ILLUME
west loop living reimagined.
when LG Development sets you up on a blind date, you don’t play it coy. and it was knee-buckling, full-swoon love at first sight when we first spied Illume sitting across the bar. a leggy 10-story, 79-unit condo building in the west loop, she didn’t know how pretty she was until we laid on compliments—thick.
urbanely coquettish in all that cement and glass, she’s an introvert for sure. to highlight her bone structure, we went in heavy with the blush in the lobby—an artful blackened steel and glass divider to disguise her utilitarian secrets, a beguiling ottoman bench meant for first kisses, and come a little closer wire sculpture art by eric gushee. and because nobody puts baby in a dark corner, integrated LED lights lead lucky suitors to the elevator bank, but not before tiptoeing across reclaimed wood floors.
now back to those lanky extremities… custom rorschach test-style wall coverings—each piece hand-painted and pressed, natch—let us play dress-up. hoping for a second date, we wooed her one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom residences—and some beauteous duplex penthouses, too—with contemporary conveniences and designer finishes. we see. magnetism, mary bartelme park and sweeping city views? we’re cool waiting by the phone.turns out, their clients weren’t the only ones who noticed: this space made it into crain’s as one of “chicago’s coolest offices.”