If you frequent antique fairs, you might be familiar with Finnegan Gallery, a top-notch source for salvaged architectural pieces, period garden ornaments, funky furniture, unusual lighting, and more. This year, saddened by the cancellation of the Chicago Botanic Garden Antiques and Garden Fair, where they are regular vendors, owners Kaye Gregg and Marty Shapiro decided … Read more
Bring your bathroom up to speed without a major investment. A splash of paint, cushy new towels, perfect accessories—presto!
List Price: $3.4 million
The Property: It must have been blind optimism that convinced Tom Tremback back in 1991 that he could turn a fleabag of an apartment building into a loft-style home. Whatever it was, he bought a 100-year-old structure on LaSalle Street that held five decrepit apartments and started renovating. It took ten years of work before he could move in—and a few more before he could call the entire place a…
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I had dinner recently at Nightwood, a wonderful place from the Lula Café people (see our story about the fantastic artwork at Lula here that was designed by Kevin Heisner (Empire Liquors, Bar DeVille, Angels & Kings). While going to the bathroom was not the highlight of the evening, I was impressed by howstylin’ it was for a loo (don’t laugh—we take bathroom design seriously around here!). It felt like it belonged in a vintage apartment more than arestaurant, actually. Heisner and his team did all the moldings and painted them in Benjamin Moore’s Honey Oak to match the handmade Moroccan cement tiles on the floor (from the online dealer Mosaic House. I love the black sink, too, though it could use some nicer pipes sticking out underneath. If you want a vintage look that feels fresh, try this for inspiration.
—GINA BAZER
The Timeless Allure of the Bistro
Joseph Calabrese (owner of Zia’s Trattoria and veteran of Ambria and Spiaggia) has gone French at Café Touché (6731 N. Northwest Hwy.; 773-775-0909), a block from Zia’s. Calabrese describes the 80-seat spot—designed by his wife—as “a cross between a café in Paris and a French Quarter look in New Orleans.” The menu is straight-up…
The Fluffy Ball? Check. The Robolite Pop Up Book Light? Been there, done that. This time around, JD Ma, a Darien entrepreneur who connects American sellers with Chinese manufacturers, is on to something that just might revolutionize … your closet?
Don’t-miss picks for 08.12.09 through 08.18.09: Who’s crazier: Tracy or Tracy? … a Lolla redux for less … Béla Fleck’s banjo odyssey … roving hordes of natty cyclists … more
The Minneapolis-based design firm Blu Dot has partnered with Urban Outfitters to retail a line of affordable furniture, including this Eames-ish console with colorful lacquered sliding doors ($548). The Too collection also includes side tables…
On Tuesday, Zillow.com released its latest round of quarterly fitness reports for the residential real-estate market. It’s an intricately detailed look at home values in cities across the country from March to May of 2009. Visitors to the site can zero in on individual Chicago suburbs and neighborhoods…
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Ever since Scout opened six years ago, it has been home to the unique conversation-starting lamps of Ted Harris. If you are a fan of these re-purposed beauties, made of everything from bases of desk chairs to old globes to bowling balls, then Scout is the place to be this Friday night at 6-ish, when the shop will be illuminated by dozens of them, made especially for this special Ted-fest. Of course they’ll be there until they’re sold out, but Scout throws a pretty good party.
-GINA BAZER
