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Thos. Moser at Tree Studios on State Street is exhibiting the botanical photography of interior designer Laurel Feldman through October. Framed against white mats and hung in a group, the Georgia O’Keefe–esque photos seem to pop off the walls. Makes sense that a designer would find just the right shots.
—GINA BAZER
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I stopped by the Antiquarians Building on Kinzie yesterday to check out the newly expanded V. Amsterdam, which now consumes the entire lower level of the building, and fell in love with the shop’s mid-century collection.
Owner Marilyn Vogel offers an overwhelming assortment of 20th century American pieces, with an emphasis on Art Deco-period items and Asian influences. The result is a rich and sophisticated look that left me drooling.
Vogel, a former lawyer who flips houses on the Gold Coast when she’s not busy collecting, opened V. Amsterdam five years ago. I spent much of my time there petting a striking 1940s American, curved-back side chair with tufted gold upholstery, pictured here. One of a pair and a perfect addition to my living room, but, unfortunately, not part of my currently non-existent home-décor budget. Other items I oogled longingly: a funky pair of Danish walnut-twisted leg stools, circa 1880, with a patterned leather upholstery and beaded trim ($1,550, also shown here); a 1950s Chinoiserie mirror with antiqued glass ($500); and a charming pair of late 19th century walnut bedside tables with mesh inset doors ($1,500).
Lighting is obviously a passion of Vogel’s: lamps of all shapes and styles rest on every tabletop and stand in every corner. Among them was a pair of regal-looking black-shaded 1950s bronze table lamps ($1,400), and a beautiful set of Borghese library lamps ($1,250). I found a great pair of neoclassical-style milk glass table lamps for just $200.
—Jessica Linn
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List Price: $3.199 million
Grounded in Fiction
The Chicago Air & Water Show dominates the skies this weekend, but there's plenty to see at street level—for starters, a couple of theatre adaptations by local lit stars. Elizabeth Berg—she of New York Times best-seller list fame, who has been touted by everyone from Oprah to the American Library Association—has adapted her...
I’m not usually a fan of patchwork patterns (in home design, not clothes—I live in madras all summer), as the look often comes across as too calico-country-kitchen, but these sassy Casama slipper chairs at Arhaus made me smile when they showed up on the cover of the latest catalog, hanging from trees. Like snowflakes and Meryl Streep roles, they’re one-of-a-kind, and are made of multipatterned color-saturated fabrics in a little village in India. You can choose a bright or a muted combination—I’m thinking one, maybe two brights for a sunroom or porch. The introductory price is $399, until the end of August when they go to $569.
—BRADLEY LINCOLN
While Chicago confronted what sounds like a hailstorm of biblical proportions last week, Texas, where I had road tripped, was busy sandwiching the half-hearted tropical storm Edouard with raging, relentless, stick-to-the-car-seat heat. What better way to wash down rain and rampant sweat than with more moisture, in the form of cold beer? If you're ever in the Texas Hill Country—that incongruous swath of elevation that rides the Lone Star State's belly like a giant belt buckle—find yourself a bottle of...
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