art walk

So as I was cruising the exciting streets of the south loop the other day and I started to notice little bits of art sprinkled all over the place. On lamp poles, on stop signs, on construction walls, on the street itself- everywhere. Street art has become an underground secret society. There are actually names that are recognized for street art- quite a change from the train car graffiti I saw in my younger years. It used to be viewed as a bunch of offensive scribbles by no-good hooligans but now it is indeed an art form. 

I've seen sites and stores like urban outfitters that sell these kind of stencils. They add a unique flair to the room that's definitely something you'd see in the city.

Bird Stencil

Tree Stencil

Chandelier

StyleHive Stencils

New Niche

This is the first post for my new home decor blog, Niche.

My story:

I grew up in several different homes since we moved quite a bit so I constantly got to see my mother turn an ordinary white-wall ranch into a family retreat. In addition to her creative inspiration, my father is an architect so he would always tell me about the details like what kind of stone the house was made of or the difference between a column and a pillar...that sort of thing. When I was little I still remember looking over my dad's shoulder when he'd work on his blue prints which I always found to be interesting.

In 2004 I attended Columbia College majoring in magazine journalism and then teamed that up with interior design. After college I knew I wanted to stay in Chicago and find a place that says who I am. When I got my new space in River North, I've had to be pretty creative with only 500 sq ft. to work with. Now I'm doing some freelance writing for a few online mags and I also want to start something of my own so I came up with Niche- an online blog dedicated to interior decorating ideas for small spaces, particularly in the city.  

Hopefully I'll get a blog in every day that offers you something interesting, inspiring, and innovative. 

Namaste