SilverState just sent along samples of its newest Sunbrella collection of outdoor fabrics, called Casual Elegance by Joe Ruggiero. Still packed with all the good no-stain-no-fade-couldn’t-wrinkle-if-you-tried properties of its well-known past. But, wow.  Yes, WOW. It’s soft. The patterns are swanky. The colors are sophisticated. Why leave it outside? Bring it on in! Make a shower curtain. Cover a small bench for the bath. Heck—cover the whole family room in the stuff. If it resists mold and mildew, surely it can stand up to a stampede of messy kids. Available through designers only (it’s about $50 to $70 per yard).

—BARRI LEINER

Images courtesy of SilverState

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SilverState just sent along samples of its newest Sunbrella collection of outdoor fabrics, called Casual Elegance by Joe Ruggiero. Still packed with all the good no-stain-no-fade-couldn’t-wrinkle-if-you-tried properties of its well-known past. But, wow.  Yes, WOW. It’s soft. The patterns are swanky. The colors are sophisticated. Why leave it outside? Bring it on in! Make a shower curtain. Cover a small bench for the bath. Heck—cover the whole family room in the stuff. If it resists mold and mildew, surely it can stand up to a stampede of messy kids. Available through designers only (it’s about $50 to $70 per yard).

—BARRI LEINER

Images courtesy of SilverState

" />
SilverState just sent along samples of its newest Sunbrella collection of outdoor fabrics, called Casual Elegance by Joe Ruggiero. Still packed with all the good no-stain-no-fade-couldn’t-wrinkle-if-you-tried properties of its well-known past. But, wow.  Yes, WOW. It’s soft. The patterns are swanky. The colors are sophisticated. Why leave it outside? Bring it on in! Make a shower curtain. Cover a small bench for the bath. Heck—cover the whole family room in the stuff. If it resists mold and mildew, surely it can stand up to a stampede of messy kids. Available through designers only (it’s about $50 to $70 per yard).

—BARRI LEINER

Images courtesy of SilverState

" />
Events Newsletters Subscribe

May 2008
Not Your Neighbor’s Sunbrella

SilverState just sent along samples of its newest Sunbrella collection of outdoor fabrics, called Casual Elegance by Joe Ruggiero. Still packed with all the good no-stain-no-fade-couldn’t-wrinkle-if-you-tried properties of its well-known past. But, wow.  Yes, WOW. It’s soft. The patterns are swanky. The colors are sophisticated. Why leave it outside? Bring it on in! Make a shower curtain. Cover a small bench for the bath. Heck—cover the whole family room in the stuff. If it resists mold and mildew, surely it can stand up to a stampede of messy kids. Available through designers only (it’s about $50 to $70 per yard).

—BARRI LEINER

Images courtesy of SilverState

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To Infinity and Beyond
By Rebecca Little

Pet Project

Like many people in September 2005, with Hurricane Katrina looming off the Gulf Coast, Tim Maddock packed up his car for a long drive—but unlike most, Maddock headed toward the disaster rather than away. The former Chicagoan’s experiences with the post-hurricane animal-rescue effort directly informed his new play, Because They Have No Words, which tackles the chaos, grief, and bureaucratic nightmare at the heart of...

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Wall Royalty
A quick check reveals Maya Romanoff doesn’t make the list of claimants to the Russian throne, but in the world of glam wall coverings (think gold leaf and mother-of-pearl) he’s unchallenged royalty. Last Thursday night Maya and family hosted 200 guests from 14 countries (and me) at the opening of Maya Romanoff Corp’s new 40,000 square foot inter-galactic headquarters in Skokie. Seems the company burst from its old downtown Chicago space when sales doubled between ’05 and ’07. Maya, his brother, and son-in-law held court in crimson czarist-era sashes while the Romanoff women (representing the Czarina and Princess of Wallpaper) wore Swarovski tiaras that would have brought tears to a Bolshevik’s eyes. Champagne flowed, and from somewhere deep in the warren of cubicles the fabulous Maxwell Street Klezmer Band belted out the swinging sounds of old Odessa. This warehouse/workroom/showroom is open to the trade only, but judging from the babel of languages at the party the pros are already wearing a path to the new door. (Party chatter had it that the walls of Dubai’s newest palaces are lined in Romanoff.)

—LISA CREGAN

David Seaman (left) and Maya Romanoff
Credit: Photos courtesy AngelaSwan.com

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On The Market—Throwing Bucktown a Curve
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $1.9 million The Property: The architect John Hanna threw the rigidly rectilinear street grid in Bucktown a curve when he designed this contemporary home for a corner lot... Read more
Cute Restaurant Alert
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Go Now

Mixteco Grill (1601 W. Montrose Ave.; 773-868-1601), a 35-seat BYO restaurant named for a region of Oaxaca and the indigenous people who inhabit it, opened last week—and we’re smitten. “The food there is the only food that is 100 percent authentic Mexican,” says Raul Arreola, the chef/owner. “No influence of other food. No Mayan. No Spanish. No French.” Arreola, a Mexico City native, put in 11 years at Frontera Grill, and ascended to sous-chef at Read more
Budget Design
 
If unearthing cheap and chic home stuff and Target and T.J. Maxx gets your adrenaline running, stop by the new shop Home Accents in Andersonville (5653 N. Clark St., 773-754-8466). Owner Kevin Idlewine is a wholesaler who decided to open his own storefront, while still selling to retailers such as Home Goods and Marshalls. He goes to the Maison d’Objets trade fair in Paris regularly, notes the trends, then calls on his manufacturers in China and India to reproduce them for less. Find vases (including some pretty good Jonathan Adler knock-offs) for $25 to $50 and pillows ranging from $20 to $25. The most expensive item in the store is a $225 chandelier-style lamp covered with a string shade (it’s made with real crystals). He also has a good selection of pots and ornaments for the garden. Everything in the store is conveniently arranged by colors.  

—  GINA BAZER

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Michael Del Piero
“Welcome!” an enthusiastic and happy Michael Del Piero greeted us at a party to celebrate the opening of her new design showroom, Good Design. “The best part is this,” she said, motioning to the back, where her desk is. No more working from home. For us, though, the best part is the front of this Damen Avenue storefront, where Del Piero has arranged a selection of stylish, earthy, and often oversized accessories that just wowed us. It was no surprise to us that in attendance were stylistically compatible friends who included Larry Vodak of Scout and interior designer Laura Soskin.

—JAN PARR


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Housing Bulletin— Neighborhood Info @ Your Service
By Dennis Rodkin

Two weeks ago, the Chicago real-estate agency @properties rolled out a cool tool for house hunters and sellers on its Web site. The @Report, as they call it, is built on the idea that real-estate markets are very, very local.

The eight-year-old agency has offices or agents working in 21 Chicago neighborhoods (most of the lakefront from Rogers Park to South Shore, plus a layer or two of inland neighborhoods for much of that stretch); this new tool puts the details on...

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Dish Flash—Achatz Update
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Then and Now
A full Dish column is coming tomorrow, but first we wanted to direct you to two terrific stories from our upcoming June issue. One is Burned, a dramatic narrative by Jennifer Tanaka on Grant Achatz’s brave and frightening days since his diagnosis with oral cancer. The other is Dennis Ray Wheaton’s From There to Alinea, a thoughtful examination and comparison of Achatz’s current stunner with the place where he came of age years ago: Napa Valley’s legendary French Laundry. Read more