PAT ODLAUG makes her living collecting cool stuff. It all began with an etched watercolor she spotted while vacationing in Florida nearly two decades ago. when she returned to buy the piece, it was sold. But Pat, a young mother at the time with degrees in art and science, eventually ended up representing the artist's work in the Chicago area, which led to the birth of her business, Greenleaf Gallery. "I've always thought it was karma," she says.

As her three children have grown, so has her business. Pat now offers the work of some 150 artists. But unlike her kids, the business hasn't left home. Though Pat leases showroom space in a home furnishings store, her main location is a cottage on her property.

Pat's love of collecting art is evident throughout her Bannockburn, Illinois, home, but especially in the recently remodeled kitchen, breakfast area and laundry room, which bear several of her trademark touches and, befitting her avocation, ample display space.

The Georgian-style home, constructed in the 1940s by a builder who worked on several Chicago commercial structures, was made to last with cement walls "like a bomb shelter." This was one reason that Pat and her husband, Ted, opted to do their remodeling work within the space's original footprint. Another reason they chose to stick with the gallery-style kitchen and adjoining

breakfast room is their affection for small, intimate gathering spaces.

"I loved it just as it was," says Pat. "We lived in Germany for a time, where living spaces are commonly very small, and we liked the way they were conducive to conversation."

Although she loved the space, it sorely needed updating. In fact, the project was prompted by Ted's frustration with the old cabinets, which would no longer stay completely closed.

Expansive Illusion

The checked floor survived the remodel and served as the jumping-off point for the kitchen color-scheme -- touches of black and flashes of red nicely showcase the room's white-painted cabinetry.

Because the spaces, including the mudroom/laundry, kitchen and breakfast room, are fairly small, Pat used a visual trickery to make them appear larger. In addition to airy white custom cabinets, she chose stainless-steel finishes for hardware and appliances as well as polished quartz countertops and a mirrored backsplash. She set about personalizing the spaces with her collections, many culled from flea markets and garage sales, and the work of her artists. "I don't like a certain look; I prefer a mix of different elements, like art with old things," says Pat of her style.

She's likely to change the view whenever the mood strikes. Whether it's adding a surprising color to the mix or moving items to a different location or room, she strives to keep her interiors fresh. "Sometimes moving art or furniture to a new space allows it to take on a different personality," she says.

Folk Art Reflections

Mighty Fun Dining

What the eating area lacks in size, it makes up for in charm. Friends and family gather there for myriad meals, not just for breakfast. "It's a very intimate space and one of my favorite rooms in the house," says Pat. The large pine table from Germany nicely illustrates that the right large-scale piece can work in a small space. To make room for her family of five, Pat pulls up a stool at the end of the table. As in the kitchen, the palette is black and white but includes a mix of patterns such as dots, stripes and fleur-de-lis. Picking patterns small to medium in scale helps unify the look, says Pat. Discount-store cushions top black-painted ladderback chairs from Vintage Pine. Artwork includes felted animals by Craig Yenke, an antique birdcage filled with papier-mache birds by Iowa artisan Judy Whipple, and an appliqued wall quilt by Michigan artists Chris Roberts-Antieau, which aptly depicts table manners.

Good Clean Fun

The original laundry room cabinets got a fresh coat of paint and new knobs, which allow them to blend with the newly installed cabinetry. The colors and simple silhouettes in the toilelike drapery fabric complement the soap-bubble wallpaper and tongue-in-cheek laundry border. Pieces fro Pat's extensive watermelon collection, many of which were gifts from Ted, bring summer-bright, fresh-picked spirit to the hardworking space. Even in such a utilitarian room, Pat made sure to include display areas for artwork, as she has throughout her remodeled kitchen. No matter the space, big or small, used for function or fun, Pat says, "it's important to surround yourself with the colors and things you like."