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A recent Apartment Therapy home tour features a 1,500-square-foot, two-bedroom condo in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, owned by writer Sophie Kihm and architectural designer Jacob McCarthy. Kihm says warm white walls and classic furniture give their contrasting collections, patterns and bright colors a shared base. The tour describes the couple’s choices; it does not establish broader design trends or report a new renovation.
Apartment Therapy published a tour of a 1,500-square-foot, two-bedroom condo in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, where writer Sophie Kihm and architectural designer Jacob McCarthy combine colorful collections with classic furniture. Kihm says warm white walls and clean-lined pieces help bring their different tastes together; the report offers a view of one home rather than evidence of a broader design trend.
Kihm and McCarthy have owned the condo for about a year, according to the tour. The building was constructed in 1935 as rental apartments and converted to condominiums about 50 years ago. Kihm describes recurring arched entries, original trim and flamed oak doors, features that remain part of the home’s character.
The couple’s furnishings connect family history with newer purchases. Their living room centers on a vintage Chinese Deco sofa from Kihm’s childhood home, which they recovered in outdoor fabric. The room also includes vintage chairs from McCarthy’s family, a Moroccan rug and mannequin heads that Kihm says have followed her between homes. A large Lego-style portrait made with Brix 2 Pix took her about 18 hours to assemble, she said.
In the dining room, the couple refinished a solid-wood table that belonged to Kihm’s mother. It had a large iron burn that was covered with tablecloths during Kihm’s childhood. Kihm said refinishing cost a fraction of the price of a new table. Other objects carry stories from both families, including a statue from McCarthy’s grandparents’ home. The tour also describes a bedroom rug bought for $50 from a neighbor who was selling his unit.
The tour’s central design choice is a shared foundation for two different preferences. Kihm says she favors color, pattern and whimsy, while McCarthy prefers minimalism and has a particular interest in George III furniture. She describes their approach as “controlled eclecticism.”
For readers, the apartment offers a concrete example of how sentimental belongings and collected objects can sit alongside traditional furniture. Kihm says the couple painted the rooms warm white to give the collections a neutral backdrop, then paired that base with classic forms, bright colors and patterned textiles. The account documents their choices and their explanations; it does not show whether the same approach will suit other homes or budgets.
The project also shows the practical role of reuse. The couple kept family furniture, recovered a sofa, refinished a table and bought a rug secondhand. Those decisions preserved objects with personal histories, while the refinished table gave them a usable surface without buying a replacement, according to Kihm.
A 1935 Building, Updated Over Time
The condo sits in a building first used as rental apartments in 1935. Kihm says it became condominiums about five decades ago and has a relatively high share of long-term residents. The previous owner held the unit for more than 30 years, she said.
Before the couple moved in, the former owner had renovated the kitchen and bathroom about 15 years earlier. Kihm describes the walls at the time as bright yellow and says the previous owner favored large French provincial furniture. The earlier work gave the couple a starting point for their own updates, which McCarthy and his firm, Misiuna / McCarthy, carried out, according to the report.
The tour presents the home after those changes. It highlights original architectural details alongside the couple’s mix of older and newer furnishings, including a modern chandelier in a traditional form and matching sconces. The report does not provide a full account of the renovation’s scope, cost or schedule.
““Our styles may seem contradictory, but we’ve found that they can complement each other.””
— Sophie Kihm, as quoted by Apartment Therapy
Renovation Costs and Scope Not Listed
The tour does not specify the total renovation cost, the full list of work completed, or when each update took place. It also does not identify every collected object or establish the age and provenance of all furnishings. Several details, including the furniture’s histories and the couple’s reasoning, come from Kihm’s account as quoted by Apartment Therapy.
The source describes a single home and its owners’ preferences. It provides no survey or other evidence to show how common this design approach is among Chicago residents or homeowners more broadly.
No Further Project Milestone Reported
The source is a published home tour, not an announcement of a renovation still underway. It reports no next project milestone, planned work or scheduled follow-up from Kihm or McCarthy. The account leaves readers with the completed rooms and the couple’s explanation of how they furnished them.
Key Questions
Where is the condo?
It is in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, on the north side of the city, according to Apartment Therapy.
Who owns the apartment?
The owners are Sophie Kihm, a writer and editor-in-chief of Nameberry, and her fiancé, Jacob McCarthy, an architectural designer.
How do the owners describe their style?
Kihm calls it “controlled eclecticism.” She says she likes color, pattern and whimsy, while McCarthy prefers a more minimalist look and George III furniture.
What gives the home a consistent backdrop?
Kihm says they painted the rooms warm white and chose classic furniture with clean lines, then added collections, patterns and bright colors.
How old is the building?
The building was built in 1935 as rental apartments and converted to condominiums about 50 years ago, according to the tour.
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