My latest design obsession? Tabletop terrariums. These lush little vessels can be filled with moss, succulents, or flowers (I’d probably go with moss because it’s easy to keep alive). If you dig the trend, options abound. This model at Amazon has a gambrel roof and looks like a mini green house. Anthropologie’s take is more modern. A smooth glass lid tops a wood base for an effect that’s rustic, yet sleek. My favorites, though, are manufactured by Roost and available at Asrai Garden (see photos above). The interiors are custom-designed by owner Elizabeth Cronin. Among the foliage, Cronin artfully arranges ceramic figurines from Brooklyn Rehab. Bonus: She can customize the tableau with your chosen figurines and plants.

–BRIDGET HERMAN

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My latest design obsession? Tabletop terrariums. These lush little vessels can be filled with moss, succulents, or flowers (I’d probably go with moss because it’s easy to keep alive). If you dig the trend, options abound. This model at Amazon has a gambrel roof and looks like a mini green house. Anthropologie’s take is more modern. A smooth glass lid tops a wood base for an effect that’s rustic, yet sleek. My favorites, though, are manufactured by Roost and available at Asrai Garden (see photos above). The interiors are custom-designed by owner Elizabeth Cronin. Among the foliage, Cronin artfully arranges ceramic figurines from Brooklyn Rehab. Bonus: She can customize the tableau with your chosen figurines and plants.

–BRIDGET HERMAN

" />    

My latest design obsession? Tabletop terrariums. These lush little vessels can be filled with moss, succulents, or flowers (I’d probably go with moss because it’s easy to keep alive). If you dig the trend, options abound. This model at Amazon has a gambrel roof and looks like a mini green house. Anthropologie’s take is more modern. A smooth glass lid tops a wood base for an effect that’s rustic, yet sleek. My favorites, though, are manufactured by Roost and available at Asrai Garden (see photos above). The interiors are custom-designed by owner Elizabeth Cronin. Among the foliage, Cronin artfully arranges ceramic figurines from Brooklyn Rehab. Bonus: She can customize the tableau with your chosen figurines and plants.

–BRIDGET HERMAN

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Tabletop Terrariums

   

My latest design obsession? Tabletop terrariums. These lush little vessels can be filled with moss, succulents, or flowers (I’d probably go with moss because it’s easy to keep alive). If you dig the trend, options abound. This model at Amazon has a gambrel roof and looks like a mini green house. Anthropologie’s take is more modern. A smooth glass lid tops a wood base for an effect that’s rustic, yet sleek. My favorites, though, are manufactured by Roost and available at Asrai Garden (see photos above). The interiors are custom-designed by owner Elizabeth Cronin. Among the foliage, Cronin artfully arranges ceramic figurines from Brooklyn Rehab. Bonus: She can customize the tableau with your chosen figurines and plants.

Sentenced to a Life of Aesthetics

Have you been to the BoConcept website lately? The Danish design company just released some really fun products, but first, I just have to point out their new irreverent marketing campaign—right on the homepage, the words “no limits in small spaces,” stamped across a photo of what looks very much like a jail cell, decked … Read more

Vintage Posters, Brit Invasion, Great Grills

The International Vintage Poster Fair is rolling into Chicago again this weekend at the Chicago Cultural Center, and this year there will be more than 10,000 vetted art nouveau, art deco, and mid-century modern posters on display and available for purchase from worldly dealers including our own Poster Plus and the Chicago Center for the Print. A feature exhibit within the exhibit is “The Art of Persuasion: 100 Years of Propaganda Posters,” exploring advertising and promotional posters designed to persuade (They really-really-really want you to see it. Pretty please?)…

Working It

If you haven’t been by Workroom lately, now is a good time to do so. The upholstery, window treatment, and wallcoverings studio has just received its spring offerings, including a slew of fresh prints with flowers, birds, and insects that the owners promise will add “whimsical sophistication” to your home (Thomas Paul’s designs for Duralee definitely fall into this category). Also just in: Marimekko wallpaper, which was released last summer, is now available through Workroom (exclusively in Chicago, according to the owners).

Tripod Trend

 

Love this new lamp ($299) from Z Gallerie. For other great options in tripod floor lamps, which can add some Old Hollywood drama to a living room or den, check out our new issue, on newsstands now.

Best of Chicago Design: Hotbeds of Hipness

These shops offer that extra something—a colorful pillow, a bold lamp, a zippy rug—that makes your home feel fresh and with-it. Display it for one season; tuck it away the next. These are the types of pieces you’ll turn to whenever you need a quick shot of energy.  PLAYFUL GLAM JONATHAN ADLER   Nothing says … Read more

Best of Chicago Design: High-Design Neighbors

The Montgomery Technically, the 28-story Montgomery is in River North; in reality, the gleaming blue glass and travertine tower exists in a world of its own. Built in 1972 as HQ for Montgomery Ward & Co., the crisp-lined structure (designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who also designed the World Trade Center in New York) was converted … Read more

Best of Chicago Design: High-end design (just) outside the Mart

Haute Living At Haute Living, chairs with a modern spin (left) and Bosa’s faceted Cut Series ceramic bowl and other tabletop items (right).  This operation has definitely raised the bar on design in Chicago. With pieces by Vladimir Kagan, Piet Boon, Hans Wegner, Marcel Wanders, and other iconic designers, Haute Living constantly wows us. 222 … Read more

Best of Chicago Design: Eco-Friendly Shopping

Grasshopper 510, Green Home Chicago For gifts and home accessories for the tree-huggers in your life (or your oh-so-virtuous self), Grasshopper 510 is the place go. You’ll find trays ($85) and platters ($400) made of recycled street signs, organic pillows ($74), reclaimed-felt bowls ($75), log bowls made from reclaimed trees and high-gloss acrylic paint (shown … Read more

Best of Chicago Design: Evolution of a Shop

Pavilion Ceramic oil cans by contemporary Dutch designer Aldo Bakker In the past few years, this Bucktown shop (which once offered everything from antique mirrors and chandeliers to 18th-century French chairs) has become particularly well known for its wonderful selection of post-war design, primarily from France and Italy. The owners, both graduates of the School … Read more