Scout

Scouting Out the Unusual in Home Decor

After 25 years of scouring estate sales, antique stores, and the basements of friends and family, Larry Vodak left the advertising business and opened his own venture doing just that for others.   

Scout, the store, sits on a stretch of Clark Street in Andersonville. With its ever-changing collection of one of a kind items, Scout is quickly becoming a mecca for home furnishings aficionados.   

      

The shop is stacked high with furniture, lamps, art and accessories that Vodak has rescued and repurposed for a new life. While the collection could be called eclectic, the overriding aesthetic is best described as architectural. Clean lines and modular pieces all display similar architectural elements.  

Scale and balance are of utmost importance, according to Vodak. Sizable tables are balanced by low-back chairs and oversized candelabras. Wood plank tables are paired with steel pieces; glass and textured pieces are paired for aesthetic balance.

“All of this is curated,” he said. “We collect each item to fit aesthetically in this store.” Unlike many pieces made for the overly large homes being built today, the pieces at Scout fit smaller urban environments.   

Lamps are created from found objects by local artisan Ted Harris and the shades are handmade by local shop A Lamps. Slate boards from an Iowa school house have been custom-framed with weathered 100-year-old wood, freshly upholstered seats are reviving vintage stools, and newly framed botanical prints will soon be on display.

Accent pieces of a quality found at such high-end stores as Barney’s round out the collection, albeit at much more affordable prices.   

“I love the intersection of old and new,” said Vodak. “To me, that’s the sweet spot in home decor.” A sweet spot in itself, Scout has been cited as a design source in everything from Chicago Home to national home design magazines.  
 

Scout 

5221 N. Clark St.  
Chicago, IL 60640
773.275.5700

www.scoutchicago.com

 

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SeeMore Shopping Contributing Writer – L. Heller.
 
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Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. SeeMoreShopping incurs all expenses associated with reviews. Publ.  07/07.