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  1. Stacey Marquardt, a director of sponsorship at Metro, and her boyfriend Steve Reidell, a designer and one half of mashup outfit the Hood Internet, infused a sense of humor in the design of their mod-influenced Humboldt Park walk-up.
  2. The psychedelic-vibed room the duo refer to as the dorm room boasts a stereo with turntable and a floor-to-ceiling collection of screenprinted posters, including many Reidell designed under the moniker Steve Sleeve (gigposters.com).
  3. "There were certain elements I knew I wanted to bring in, like the disco ball," Marquardt says. "And the on-air sign," adds Reidell, citing the light he scored for $10 at a Live Bait prop sale. "We built the room around those."

  4. Marquardt has a knack for re-creating high-end items, including this pendant light inspired by a $600 Design Within Reach piece. She crafted it using only hemp string, a beach ball and craft glue, and has since made a few for friends—part of a larger plan to build up a portfolio for her own interior design service, Floor 34.

  5. Marquardt's secret to great eBay and Craigslist scores: "I find overlooked stuff by searching misspellings. You'd be surprised how many people don't know how to spell dining room."

  6. Marquardt enhanced more traditional pieces with mod touches—"for added texture and balance," she explains. After an intensive stripping and refinishing session, she outfitted a wood cabinet scored off Craigslist with white Shangri-La wall panels (velocityartanddesign.com).

  7. Highlighting the importance of the personal references they've inserted in their design scheme, Reidell notes, "It meant a lot to us when we had a party and some people after looking around said, 'We can tell that you live here.'"

  8. Over the couch hangs a painting of the words "I don't even not understand that in a way that's understandable." The quote, an off-the-cuff assessment Marquardt once made about some bad art, was immortalized using vinyl stickers as stencils, white paint and a piece of plywood.

  9. To add balance and pops of color to the living room, the couple added columns of vintage-inspired graphic wallpaper by Irish designer Orla Kiely.
  10. Records, posters and comfy cushions give the dorm it's collegiate, chillout feel.
  11. Marquardt says she and Reidell head to the room to relax and listen to music at the end of the day.
  12. To reconcile the useful with the comical or just plain beautiful, the couple adapted every piece for maximum utility, including a refinished vintage turntable console AirPorted to play MP3s from a laptop.
  13. The couple's friend, local writer Jessica Hopper, tipped them off to this Craigslist gem, a life-size bust of Harrison Ford à la Blade Runner that doubles as a headphone stand.

House call: Stacey Marquardt and Steve Reidell's Humboldt Park walk-up

Reidell of the Hood Internet and Marquardt, the Metro's director of sponsorship, aim for functionality with a sense of humor.

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For the past two years, Marquardt, a director of sponsorship and promotions at Metro, has rented a 1,200-square-foot 2.5-bedroom with her boyfriend, Reidell, a graphic designer and one half of DJ/production duo the Hood Internet. While the pair can’t stand clutter, they also can’t resist snagging whimsical Craigslist, eBay or thrift-store finds. “We like things with a good sense of humor,” she says. To reconcile the useful with the comical, the couple adapted every piece for maximum utility, including a life-size bust of Harrison Ford à la Blade Runner that doubles as a headphone stand and a refinished vintage turntable console AirPorted to play MP3s from a laptop. The couple’s personalities shine through in the decor, too, as Reidell notes: “It meant a lot to us when we had a party and some people after looking around said, ‘We can tell that you live here.’”

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