When a young couple, with a home in the trendy Bucktown area of Chicago, asked us to make their living room more inviting, functional, and "grown-up", we were excited at the opportunity to help! The house’s clean lines and modern architecture were driving forces in our design. We started with the functional aspect of the room, adding built-in cabinets to flank the fireplace as well as creating a built-in bench and coat storage in the entry. Adding these extra layers of cabinetry also made the room more inviting and tied in beautifully with the vertical lines of the architecture. We completed the space with comfortable and stylish furnishings to make this otherwise unused area of the home a welcoming retreat for the couple and "grown-up" place to entertain guests.