—JAN PARR
" />—JAN PARR
" />—JAN PARR
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Sawbridge Studios, the River North showroom featuring artisan and handcrafted furniture and accessories, has gone soft. That is, it now carries a new line of upholstered furniture, including this Left Arm Chaise ($6,000 as shown). The line is handcrafted in North Carolina by The Pearson Company and is generally available only through designers.
—JAN PARR
At least two guests were appropriately dressed for the opening party of the Scottish Manor, a concept home in Bannockburn developed by Orren Pickell (our magazine is a marketing sponsor). That’s my dashing husband, Peter Turek, on the left, and Orren himself on the right. Our publisher, Randy Hano, dressed in civilian clothes and showhouse booties, is in the middle. Hundreds of guests packed the 9,000-square-foot home, which was decorated by Kiki Luthringshausen and her staff at K-Haus. There are a lot of wow-factor touches, such as the massive reclaimed barn beam in the kitchen (shown here), the bath with a view, the multiple fireplaces…
The Manor is located at 30 Aberdeen Ct, off Telegraph Rd, 3/10 of a mile south of Half Day Road (Route 22) and is open to the public through Sept. 21. Hours are: noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays, or by appointment. Like what you see? The home is yours for a cool $4.8 million (you’ll have to negotiate separately for the furniture and accessories).
—Jan Parr
Kitchen Photo by Linda Oyama Bryant
In a down real-estate market, buyers may fantasize about transforming a starter
house into the home of their dreams. But at what cost? We find out.
Anyone who’s ever tried to paint a wall yellow knows that color can be extremely tricky and changes in different lights. That’s why we were excited to hear that Benjamin Moore is opening a showroom in the Mart by June 9 in suite 1686. It will be open only to designers and architects, so if you have one, get yours to take you over for expert color viewing. They’re tricking the place out with state-of-the-art lighting technology that lets you see colors in a range of lights (daylight, natural, incandescent, and halogen).
—JAN PARR
Photograph courtesy of Benjamin Moore
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Adam Moroschan, our trusty associate art director, had another big idea. Why not head to opening day at the Randolph Market Festival and design a room on location using our favorite finds? We could call it “On the Spot” and post big Chicago Home + Garden signs at the market promoting it. I believe he used the words “make it a spectacle.” Then, he said, we’ll publish the results in our special September/October eco-chic-design issue (after all, isn’t reusing and repurposing old treasures the best way to recycle?). So in true Adam form, he got it all together, right down to the perfectly art-directed fine weather!
I pull into port on Saturday, May 24, at 7:57 a.m. (the market opens at 10 but we spy plenty of in-the-know early birds.) The first find of the day? Front-of-the-gate, rock star parking. Let this be a sign. I head in, heart already racing (did I mention I am a flea market junkie?) to find Larry Vodak of Scout already perusing the rows (his home will get its close-up in our next issue, after all). I meet the crew (shown above from left to right; I’m the one crouched at the bottom): Matt Gilson (photog and fellow collector), Nellie Williams (intern of all interns!), David Ettinger (Matt’s ace assistant), and the aforementioned Adam. We set up our backdrop and let the fun begin.
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Dashing up and down the aisles snapping pics of ideas and taking copious notes (thanks, Nellie), we decide a few of our finds would anchor well on a ruddy red and grey Turkish rug. It is said to have mystical powers. Who wouldn’t want that? We haul it over, and begin to build our room. Pairs of chairs, a settee, a mod coffee table (hey, is that Saarinen?). A wooden ironing board (yes, we repurpose it in our room). Hmmm. Feel like home yet? One of the most exciting parts of the day is that our picks begin to sell right off the set. My favorite part is adding the extras (dealers call them smalls – I call them personality) that make it look like someone lives there. Vintage specs on a side table and a retro cocktail glass. Shells from a vacation destination. Auction catalogs and old books. It’s nearing 11:12 a.m., and Matt snaps some pics. The crowd gathers. They are brimming with queries and offers to buy.
Shown at top right is a sneak peek of a few of our finds. Stay tuned for more in the September/October issue. To hear about some of my favorite ideas on flea marketing, tune in here for a recent interview with Sally Schwartz (owner of the market) and me on Nate Berkus’s Oprah and Friends show on XM Radio. A big shout out to Sally for her support (shown above, to the right of Nate). It’s good old-fashioned fun.
—BARRI LEINER
The party for textile designer Lulu de Kwiatkowski’s new book Lulu (AMMO) at Elements was hopping. The preggers designer sat up front signing her gorgeous folio with one of the evening’s hosts, Nate Berkus, sitting at her side and cracking jokes. “Let me answer that,” he quipped when I asked the authoress about the inspiration for her book. She told us (or actually, her PR person told us later, as she was so busy greeting admirers one felt bad making her go too deep) it was “all about the journey of the artist–how you get to where you are going.” And indeed these collage-style pages with diary entries and snapshots of family and friends, alongside original botanical art by Kwiatkowski herself, give you a peak inside her very creative mind. The other eye candy was Elements itself. The new store is amazing.
—Gina Bazer
Photos by Barry Brecheisen
Chicago will be the first city in the U.S. to get a freestanding Maxalto store (it’s opening June 6 at 309 W. Superior St. in River North). This collection by Antonio Citterio is part of B&B Italia but has a more classic look, with lines inspired by French design of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. —Gina Bazer
Local designer Randall Kramer just let us know he is a finalist in a lighting contest sponsored by
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So, I mentioned on an earlier blog that I got a house. And here it is! Yay! The windows, though charming, are super-old and we are replacing them with new vinyl windows (I know, not ideal, but the place has 33 windows and we are on a budget!). I’ve been mulling over getting aluminum mullions put on these ho-hum newbies to preserve the original 1920s look, but when I mentioned this to our art director (and general in-house maven about everything that looks and doesn’t look good!) she told me that we must consider our options in Photoshop. What a beautiful thing! She got rid of the mullions to show me what the windows would look like with nothing, and I’m so relieved. I don’t need to order these fakey embellishments. The place looks better without them. Now she’s on another mission. Helping me decide whether to go with white windows or dark brown, given that I will eventually want to re-stucco the house in a different color. I will keep you posted. Anyone else have opinions on this? Please share!
—Gina Bazer
Ladies and gentlemen. Straight from the farms of Sterling, Illinois, starring center stage in their first-ever appearance at Randolph Street Market Festival (formerly Chicago Antique Market): Rick and Linda Gibson of Henhouse Furniture and Antiques. We dig their one-of-a-kind pieces as well as their “yeah, we can make that from old wood for you” offerings (they’ll make you a killer kitchen island, like the one shown here). Stellar craftsmanship and sweet people to boot. If you’ve never been to the Chicago Antique Market, season five promises to be a hit. New name, same game. Go early. Go often. And look for us (we’ll be there opening day for a special feature we’re doing called “On the Spot,” designing a room with pieces we find at the market that day). Opening weekend Saturday, May 24, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, May 25, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
—BARRI LEINER
Photos:
Randolph Street Market Festival by Keith Portman
custom kitchen island from Henhouse Furniture & Antiques
