In a recent interview for Refinery29, Shani Silver asked Kara Mann, the woman she calls “one of Chicago’s most prized decor gurus,” how she would advise Chicagoans who want to furnish a home interior. Mann, who is known for her signature “rocker meets runway” sensibility replied, “I always encourage my clients to be open to taking a few calculated risks. And keep it fun—try to enjoy the process!” If you set these two goals, you can transform your new condo (the one you purchased with the help of Related Realty Real Estate!) into a space that becomes a mirror of an exquisite design sensibility. And as part of that process, you will find that Chicago is a treasure trove of designers and design stores that provide all the right recommendations, risks, flourishes, and turns that will make your decorating project into an inspiring adventure.

A great place to start the adventure is Revival, the perfect shop for vintage furniture and one of Kara Mann’s favorite places in the city to find unique items. After a visit, you might find yourself designing a room around a sculptural, 1970s glass coffee table with two marble leg bases that are connected by what look like antennae made of brass.

For a more rustic-elegant look, you can scour two top Chicago design stores that made Architectural Digest’s recent roundup of “10 Chicago Shops You Don’t Want to Miss.” At Norcross and Scott Home, you will find classic designs like the Atwood sectional sofa in Laurentian onyx, a color as refined and understated as the lines of the couch itself. A nice addition to any room anchored by the Atwood sofa is the wooden-framed Leo chair, whose back and seat are woven from leather and held in place with bronze rivets.

Orange Skin is a store hatched from the brain of two architects—and it shows. This is a place where the powdered-steel coat hangers look like trees in a Beckett play, and you can find inspiration from designs that have a distinctly contemporary art sensibility like the Clouds sculpture, an object made of metal mesh. Another outstanding find here is the Landfield rug, a masterpiece of design that borrows a fine art relationship to texture and color and transforms it into a physical plane to walk on and to pull together the rich atmosphere of a room.

If you want to fill your home with another truly singular sensibility, you can also head to Atelier Gary Lee, where every item reflects the exquisite sensibility of another celebrated personality on the Chicago interior design scene. And the items in Lee’s showroom actually are fine art. Take, for example, the Glass Totem Sconce light fixture, which looks like an ancient artifact made of a scavenged stick of kryptonite set in polished brass. Turn on the light behind it, and your new condo from Related Realty Brokerage will illuminate with the otherworldly beauty of a design master’s imagination.

If you want to find the right Chicago condo for sale to outfit with fabulous finds like these, contact Related Realty and one of our expert brokers can help.