As soon as you walk through the doors of the newly revamped Ethan Allen at 1900 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park and see the glamorous vignette pictured above, you sense the company has updated its look. It’s still traditional but feels more of-the-moment; some collections are downright modern. There is also a user-friendly component: The store’s first level is divided into rooms decorated in distinct styles—Global, Metro, Villa, etc.—with descriptive commentary printed on the walls for each one. (I find that sometimes it helps to have a definition of—or at least some words to describe—what I like.) If you go to the company’s Web site, you can also take a quiz to help you figure out your aesthetic. Take their assessment with a grain of salt—my style was deemed Loft and I just moved to a house in the ’burbs! But I found the words that Ethan Allen uses to define Loft to be pretty darn consistent with what I like: “Energetic. Fashion-driven. Practical. Materials borrowed from industry, architecture, and nature. Clean shapes. Punches of color. Spontaneous and fresh. Kids and pets? Bring them on.” Not bad at all, Ethan Allen.
—Gina Bazer
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As soon as you walk through the doors of the newly revamped Ethan Allen at 1900 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park and see the glamorous vignette pictured above, you sense the company has updated its look. It’s still traditional but feels more of-the-moment; some collections are downright modern. There is also a user-friendly component: The store’s first level is divided into rooms decorated in distinct styles—Global, Metro, Villa, etc.—with descriptive commentary printed on the walls for each one. (I find that sometimes it helps to have a definition of—or at least some words to describe—what I like.) If you go to the company’s Web site, you can also take a quiz to help you figure out your aesthetic. Take their assessment with a grain of salt—my style was deemed Loft and I just moved to a house in the ’burbs! But I found the words that Ethan Allen uses to define Loft to be pretty darn consistent with what I like: “Energetic. Fashion-driven. Practical. Materials borrowed from industry, architecture, and nature. Clean shapes. Punches of color. Spontaneous and fresh. Kids and pets? Bring them on.” Not bad at all, Ethan Allen.
—Gina Bazer
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As soon as you walk through the doors of the newly revamped Ethan Allen at 1900 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park and see the glamorous vignette pictured above, you sense the company has updated its look. It’s still traditional but feels more of-the-moment; some collections are downright modern. There is also a user-friendly component: The store’s first level is divided into rooms decorated in distinct styles—Global, Metro, Villa, etc.—with descriptive commentary printed on the walls for each one. (I find that sometimes it helps to have a definition of—or at least some words to describe—what I like.) If you go to the company’s Web site, you can also take a quiz to help you figure out your aesthetic. Take their assessment with a grain of salt—my style was deemed Loft and I just moved to a house in the ’burbs! But I found the words that Ethan Allen uses to define Loft to be pretty darn consistent with what I like: “Energetic. Fashion-driven. Practical. Materials borrowed from industry, architecture, and nature. Clean shapes. Punches of color. Spontaneous and fresh. Kids and pets? Bring them on.” Not bad at all, Ethan Allen.
As soon as you walk through the doors of the newly revamped Ethan Allen at 1900 N. Halsted St. in Lincoln Park and see the glamorous vignette pictured above, you sense the company has updated its look. It’s still traditional but feels more of-the-moment; some collections are downright modern. There is also a user-friendly component: The store’s first level is divided into rooms decorated in distinct styles—Global, Metro, Villa, etc.—with descriptive commentary printed on the walls for each one. (I find that sometimes it helps to have a definition of—or at least some words to describe—what I like.) If you go to the company’s Web site, you can also take a quiz to help you figure out your aesthetic. Take their assessment with a grain of salt—my style was deemed Loft and I just moved to a house in the ’burbs! But I found the words that Ethan Allen uses to define Loft to be pretty darn consistent with what I like: “Energetic. Fashion-driven. Practical. Materials borrowed from industry, architecture, and nature. Clean shapes. Punches of color. Spontaneous and fresh. Kids and pets? Bring them on.” Not bad at all, Ethan Allen.
By now, it’s pretty well known that the foreclosure crisis is no longer limited to lower-income households. Large numbers of middle- and upper-income homeowners are falling into default, too. But a new report from the Woodstock Institute points out that, in many parts of the Chicago region, more affluent households are far less likely than lower-income homeowners to get specialized counseling about the foreclosure process—and that could potentially... Read more
Renewed
Despite the recession, Vipul (Victor) Aggarwal has continued to expand his small, family-run business. The 29-year-old entrepreneur recently opened Renew Spa (980 N. Michigan Ave., 2nd floor; 312-526-3891, renewspachicago.com), his third start-up business in three years. Believing that spas were either overpriced or dingy, Aggarwal sought to... Read more
Over the July 4th weekend, I celebrated our country’s independence by doing some home improvement. I put up some DIY café-style curtains in our kitchen (shown above; please excuse the wilting bananas that will hopefully be made into bread shortly), using four oversized dinner napkins from Dwell Studio, and two tension rods and some clip rings from Bed Bath & Beyond. It was so easy to do and doesn’t look very professional, but my boss Jan loved it so much she insisted I blog it, so here it is! My husband and I also painted an accent wall in our home office in blackboard paint from Benjamin Moore. The idea was that we could leave notes on it and our son could draw on it, but the deep charcoal surface looks so beautiful untouched that it will be a shame to actually use it. What I’ve learned from this experience is that dark looks good, and not only at other people’s houses! Now I want to paint every room in the house this color. Did anyone see J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons’ house in the late Domino (see above)? She has this bold hue in multiple rooms. But my husband thinks we better not overdo it at our house so I’m closing the paint can on this one—for now.
Talk about a view: On Saturday, our photographer headed up to the new 16th-floor Terrace at Trump to snap folks sipping drinks in the shadow of the Navy Pier fireworks. Suddenly our back porch doesn’t look so chic. Read more
Calling all fans of Blu Dot. Urban Outfitters is carrying some pretty cool items from this hip furniture manufacturer. The Bendzo three-seater is a nice-looking and reasonably priced ($648) option for a hide-a-bed. Also shown above, the Slider console ($548) and Easy Rider side table ($148). Very fresh, fun pieces that could work for a teenager’s room or perhaps a home office. And for yet more good prices on Blu Dot, hit I.D., where the line is on sale until the end of the month.
List Price: $1,400,000 Sale Price: $1,075,000 The Property: With its assortment of beams, arches, and crenellations, this brick and limestone mansion on a Beverly hillside suggests an old English home that has been added to and changed over many generations. Locals speculate that was the intention of... Read more
It takes guts to start a business anytime—not to mention in this economy, in a location with a less-than-hopeful track record. So, I had my fingers crossed for 6 Degrees, housed in the Bucktown address that’s greeted and bid farewell to Darwin’s, Chinaski's, and Whiskey Road. I swung by a little before... Read more
List Price: $1.399 million The Property: Typical of the mid-century modern houses designed by Keck & Keck, this house in Budlong Woods presents to the street a low, somewhat inscrutable profile and then opens big inside: the L-shaped, 1,000-square-foot living and dining area has a 38-foot-long south wall that is virtually all windows... Read more
Orren Pickell Designers & Builders has introduced a line of custom cabinetry it’s calling The Signature Collection. Here are a couple of gorgeous examples of what they can do.
