A Shoom bowl in stainless steel tops the dining table.

Contemporary Green and Blue Living Room With Urban View When HGTV announced the Chicago place of Urban Oasis 2011, interior designer Vern Yip knew exactly where to search for inspiration. "I instantly thought about Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School of Architecture and Louis Sullivan and the Carson Pirie Scott Building," he says. "And I thought about all those iconic architectural moments; Frank Lloyd Wright specifically worked in a very warm palette that was inspired by Mother Nature."

Green Living Room With Liquor Cabinet A medley of old and new, living room furnishings are both aesthetically pleasing and functional. A brand new front-fall desk, motivated by circa-1940s French furnishings, serves as either a cocktail bar and media center (a notebook and printer are stored in the cupboard's bottom shelves).

Urban Oasis 2011 Custom Artwork Detail Artwork aluminum window installation . crafted by Chicago artist Todd Mack, references Chicago's many popular attractions. The item, which was completed over the span of several months, incorporates vintage letters salvaged from old business and doctor's office signs.

Urban Oasis 2011 Custom Artwork and Lamp Detail A circa-1930s frieze from a demolished building lends textural interest. Lamps that sew the piece, crafted by Chicago lamp artist Ted Harris, incorporate older picture frames and tungsten filament bulbs.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Desk Closeup The cocktail bar is stocked with all vintage serviceware and a variety of cocktail and wineglasses. "I enjoy the fact which you could play and work all in the exact same place," says Vern.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Sofa and Light Panel Placement of the button-tufted couch took more than traffic flow into consideration. "One of the first things that you see about the apartment is that there's a view of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, the iconic Chicago buildings along with also the L," says Vern. "So I actually wanted to make sure that all the seating took that into account."

Wall Sconce is Tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright Vern's custom made wall sconce -- a tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright's Tree of Life art glass skylight designs -- adds soft illumination in the gathering room. A mahogany box houses the lighting system and six laser-cut cherry panels that are endorsed in Plexiglas.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Sofa Pillows Embroidered cushions extend Vern's nature theme and pop against muted grey upholstery fabric.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Sofa, Table and Lamp A lamp purchased in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago shop tops a vintage chrome and glass finish table. "The blossom is a nod to the Tree of Life design, but this time it's presented in cast resin. It glows from within. I believe that it's such a gorgeous, tasteful lamp," says Vern.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Coffee Table Detail Sculptural in character, a solid walnut coffee table, created by New Breed Furniture Network, celebrates Chicago's artisan neighborhood. "There is such a strong culture of artisans and I needed not just to get to know who they were but also infuse their work into the space," says Vern.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Chairs and City View A cozy seating area that seems to hover over the skyline is anchored by a classic Knoll, marble-topped dining table.

Yellow Roses Preserved and Employed as Accent Piece A definite planter, which Vern favors for its "organic" style and character reference, holds a bouquet of roses that are preserved, which will remain garden-fresh and color-saturated for as much as three years.

View of Chicago River from Urban Oasis Apartment HGTV Urban Oasis 2011, situated on the 35th floor of Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago, overlooks Chicago's scenic Riverwalk, the Chicago River, the Loop and some of the city's most noteworthy architectural landmarks, both old and new.

View of Chicago skyline from Urban Oasis Apartment A sight which transfixes, the bustling L transports commuters to and from the city.

Urban Oasis 2011 LR Chairs and Preserved Roses The apartment's library of books provides a synopsis of Chicago's social history. "Whoever wins this apartment will be able acquainted with the town on this detailed, intimate level," says Vern of this collection which contains titles on Chicago architecture, sports clubs, restaurants, street food, fashion and fine art.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Chair Detail Barcelona-style chairs, inspired by Bauhaus architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's iconic designs for the Barcelona World Fair of 1929, were the first furnishings selected for the living room. Mies is indelibly tied to Chicago for his contributions to architecture in addition to his tenure as the head of the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Vase Detail An alabaster vase, that rests atop a custom-crafted media cabinet, is representative of Vern's curated collection of royal decoration.

Green Dining Area and Kitchen A dining area adjacent to the kitchen is anchored with a classic DIA table in glass and chrome. A sustainably crafted chair chairs three guests.

Urban Oasis 2011 Dining Room Eagle Decor "I love how he looks at you once you walk in the space," says Vern of one of his first finds for the space, a white glazed terra-cotta eagle, reclaimed in the faade of the Charles A. Brewer & Sons Building. The imposing figure is flanked by candleholders, custom-designed for Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art store.

Urban Oasis 2011 Dining Room Chair Detail Vintage Wegner-inspired dining seats are upholstered in a poppy shade that complements the room's colour palette.

Urban Oasis 2011 Dining Room Table Decor A Shoom bowl in stainless steel tops the dining table. Purchased from Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art store, the tabletop accessory references Cloud Gate (the Bean), a 110-ton elliptical sculpture situated in Millennium Park. "Everybody walks into the Bean and stares in his or her reflection," says Vern. "I adored somehow weaving it in our unit."

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Wood Artwork Antique wood carvings, salvaged from an English oak bookcase, add sculptural interest in the dining area.

Urban Oasis 2011 Living Room Lighting Detail "I needed to abstract the idea of stained glass" says Vern of this living room's signature light fixture. A string of glass veneer tubes which run the width of this room pay tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright's own stained glass and lightscreen layouts in addition to Chicago's tradition of silver craft.

Casual Green Dining Area Boasts Vintage Furnishings Vern shopped 42 stores within the span of two days to collect the group of decor for HGTV Urban Oasis 2011. "If you ask me about any item from the unit I want to have the ability to let you know the story for why it's there -- it's not just there to be there," he states.

HGTV Urban Oasis 2011 Contemporary Living Room At nighttime HGTV Urban Oasis takes on added glamour, using light emanating from the wall sconce, glass pendant tubes and filament-bulb lamps, which create a soft, nearly imperceptible hum.

View of Chicago Skyline at Night from Living Room "It does not feel like you're in a large city when you are walking the streets," says Vern, when talking of his longstanding relationship with Chicago. "Everybody is an acquaintance or even a friend. That is among the things I have always appreciated about this city."