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Style and Storage in Small Spaces
A LOCAL AUTHOR SHARES SECRETS TO ORGANIZING HIS LAKEFRONT CONDO WITH FLAIR.
BY MARK HAGEN
Iwasn’t sure what to expect after being invited to the home of a popular Milwaukee writer. The delightful, mild-mannered author didn’t strike me as the owner of a chic condo, but his easy-going nature and happy attitude piqued my interest as to his abode.
I pulled into the parking lot of Bay View Terrace on South Shore Drive and was quickly met by the writer (who wishes to be anonymous). Once I stepped inside the 1,200-square-foot condo, I knew I found a wonderfully unique spot that perfectly combined the homeowner’s style with his need for storage.
DIVERSE BUT SYMMETRIC
The writer sold his house in Washington Heights in 1996, making the change to condo living. “I wasn’t looking for a condominium,” he says, “but I happened to get a tour of some of the units here and realized this was a viable option.”
A collector of books, art, music and more, the author quickly understood the need to combine storage with his own style. “The spaces in my home have to function properly, but I also like being surrounded in a space of my own making,” he says.
“Nearly every piece of furniture and every bit of décor is from a resale shop in Milwaukee. Many of my acquisitions were happenstance yet affordable, particularly the artwork, much of which is from Russia’s late Soviet period.”
When asked about his decorating style, he describes it as diverse but symmetric. “It’s eclectic for sure,” he notes. “I’m not one to buy a matching set of anything. That’s not to say that things are
in chaos. They are different but complement each other well. The key is to look for harmony in shape and color.”
This can be seen throughout the home. Secondhand bedside lamps play particularly well off one another, for instance, and a framed vintage olive-oil ad lends delightful symmetry to the kitchen table beneath it. A variety of knick-knacks scattered throughout the home all work nicely together, whether they’re kitschy, classy or historical in nature.
MAKE WAY FOR CUSTOM SHELVES
Taking advantage of space was key for housing the owner’s extraordinary book and CD collections. Upon moving in, custom bookcases, designed and created by a carpenter from Cudahy, were installed in nearly every room of the condo.
The books are housed together by subject matter in particular rooms. For example, a delightfully cozy interior room acts as a mass-media library of sorts, featuring books on film, music and art. Another room features shelves of philosophy and theology. Many books line the shelves in alphabetical order, some two deep, but other bookshelves are organized by the country of subject matter (history books, for example) while still more are arranged by author or title.
“I know where every single book is located,” says the homeowner. “It may seem like a complicated system to some, but it makes complete sense to me.”
A few of the most striking pieces in the home are various Chinese apothecary cabinets. Featuring as many as two dozen small drawers, the cabinets were originally used to hold herbal medicines in Chinese apothecaries centuries ago. Today, they not only add a bit of warmth and height to the space, but they function well, too, making the gorgeous wooden cabinets a prime example of storage meeting style.
“I purchased a few of them from a shop in the Third Ward several years ago,” says the writer. “I love the detail and the history behind them, but it’s also fun that the drawers are great for organizing and storing my CD collections. The plastic cases fit perfectly in the tiny, narrow drawers.”
When asked if he was done decking out his Bay View condo, the writer explains, “This is an evolution of 25 years of moving things from one spot to another, I think I have just about everything where like it…but don’t hold me to that!”
Mark Hagen is an award-winning gardener, former caterer and Milwaukee lover. His work has appeared in “Birds & Blooms” and “Home” and “Your Family” magazines
