iMag Slide Show

Attracting clients with her ability to mix design genres, Julia Buckingham Edelmann constantly pushes the envelope by offsetting modern backdrops with pops of color and antique pieces. Her Chicago firm, Buckingham Interiors + Design, takes on both commercial and residential clients, creating spaces that feel comfortable, organic and best of all, lived in. Click through for some of Julia's beautiful work. 

"Buy what you love," Edelmann says. "Even if you don't have space – buy it anyway."

And while Edelmann adds elements of surprise, like the antique circular accents above the stove, she creates a consistency within the home. The same accent can be seen in the entryway of the same home in the previous slide. 

"A home feels comfortable when you are surrounded by comfortable pieces of furniture," Edelmann says. And while she gave this historic home a modern feel with the wide leather chairs and oval coffee table, she infused traditional pieces as well, like the Chippendale chair in the corner. 

Many vintage looks can be recreated for half of what they'd cost at a place like Restoration Hardware. The perennial prints behind the desk can be purchased for pennies at flea markets. All you have to do is mat them and frame them!

When it comes to flea market shopping, Edelmann says to get there early. "Make a note of how much you want to spend, or else you'll end up having buyer's remorse. And have cash on you."

"I love sumptuous fabrics set against modern lines," Edelmann says, who designed this historic restoration from top to bottom in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. 

For more on Julia Edelmann, click here. And for more beautiful interiors, go to the At Home section.