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May 2008
Furniture Sample Sale at the Mart
By Rebecca Little
On the Hunt

Browse furniture, fabrics, rugs, lighting, and home accents, many that are usually available only to the trade, at the Treasure Hunt Luxury Sample Sale at the Merchandise Mart (222 Merchandise Mart plaza, 7th floor; 312-527-4141) on May 17th and 18th. The selection—including samples, one-of-a-kinds, and new merchandise—is up to 75 percent off at participating showrooms such as Betty M (which marked down a chair and ottoman from $7,295 to $3,500), Filsinger, and Oriental Carpet Gallery. You can also bring in floor plans or questions for free...

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Get Smart

We went to see the Museum of Science and Industry's new Smart Home last week, a fab pre-fab that's all green. Our colleague Cassie Walker from Chicago magazine was also there, and posted this item about it. Read more
Sale of the Week—At a Loss in Wilmette
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $1,199,900
Sale Price: $1,103,500
The Property: This large four-year-old house resides in a Wilmette neighborhood where new construction has replaced about one-third of the older ranch houses that still characterize the area. It has 13 rooms, five of them bedrooms (one is in the basement, where it would commonly be used for a nanny or guests), a pillared foyer, and a spacious kitchen lined with cherry cabinets. From the family room, French doors open onto a nice patio—but that’s about all there is to...

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Home Smart Home

Composting with worms is sooooooo outdated. That's but one of the conversational threads I picked up last night on a preview tour of the new Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry. I went in expecting to see the typical "eco" flourishes—bamboo flooring, energy efficient windows, dual-flush toilets—and I came out geeking over the interior design with my pal Heather Blaha, who edits Apartment Therapy Chicago...

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Tulip Time

Spring! Sunshine! Tulips! All three are so fleeting around these parts, so we take time to appreciate these two sweet photos that capture recent lovely moments in our downtown. Check out the vibrant colors in the shot by Flickr's kellyhafermann, and admire the amazing angle and lighting captured by jeanneg...

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Who Will Buy the Condos?
By Dennis Rodkin
Since 2000, developers have flooded downtown Chicago with more than 20,000 new condos and townhouses—yet at the end of 2007, nearly 8,000 of them sat unsold. Will that glut drag down the local economy even further, or will the lure of city living and an influx of international buyers rescue a failing market? Read more
Trend: Gluten-Free Goodies
By Jeff Ruby
The offerings at Rose’s WheatFree Bakery & Café may be gluten-free, peanut-free, casein-free, corn-syrup-free, and trans-fat-free, but they obligingly leave in the most important element: flavor. Read more
Word to Your Mother

It's been two weeks since I had reconstructive knee surgery—two weeks spent holed up at my parents' house in the suburbs recovering. Having my ACL and meniscus repaired hasn't slowed the wedding arrangements down at all; not even crutches can affect this bride's ability to plan, plan, plan. If anything, being laid up has let me devote even more time and energy to the big day. The only thing scarier than a bride with too much time on her hands? A mother of the bride who's newly retired...

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