Ad Categories: Home and Garden

When I was over at my friend’s house for a dinner party, I complimented a robin’s-egg-blue toaster in her kitchen. Turns out it’s from the British company Dualit, it was designed for heavy-duty crumpet-crisping in hotels and restaurants, and she picked it up at Sur La Table on Clybourn. It was also, gulp, over $300. My Pop-Tarts usually warm up in a decidedly more low-rent oven, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it over the next few days. I did a little shopping around, and before long this sexy red two-slot version was hanging out with my KitchenAid mixer on the countertop. I bought mine at Cooking.com for about $240, and every day it makes me smile. I love how solid and simple it is, and the manual lever means muffins keep warm until you’re ready for them. For my sister’s birthday, I gifted her with the same version in pink. (She lives in Boston—does that make us bi-toastal?)

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

Attention design junkies who also happen to love good food: The just-opened steakhouse ZED451 at 739 N. Clark St. is architect and designer Chris Smith’s (he’s done Nobu in New York, among others) first Chicago project. We love all the outside-in natural elements (wood, fire, rocks, plants), the two-story atrium that floods the space with natural light, the mix of dark/light hickory and maple floors, and, on one of many fireplaces (including one of the rooftop), the gun metal curved ceramic tile with rolled steel trim. Oh, and the fresh baby carrots, the ravioli, the chocolate tarts, and the baby lamb chops (the latter loved by my carnivorous husband).

—JAN PARR

Two posts in a row about Ralph. No, I’m not on his payroll, but I’m definitely fascinated by how a young man named Lifshitz who grew up in the Bronx could create such a deliciously WASP-y lifestyle empire. I bring this up because in the process of hunting down that sweater-style rug by Lauren that I wrote about two days ago (which, sadly, is no longer being made, according to Lauren’s press department), I became ensnared by his online marketing vehicle Ralph Lauren Home. You can’t shop on this Web site like you can on the regular Ralph Lauren Web site, but you are invited to learn how you, too, can live like Ralph in the “RL Style Guide.” Clearly, their MO is to get you to buy their stuff: The SHOP NOW icon appears shamelessly below tips on topics such as “adding glamour to your home without a complete overhaul” and making your indoor space “feel like the outdoors.” But the tips are pretty good and it’s fun to look at the videos and pictures. The photos are super-styled and super-luxe and their campaigns really do inspire you to live the RL lifestyle, if only in your mind. See you at the club!

—GINA BAZER

Photography: Courtesy of Ralph Lauren Home

Nothing like scooping your own publication. Our May/June issue, on newsstands May 1, reports that design doyenne Alessandra Branca (pictured here in her former shop, which was adjacent to her design offices; see our 2005 story about her here) is opening a new store at 17 E. Pearson St. on May 8. I was invited to a preview party on May 7 to see Branca’s furniture and one-of-a-kind accessories culled on her travels to Europe and India. We’ll keep you posted.

—Jan Parr

The other day we did a photo shoot at Room & Board for a story about throw pillows (learn everything you ever wanted to know about them in our upcoming July/August issue). The pillows were obviously the stars of the show, but we also used a rug in the shoot that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since. It’s the Cable rug in Heather (see photo at left), and the reason I love it so much is that it looks and feels like a big old sweater. Problem is I’m not sure if it pills like one, too, so if anyone has any experience with this rug, please share. It’s new to Room & Board so it’s unlikely anyone has lived with it long enough to know what will become of it in a couple of years… Still, any insight on 100-percent undyed wool would be great. This reminded me that a few years ago, I was considering getting similar wool carpeting by Ralph Lauren (see photo at right). I was planning to have it cut to an 8-by-10-foot size and bound with fabric, and it was going to cost about $1,300—the Cable rug costs $1,599 for around 7 by 10 feet (granted, it is a lot softer). Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the carpet store on Lincoln Avenue that carries the Ralph Lauren floor coverings collection (anyone have a clue?). Be sure, I have put in a call to RL corporate to figure this out. I will report back when I have more information. I love the idea of having a cozy sweater underfoot.

—GINA BAZER

Photography: Courtesy of Room & Board and Ralph Lauren

If you haven’t been to the new Elements store yet… well, shame on you. You’re missing out on a bevy of edgy/elegant home design finds, delicious jewelry, great bags, gorgeous coffee table books, treats catered by Southport Grocery when you saddle up to the iPod bar, and more. We covered the store’s opening in the mag long before the dust settled, so here’s our reminder… get there now! OK, now back to La Door. After owners Jeannine Dal Pra and Toby Glickman decided to scoot off Oak Street in favor of trendier digs on Wells, they took a buying trip extraordinaire, scoping the globe for all things inspirational. Among their discoveries in London: “We admired the way people’s front doors really showed their individuality,” says Glickman. When the two hit upon a stellar door pull at an antique store, the deal was sealed. Dal Pra scribbled a sketch, and they had a carpenter build a totally unique door for their shop. They painted it Rumba Orange (Benjamin Moore #2014-20), et voilà. Entering the loo has never been so fabulous.

—BARRI LEINER

My spirited little dog Lucy does not suffer novelty hats or seasonal sweaters gladly, but she’s developed an eye for nice home design, I like to think. My fave Chicago pet store, Streeterville Pet Spa & Boutique (401 E. Ontario St.) just got in some new Italian lines that rolled us both right over. Owner Marion Thompson has a great eye and always stocks a lot of stylish creature comforts, including a rotating display case of dog treats that look good enough to serve bipeds, made by a local pastry chef. She told me these Milanese EGR beds use that super-tough Sunbrella fabric that won’t fade or stain, and they’re about $50 to $85. The designs are sort of wiener werkstatte meets Japanese print, all in a mid-cent-mod color palette.  With chic canine couches like these, who wouldn’t mind a couple lying around the house? Good girl, Marion! 

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

Photos from petego.com

We were sad to see Modernica close its showroom in River North earlier this year. So imagine how happy we were to hear that the store’s fiberglass chairs, bubble lights, Noguchi tables and chairs, and other modern furniture has found a home at I.D., one of our favorite home accessories stores. A manager at I.D. tells us they have a sampling of Modernica’s most popular items, but that any item can be ordered through I.D.

—JAN PARR

I got a sneak peek at the Merchandise Mart’s DreamRooms the other day. I was there to be interviewed for a video that will play on a loop at the Mart promoting the show. (Chicago Home + Garden is the media sponsor of the event.) Some of the Mart’s biggest showrooms—Holly Hunt, Donghia, Henredon—had designers showcase their wares in lovely living spaces. DreamRooms doesn’t feel as personal and eccentric as DreamHome (which features the work of individual designers who source from all over the Mart), but there’s a lot to like here. The mood of the rooms is overwhelmingly glam and sexy: rich, touchable fabrics (love the unfinished drapes in the Green room), gold- and metallic-toned colors, curvy furniture. It’s not ’til you get to the last room, an outdoor space designed by Holly Hunt, that straight, modern lines come into play. I really liked the luxe drapery fabric that gets carried over as wallcovering in the Donghia room. My favorite? The C.A.I. bedroom designed by Christopher Guy Harrison—really sexy. Check out this vanity and chair. See it April 25 through July 12.

—JAN PARR