A Once Dusty Apartment’s Dreamy Glow-Up Includes Murals on Nearly Every Wall
Adrienne Breaux
·15-min read
"So much of my house has been a DIY labor of love. Nearly every wall in the apartment has been adorned with a hand-painted mural, and so much of my furniture has been transformed or repurposed to better suit my space," artist Alison Ruth begins. Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
Alison describes her home before moving in as "dusty humid roly-poly graveyard." After moving in, she describes it as "dreamy plant-filled bohemian artist’s sanctuary." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"My favorite part of my home is the way that the light pours in through the windows of my living room. The front room faces west and fills with sunlight in the late afternoon, and during the summertime, it even stretches all the way down my hallway and into the kitchen," Alison writes. Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"During golden hour, this sunlight just seems to enrich the paint colors on my walls, from the dusky yellow of the living room wall, to the glowing orange of my entryway, to the warm, blushy pink of the hallway." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"I always find myself taking a second look back at my living room as I shut the door to leave the house, especially during the late afternoon when my yellow disco ball is reflecting a constellation across my ceiling." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"This past summer, an enormous volunteer squash plant bloomed just outside of my window, and as the sunlight shined through its green leaves and tendrils, it cast a green haze throughout my front room." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"I love lighting a candle that smells like wet dirt (Tatine’s “Forest Floor” is a personal favorite), plopping the cat on his perch to watch the fireflies, and sitting back with a cider and a campy summertime slasher while I embrace the full basement ambiance." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"I work from home, so it’s nice to be able to shut my laptop and transition directly over into Art Mode without leaving my desk," Alison describes of her home's office nook. "To the immediate right of my desk, my trusty charcoal pencils and Micron pens are within easy reach; on the left side is a pair of secondhand magnet boards where I hang works in progress." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"I work from home, so from 8-5:30 my work laptop lives on my desk, but as soon as I clock out I tuck it away and pull out my easel. I know some people like to have a separation between their work and their hobbies, but to me my nook is my Focus Spot — if I’m at my desk, I’m working in some capacity, whether it’s for my day job or to further my art career." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"My corkboard, mounted in the middle of my nook and visible through the doorway, is one of my most special pieces. It was the very first thing I hung in the house, bought for $20 on clearance at the Container Store, and it’s where I keep all of my sentimental treasures. It holds photo strips, stickers, bar coasters, artwork, ticket stubs, wristbands, and lots and lots of personal notes and postcards that friends and family have sent me. It’s always changing and overall really visually chaotic, but I love having it up because it just makes me feel really loved." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"On the opposite end of the nook is a metal cabinet I found on Craigslist. This stores art supplies like long paintbrushes, my stickers, and various frames/mats. I’m embarking on a stick-and-poke tattooing journey as well, and this is where I’ll be keeping my supplies." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"When I first moved into this apartment, I had just gotten my first Big Girl job, and wanted to decorate cheaply but wasn’t sure if I’d be moving again at the end of the lease. I didn’t want to commit to buying a bunch of expensive new furniture, or get pigeonholed into acquiring furniture that wouldn’t translate well to another space," Alison writes. Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"I asked my landlord if I could paint, and he gave me the blanket go-ahead to paint throughout the house. He still asks me to send pictures of my completed projects so he can see how I’ve transformed the unit!" Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"Howdy is a big presence in my home! He has a perch in the front window where he delights neighbors, daycare classes, and other passersby who admire him from the street level. Let’s be honest: My house is a shrine to this cat — I’ve commissioned or been gifted custom pieces (clocks, a neon sign and pennant of his name, figurines, you name it) in homage to him, not to mention fan mail and other gifts he receives from his admirers. He also blends right in with the natural wood floors of my apartment when he’s had too much time in the spotlight." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
Alison explains that the most dramatic transformations to her home are made with paint. "It was so easy and low-commitment to buy a $6 sample jar of paint and go to town on my walls, knowing I was sharpening my skills for future projects and that I could always try a different design if I got tired of the current one. Some of my painting projects took upwards of 8 months because I started other projects in the interim, while others only took a weekend." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"I estimate that I spent around $300-350 on all of the paint in my entire home, which isn’t insubstantial, but it made a huge impact, especially when compared to something like my $700 credenza I saved up for. Granted, I buy pretty cheap paint because my walls are all nightmare textures, but I think that this was a pretty reasonable price to pay given the dramatic change it made in my home!" Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"My apartment has tons of quirks that I’ve learned to embrace. Something unique to my apartment is the piping and radiator work on the ceiling — this feature is not uncommon in classic unrenovated Chicago garden units, and I love the industrial look they lend to the space," Alison admits. Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"They used to serve as the heating element for my home, and even though the old system has been decommissioned in place of a modern HVAC system, the pipes remain. I love to hang plants from the radiators and wrap vines around the pipes (now that they won’t get burnt)!" Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"On laundry day, I also hang my shirts and wool socks from the pipes to keep my dark clothing away from any stray Howdy hair. I think that if the pipes didn’t exist I would have painted all of my ceilings, so in a way it’s probably a good thing that they’re there to rein me in a little!" Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
Alison says that because the building is so old, she didn't really worry too much about whether her additions are renter-friendly or not, but says she "did want to make sure that almost every change in my home could be easily reversed if desired. Regarding the timeline, I wasn’t in a big hurry — I still work a full-time job, so I only decorate in my spare time, but after I re-signed my lease for a second year, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
Alison's first makeover of the bathroom was all black, but then she decided to go more colorful. "I picked out a bright, playful shower curtain that served as a sort of mood board for the new design; I painted the walls the same creamy peach shade as the base color on the curtain, and found some stick-on subway tiles on sale from Smart Tiles in a complementary Moroccan pink. The pipes and trim were decked out in an earthier, flowery pink shade, and now I’m living my rainbow sherbet fantasy with Bathroom 2.0!" Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"With the help of my partner, I mounted four plant propagation shelves to house my plant cuttings on the wall across from the shower. The cuttings are all sourced from my own plant collection, and I love how the shelves bring some greenery to my bathroom without requiring a lot of watering or sunlight. The installation also pairs nicely with my Golden Girls-inspired banana leaf bath mat!"
"Keeping function in mind, I also installed a small shelf to the right of the sink with hooks for more storage, and hung an amber light bulb to illuminate the built-ins and bring a gentle glow to the space at night. I ordered a custom clock modeled after my cat, Howdy, and as a finishing touch, added a dusty pink outlet plate to match the color of the pipes and complement my green towels," she continues. Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
"Redoing my bathroom (and redoing it again) taught me some valuable lessons about starting over and throwing things at the wall to see what sticks (literally). There is so much you can do as a renter to personalize your space; even if you’re only living somewhere for a short time, it’s still worthwhile to invest in creating a home that reflects your interests and overall look." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
“Decorating this home has been a gradual but fulfilling journey of discovering my interior design style and artistic identity,” begins artist Alison Ruth. “When I moved in, I began to shed the modern aesthetic that suited my last apartment, swapping out dark wood furniture for light wood pieces and natural textures. I also really learned how to use color, leaning into rich green, rust, and saffron shades (which my cat so happens to match!).”
"Apart from being an artist, I’m also a huge horror fan, and my love of all things spooky crops up throughout my home," Alison writes. "I have little doll hands tucked into my plants, a gallery wall displaying various oddities I’ve collected, and baby heads placed in various nooks and crannies throughout the apartment. One of my favorite pieces is my baby head lamp I purchased at Ballyhoo Curiosity Shop I purchased on a trip to Seattle. I love the creepy, the ugly, and the terrifying: a lot of my decor choices in my home boil down to “this is so hideous, I absolutely have to have it.” Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
Alison has rented this 800-square-foot, one-bedroom garden unit in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood for four years now, and she says it’s the “perfect artist’s haven: Just about every wall is covered with murals I painted myself. ” Full-size windows in nearly every room also make the space perfect for an artist, and since the building the apartment is in was built in 1885, it’s got a ton of architectural vintage charm, too. It’s also PACKED with plants, almost 100, and is also home to a 19-pound orange cat named Howdy.
"I encountered a different texture on every single wall I painted in my home," Alison describes. "My bathroom isn’t very well ventilated, so moisture tends to collect and leave residue on the walls and ceiling; my living room wall has a textured swirl detailing that, while unique, is different from all the other walls; and my nook had extensive water damage that left the plaster on the ceiling and tops of the walls crumbled and cracked. I overcame these by using a different medium in each room: for my bathroom, I relied on stick-on tile that could easily be wiped down; for my gallery wall, I embraced the texture with paint to let the swirls shine; for my nook, I concealed the undesirable texture by using collage paper." Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
“It has its quirks, for sure, but it’s incredibly charming; I love the old (now defunct) heating pipes and radiators hanging from the ceilings, which serve as perfect places to wrap plant vines, while the white brick feels super cozy yet modern,” Alison describes. “I believe that no matter where you live — whether it’s temporary, or rented, or shared or if it simply has unstylish bones — it’s worth putting in the effort to make your space your own.
"My New Year’s resolution in 2020 was to become a 'plant person,' and after a bit of a rough start (my mom called me 'the green reaper'), I now consider myself a skilled cultivator. In fact, I might have gotten a bit carried away; I like to say that I put the “garden” in garden unit, since it’s now home to more than a hundred plants and propagations," Alison writes. Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
“This apartment is the first home I’ve lived in on my own, and it’s the first place since college where I’ve lived for more than one year. As a result, it’s also the first home I’ve been able to decorate in a way that really reflects my personality, so I’ve leaned all the way in on styling to my own taste,” Alison writes.
"In my DIY journey I’ve encountered something unusual in every space I’ve overhauled: tricky textures, limited power outlets, trim that only wraps a third of the way around the room, crooked walls… yet I’ve found a way to turn these quirks into design features. I’d say that my main obstacles were budget, the fact that I live in a rental, and figuring out how to embrace the various eccentricities that come with living in an old building," Alison writes. Credit: Alison RuthCredit: Alison Ruth
“I love to furnish my home with special finds that nobody else has, and I love scoping out unique objects at antique stores and curio shops. The furniture, too, is mostly sourced secondhand (including a couple of great alley finds) or relatively inexpensively. My house is a constant work in progress, with new (or old, I guess) pieces cycling in and out, all with my hand-painted original murals as the backdrop.”
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