandma, for example, copper accessories on the coffee table. “My grandma is probably the first man to teach me the beauty in simplicity,” Kathryn says. She went with neutral gray walls to ground the living space, even though a royal-blue daybed bench helps define the area. “I love an open floor plan but crave intimacy,” she says.

Sofa: Bliss Down-Filled, West Elm; coffee table: Smart Round Marble Top, CB2; side tables: Vittsjö, Ikea; paint: Hazy Skies, Benjamin Moore; settee: Camille Tufted at Indigo Velvet, Restoration Hardware

Cynthia Lynn Photography

Kathryn attempted to strike a balance between mixing contemporary pieces with antiques. In the dining room, brushed-nickel chairs surround a farmhouse-style table with cherry and much more copper accessories from her grandma. “I gravitate towards items with family background or fond memories,” she says. The dining room opens into a town patio.

Table: Pennsylvania House; chairs: Fleet Brushed Nickel, CB2; shelving: Sloane, Crate & Barrel

Cynthia Lynn Photography

The open kitchen lets whoever’s cooking to connect with guests. “I always wanted a pot rack, so that was the first thing I installed,” she says. “It’s amazingly handy, and the knife rack is just genius.”

Bar stools: Industrial Stool, West Elm; pot rack: Enclume; appliances: Bosch

Cynthia Lynn Photography

“I hope to be Martha Stewart and possess everything professionally registered and alphabetized, but it is just never going to occur,” Kathryn says. “I have given myself permission to possess an untidy pantry/linen closet provided the principal areas are clean.”

She had big closets installed to the left of the television and utilizes them as catchalls to keep things hidden. The developer originally intended the distance to be profound shelving.

Midcentury chair, footrest: Rago Auctions

Cynthia Lynn Photography

The main bedroom is soft and comfy. The dresser was a DIY job made employing a Rast unit from Ikea. See a tutorial for a similar job here.

Paint: Pale Oak and Seapearl, Benjamin Moore

Cynthia Lynn Photography

When the couple moved in, Kathryn toned down the bachelor feel of the chief bath by adding wallpaper.

Background: grass cloth, Brewster

Cynthia Lynn Photography

Kathryn, shown here, wanted to make certain that the space could accommodate several guests and her tiny dachshund, Charlie, who likes to utilize all the furniture. And designer Olson was a huge help. “She was a lifesaver with all our design, superbly transitioning from a huge dinner party to only Mike and I watching TV on the sofa,” Kathryn says.

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