Lots of personality is squeezed into Brandon Smrz’s 19th-floor bachelor pad overlooking downtown Louisville.
Smrz, a Chicago native who moved into his apartment at 800 Tower City in March, quickly designed it with knick-knacks his mother, Kathy Mosley, stockpiled over the years with her furniture business.
His personal trinkets – a wall hanging of Chicago’s “L” metro line above his kitchen table, University of Iowa baseball caps and Chicago Cubs championship memorabilia – fill the under 1,000-square-foot space.
Contemporary touches combine with a color palette of grays, blues, whites, browns and blacks to “create a style I didn’t know I had,” Smrz said.
(Photo: Alton Strupp/CJ)
An overview of the living room area at the apartment of Brandon Smrz in the 800 Tower City Apartments building in downtown Louisville. There is a gray couch and the curved lines in the rug complement the curves of the white coffee table. A graphic view of Chicago, Smrz's hometown, hangs on the wall.
For a smaller apartment, Smrz's mother had one rule: Form and function. They go together.
That’s evident in the kitchen where Smrz's small, wooden high-top kitchen table doubles as storage space with pull-out metal drawers underneath. Refurbished, stained bar stools are tucked under the table’s metal base.
Smrz also took advantage of the natural light that pours in from his ceiling-tall windows in his living room and bedroom. His cardinal rule? Don’t block it. It makes the room look bigger.
His mishmash of furniture – from an old, black TV stand and chest cabinet he had at his old place to the new brown wicker furniture he bought for his balcony – combines to create a modern, sleek style throughout his apartment.
But they also hold his personal trinkets, such as Illinois and Iowa license plates with his unique last name, an aquarium and his collection of shot glasses on top of a dividing wall separating his desk space from his living room.
A blue, black, white and silver gray color palette combines with wooden furniture and floors with what Smrz calls more “country” accents for a seamless flow through his apartment.
In his living room, the largest space in the apartment, a retro rounded white and black coffee table – like you’d see on "That '70s Show" – gets a modern boost with a gray chaise sofa and silver floor lamp with hanging lights. A sapphire blue throw blanket ties the space together. Under the couch, a tan carpet carries the same rounded rectangular pattern – some pressed into the carpet and others outlined in dark brown.
The night stands that flank his bed are part of the rounded rectangular set. His wooden bed frame and dresser hold his collection of colognes, baseball caps, and Chicago Bears, Bulls and Cubs posters propped up on his white walls.
A Chicago boy with an appreciation for country music, Smrz's personal touches are what define his space. Through the door of his apartment, you see a wooden coat hanger with a vintage sign that says “Bubs” drilled into it – a piece his mother built.
A large, three-panel painting of the Chicago skyline overlaid with the light blue stripes and four red stars of the city’s flag hangs above his gray couch. The Chicago Tribune’s front page press plate from when the Cubs won the 2016 World Series sits above his desktop computer.
A nod to Chicago’s “L” metro line is found in a wall hanging above his kitchen table. Baseball caps with logos of his Chicago sports teams line the inside of his bedstands. He even showcases the city’s skyline with photos in his bathroom.
Homeowner: Brandom Smrz moved into his less than 1,000-square-foot apartment at the 800 Tower City Apartments in March.
Home: This is a 1-bed, 1-bath apartment with views of the Louisville skyline.
Distinctive elements: Repurposed coat hanger; reused black bedroom set; an extensive collection of Chicago-themed art; aquarium; large silver floor lamp with hanging lights; wall length windows that let in natural light; form follows function with high-top kitchen table doubling as kitchen storage unit underneath; rounded rectangular patterns found throughout the house; patio with views of the Louisville skyline.
Applause, Applause! Designs by 1298; Mom, Kathy Mosley, and stepdad, Steve Mosley; Pepper Construction; and 12 friends from Chicago he calls “the squad” who helped him move to Louisville.
Article by Madeleine Winer/Courier-Journal/USA TODAY Network
