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"The $5,000 Solution with Alex Jordan and Dan Smieszny\nGuiding a Young Chicagoan in the Fine Art of Color, Placement and Proportion\nJordan, left, his partner Dan Smieszny and Katz scour Fishman&amp;#39;s for fabrics.\n&amp;quot;We helped her create a warm environment on a tight budget,&amp;quot; designer Alex Jordan says of premed student Alexandra Katz&amp;#39;s Chicago apartment.\n\nThe designers and members of their office staff painted the walls of the living room terra-cotta. &amp;quot;We imparted a sense of drama to an otherwise vanilla space&amp;quot; says Jordan. Katz&amp;#39;s parents donated some of the furnishings, including the chairs.\n&amp;quot;The challenge was to integrate the Asian furniture into a classical background. It was necessary to modernize the mix,&amp;quot; he says.\nJordan and Smieszny hold a mosaic rug,which they hung on a wall as art. &amp;quot;It established the palette for the entire apartment,&amp;quot; notes Jordan.\nThe three peruse Le Magasin&amp;#39;s wares. &amp;quot;The dishes we chose weren&amp;#39;t expensive, but they&amp;#39;re wonderful,&amp;quot; says Jordan. &amp;quot;We wanted something that looks handmade. French porcelain comes in a variety of glazes, and no item is like another. A trick is to hang it on a wall instead of art.&amp;quot;\nThe solarium &amp;quot;required the fewest changes,&amp;quot; says Smieszny. The chair fabric, which the two uncovered in Katz&amp;#39;s parents&amp;#39; basement, &amp;quot;ties in beautifully with the new wall color and the existing kilim,&amp;quot; he says. A 19th-century Korean chest-on-chest is at right.\n&amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s much more inviting now,&amp;quot; Jordan says of the dining room. The photographs are by Tim Hall.\nRattan chairs from Pier 1 Imports surround the table, which is illuminated by a Pottery Barn light fixture. Katz&amp;#39;s mother made the seat cushion covers out of a tablecloth.\n&amp;quot;The furniture seemed overly important in the small bedroom,&amp;quot; says Jordan.\n&amp;quot;We couldn&amp;#39;t go to pricey design sources or The Merchandise Mart for furnishings,&amp;quot; says Jordan, &amp;quot;but we did find a Herman Miller round table at an antiques store on Lincoln Avenue. It injects a more modern aesthetic into the space. And at $150, it was a giveaway.&amp;quot;\nThe designers created the illusion of space by painting the walls a dark brown and placing the furniture at an angle, which &amp;quot;opened up the room,&amp;quot; Jordan points out.\nPurchases"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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