Twice is Nice
Kelly Rauch of the interior design, decorative painting, and upholstery studio Twice is a maestro at reinventing vintage furniture, but she’s not one to hog the spotlight. Friday, May 18, from 5-9 p.m. she’s sharing the stage (well, her atelier, at 5450 W. Belmont Ave.) with a host of other talents, including Co’tour, another local outfit that repurposes old furniture marvelously; fiber artist Donna Bartman-Masini; the table linens company Shine Handmade; and vintage furniture dealer Amazing Space. Tassie Tagarelli of Miss Dottie’s Pound Cake will be offering samples of her divine pound cake, and yum-yums from locally based Katherine Anne Confections will also be served, which might make you think twice about missing this event. Bonus: Rauch will offer 20 percent off all her fabrics and 10 percent off all custom drapery and upholstery labor through May 25. —Gina Bazer
Art of Living
What is the first rule of decorating? That you should mix old and new? That you should invest in a good sofa (and never call it a couch)? That you should admit you suck and hire a professional? Well, I’ve interviewed many a designer in my day and most of them agree on this: Buy some real art for your walls. Friday, May 18, from 6-10 p.m. is the Cornelia Arts Building Summer Open House—a great opportunity to fall in love with that pièce de resistance that will hang above your trophy-sofa. Check out paintings, photography, textiles, and sculpture by the more than 40 artists who haves studios in this Roscoe Village building. Musique will be provided by the French group Flon Flon et Musette. —GB
To the Maxalto
Whenever I walk into Maxalto, I feel as if I’m being wrapped in a sophisticated Italian pashmina. To me, it’s the perfect take on transitional style—modern yet comfortable, refined yet not too fancy. The store is currently having a floor sample sale (Thursday, Friday, and next Monday) with up to 70 percent off select pieces. —GB
Walk Right In
If you’ve ever craned your head to peer into street-level windows of gorgeous homes before (uh, guilty!), you’ll love this Sunday’s City Style House Tour. Six of the most stunning private homes in Lincoln Park open their doors for a few hours as part of this walking tour. You’ll start the tour with a catered reception at BOKA before going from home to home. And since the organizers expect you to salivate over the antiques, one-of-a-kind furniture, inspiring wall treatments, and smart green design ideas on the tour, there will be gourmet hors d’oeuvres at each stop. A few of the highlights this year include a newly constructed house with a green roof that captures rainwater to nourish the garden (similar to a system used in Millennium Park) and a former 19th century school that has been turned into a home (the kitchen of which is shown here). Tickets are $140 if you buy them by the end of today (at citystylehousetour.com or by calling 773-327-0900) or $155 at the door and benefit the Chicago City Day School. It’s a perfect way to spend the upcoming sunny, warm Sunday afternoon.—Alice Oglethorpe
Flowers, Outside the Vase
Mike Hines has been showing Chicagoans just how cool and edgy flower arrangements can be through his company Epoch Floral for more than a decade. This month, he’s unveiling his latest venture: Mike Hines Signature. “Epoch is a place where you can go in and buy arrangements for special occasions, but Mike Hines Signature is different. It’s all about large-scale installations where you can revel in floral art in a huge scale,” he told me. “We’re also going to run workshops, demonstrations, and lectures.” To kick it off, he’s doing his first installation at the Park Hyatt. The design—which will appear to be one large vine that’s actually made up of lots of smaller green elements with hundreds of purple hydrangeas attached to it like tassels—starts in the NoMI Garden and drapes down the side of the hotel on Chicago Avenue by Rush. Walk by in the morning of May 30th and you’ll see Mike hanging off the building hard at work. And don’t wait too long to catch a glimpse of the work—it’s made of completely live flowers and plants, meaning it won’t last very long. —AO