Get Heady For Bed
Nebraskan HGTV buff Marilyn Wilson noticed a lot of chirpy television personalities struggling to maneuver unwieldy headboards up narrow stairwells and into bedrooms, and thought that there ought to be an easier way of spiffing up a boudoir. She and her Chicago-dwelling daughter Katy put their noggins together and came up with Heady Beds, a modular system of upholstered headboard panels that can be custom ordered in various sizes, configurations, and more than 100 fabric options. Prices depend on scale and cloth caste, obviously, but Katy tells me an average headboard fit for a queen will run about $350 or less. “Although the trend right now is for tall and dramatic,” she adds. “We’ve been selling more headboards that approach and occasionally exceed $1,000.” I like this concept and business model for several reasons: They seem super-easy to assemble with nuts and bolts, they can be reupholstered whenever you get a wild hair, they’re lightweight and easily movable, and Heady Bed treats for domestic shipping and $2 fabric swatches. If you have DIY desires and your own fabric, they also have kits containing the frames, hardware, and padding. The glam panels here are sheathed in the company’s creamy white faux leather.
Hughes News
The 18th floor of the Merchandise Mart got a little livelier this week with the opening of the Bradley Hughes showroom and gallery. This is the second stand-alone showcase for the burgeoning Atlanta-based company, founded a decade ago by Michelle and Keith Bradley, that also has outposts in Dallas, Houston, and Scottsdale. In addition to the company’s signature concrete furniture, such as this stoic steel-pierced Owen table, Bradley Hughes sells textiles designed by contemporary artists, hand-forged metal items, fine art, and furniture crafted from reclaimed wood and painted glass. Everything at this family-run business is designed and produced in the United States; much of it made to order.
Deep-Freeze Discounts
It’s been a rough week, weather-wise (I’ve been known to toss a few puns around, but could we please put a moratorium on snowpocalypse and snowmageddon? Enough already, we get it. And thundersnow? Really?), so lots of area shops and restaurants are stepping up to the shoveled-off plate and thinking up sales and discounts to coax nesting consumers out of the house. My inbox is drifting with deals, but one of the most intriguing is Fort Pitt Hotel Furniture’s weekend blowout. This Saturday and Sunday the high-end liquidator (which recently moved close to Midway Airport) is selling off a collection of framed black-and-white Chicago landscape photographs like this for $10 each, and also melting prices on cool sunburst mirrors from the Hotel Monaco ($35 each), rolling stainless steel and frosty glass side tables ($15), and leather-like occasional chairs from Hyatt hotels ($39? For that price you could outfit your ice-fishing shack in style and not even feel the burn.). Step out of that Snuggie, strap on your snowshoes, and get thee to Fort Pitt!
900 Newbie
The charming, cottagey furniture and home entertaining shop Crosell & Co. has cropped up at a second location, on the fifth floor of the 900 Shops at 900 North Michigan Avenue. I’ve pledged allegiance to the friendly service at owner–interior designer Diane Crosell’s Bucktown location, and to exploring its two floors of eclectic furniture and accessories from the likes of Juliska, Beatriz Ball, Mariposa, and Arte Italica—great pickings for gifts. It will be interesting to see how and if it adjusts offerings for the new Mag Mile milieu. Should you be considering a big purchase, maybe you’ll want to wait for the mall’s Tax-Free Weekend Presidents’ Day sale starting February 19, when Crosell and more than 40 stores (including L’Occitane, Scandia Down, and space519 will be doling out 9.75-percent discounts on all merch, including sale items.
Last Call
The work of Evanston-based mosaic artist Heather Hancock has been on my radar since I saw her spirited glass-tile wall treatments in the bathroom of one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants, Uncommon Ground (the 1401 West Devon location—have the cassoulet or the pumpkin ravioli if they’re on the menu. Yum.). Heather is having a solo show with 20 pieces of her artwork at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Montgomery Ward Gallery and it’s ending soon, on February 10. She also does commissioned mosaics as backsplashes, murals, and whatever sites you can imagine enhancing with her shattered shards, so check out the show for ideas, or contact her directly.
The Shipping News
Until Sunday, February 20, Jayson Home & Garden is picking up the shipping bills on all store or online purchases of $100 or more (it’s not terribly hard to bust a Benjamin at JH&G), to any of the 48 contiguous states. Transport can often be an intimidating add-on to furniture buys, especially the plus-size models, so this offer affords major savings—potentially thousands of dollars. Should you want a couple of these puffy Morgan chairs, for example, you’ll have an extra $370 of mad money if you grab them in the next couple of weeks.