Cheery Cottage Kitchen Renovation

Fun colors and whimsical cottage charm fill this bright, airy kitchen renovation of a vintage condo in Chicago.

- By Laura Shimko

Playing with bright colors and organic shapes is something that defines retired research librarian Sara Beazley’s style and brings her joy. With a jungle-green dining room and pink living room, her vintage Chicago mid-rise unit is full of color and character. “I’m a colorful person,” she says. When she retired in 2017, Sara decided it was time to tackle a project she had planned on since she bought the condo in 2012: a complete kitchen renovation. After some research, she found just the right person, designer Susan Klimala of The Kitchen Studio, to help her bring her vision to life. The result of their collaboration is a bright, colorful cottage kitchen that sparkles with Sara’s unique flair while maintaining an overall timeless feel.

VINTAGE ROOTS

When Sara first stepped into the vintage condo unit of The Eddystone, she knew it was the perfect place for her. “I fell in love with it after I walked around in it,” she says. The Eddystone was built in 1928–1929 and designed by well-known architectural firm Holabird & Root.

Originally intended to be luxury apartments, The Eddystone units were converted into condominiums in the ’70s. Because of this, each of the units was customized. In Sara’s case, her condo is a merger of two units. This presented a unique design opportunity, as the kitchen is a combination of two kitchens. Additionally, the previous owners had converted a corner of the kitchen into a powder room, creating further challenges. “It was an oddly laid-out space,” Sara says.