Events Newsletters Subscribe

October 2009
Tiffany Garden
   

It seems like a world away now, but just a few short weeks ago I was basking in the sun at a luncheon for the opening of the Tiffany & Co. Celebration Garden in Grant Park. With a $1.25 million gift from Tiffany, the local nonprofit Parkways Foundation hired Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects to renovate Grant Park’s south rose garden. With stunning views of Buckingham Fountain and the skyline, this two-thirds of an acre site is available for private events.

—JAN PARR

Read more
Troubled House Back On the Market — Hinsdale
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $2.699 million
Sale Price: $1.400 million
The Property: This 27-room house, once priced by its builder at about $4.5 million but sold unfinished and with various contractors’ liens against it, was bought on October 2nd by an investor—who put it right back on the market, priced at... Read more
Ten Things You Probably Didn't Know About Cambodia
1. An alarming number of Cambodian babies are born with scars that look like bullet holes. It’s generally accepted that these babies are reincarnated victims of the Khmer Rouge.

2. Angelina Jolie is a goddess in Cambodia. They let her film Tomb Raider in the holiest temples of Siem Reap, and gave her Cambodian citizenship in 2005... Read more
Floors, Fabulous Floors
 

If you’ve ever had your hardwood floors refinished you know that choosing the right stain is incredibly stressful. You are, after all, coating the biggest surface in your home with something that doesn’t easily come off, and you want it to be right. Enter Hudson Home. This design-build firm, whose projects have been featured numerous times in our magazine, is now offering a program called Hardwood by Hudson Home, with services including refurbishment and/or re-staining of existing floors and new floor installation. As with wall color, furniture placement, and everything, really, it’s nice to have an experienced designer tell you what will look good—and then do it for you. Contact Arash Ansari at 773-907-5500 ext. 246 or arash@hudsonhomeinc.com for a free consultation.

—GINA BAZER

Read more
Chicago Area Real Estate 2009
By Dennis Rodkin
Our annual survey of home prices in 288 Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs. Plus: Eight true-life stories that reveal the perils and pluses of the volatile local housing market Read more
Divided They Stand
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
Clearing Customs
Big shakeup at Custom House (500 S. Dearborn St.; 312-523-0200): Shawn McClain, the original exec chef/partner/driving force, is on his way out at the South Loop standout. While still a part owner, McClain and his long-time partners at Custom House, Green Zebra, and Spring, Sue and Peter Drohomyrecky, are trying to figure out how to divide... Read more