Blake Gifford Built the Home She Never Had, and Every Room Tells the Story

After aging out of foster care, the Chicago attorney and content creator turned a dated 2007 property into a layered, color-drenched sanctuary built for comfort, community, and self-expression. Her home shows that a space designed with intention can be a refuge, a creative engine, and a quiet statement about who gets to put down roots.

For Blake Gifford, home has never been a given. She entered foster care at eight and stayed until she aged out at 18. Then came a college dorm, then apartments with roommates. Even in rentals, she made a point of creating spaces that felt like her own, a respite from the rest of the world. Once she had her own place and the means to style it however she wanted, that instinct became the ethos behind every design decision.

She moved to Chicago about 11 years ago and spent roughly five of those years in a 750-square-foot apartment with her dog. When she outgrew it, she knew what she wanted: room to entertain, and character. She skipped new builds on purpose and went looking for something quintessentially Chicago.

From “Affirmation Station” to Moody Luxury

She found a multi-level home built in 2007 that had never been updated. The previous owners had left decal quotes on the walls, and when she first shared the house online, followers dubbed it the “affirmation station.” Over time, she has replaced that early-2000s energy with her own.

She describes her style in four words: moody, textured, livable, luxury. The living room has no television, by design. The space is for conversation and decompressing. The whole room grew from one anchor piece, a custom sofa from Maiden Home in a deep burgundy she calls her favorite color in the world. Around it are textured chairs that sell out whenever she posts them, a sculptural coffee table, and portraits. Gifford is drawn again and again to art that features people. One piece is a photo of her that took off on Instagram. She partnered with a friend’s site to sell it as a print, so it is both artwork and product.

Patience Over Price Tags

Her best finds are about patience more than budget. A pair of ottomans came free from Facebook Marketplace, and she reupholstered them with rugs from HomeGoods. Her office desk took six months of waiting after she asked a secondhand shop to keep an eye out. When it surfaced, she paid somewhere between 70 and 85 percent below its usual price. The office itself is color-drenched in Behr’s latest color of the year, and she says it is where she does her best creative work.

Lighting is what she calls jewelry. Every room gets a dramatic fixture, including a spinning chandelier in the dining room and an oversized statement piece in the small guest room. A coat closet became a wine cellar, wrapped in a custom colorway from Mitchell Black. That Chicago wallpaper brand is Black-owned and woman-owned, and she uses it as often as she can.

A Basement Built for Gathering

The basement is the heart of the house, and it is what sold her on it. Mitchell Black wallpaper covers the ceiling here too, a nod to the often-forgotten “fifth wall.” There is a cognac-toned reading corner where she is learning chess. Next to it is a movie room stocked with concessions, a slushie machine, and karaoke. Every Friday she keeps a ritual from childhood: pick a movie, make popcorn, order pizza.

The tenderest room belongs to her dog, Wabash, named for the Chicago avenue. It sits behind the guest room closet and is painted blue, one of the few colors dogs can see, so his refuge during fireworks feels calming. The walls hold framed handwritten notes from their UPS driver, who leaves Wabash treats.

A Career Built the Same Way

Her career followed a similar path of self-direction. She went to law school planning to become a public defender, then pivoted to intellectual property law after a dean introduced her to a former general counsel for Tom Ford. The fashion blog she had started in college grew into brand partnerships and, eventually, a full-time career as a content creator.

Strategic Playbook

1. Design around one anchor, then build out slowly. Gifford’s living room began with a single investment piece. Spend decisively on what you love most, and let the rest of the room develop over time instead of filling it all at once.

2. Make sourcing a long game. Standing requests with secondhand dealers, Marketplace finds, and DIY upholstery stretch a budget further than any sale. Patience is a design skill, and it protects your cash flow.

3. Build rooms for the life you want to live. A TV-free living room, a Friday movie tradition, and a rooftop for watch parties all shape how relationships form. A home designed for gathering builds social capital, and social capital tends to bring opportunity.

4. Let your home extend your brand. Her furniture sells out, her portrait became a print, and her suppliers reflect her values. When your space genuinely expresses who you are, it can open doors to partnerships, income, and community.

For Gifford, home means safety and comfort. It also means a space that is entirely hers.