Crosell & Co. Couples who like the idea of registering off the beaten path should head straight for this delightful Bucktown shop, which carries brands such as Michael Aram, Juliska, Vietri, and Nambé, as well as Viking’s cool-looking industrial cookware. The owner is an interior designer, which helps enormously when you’re making those tough choices. … Read more
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Recently I went to see my friends John and Frances to view the new art-furniture piece they had commissioned. They had asked the artist
Matt Hanner (thebuildup71@gmail.com) to have his way with an old wooden dresser. They gave him no restrictions on the design, and now they are so in love with the results that they actually display the dresser as sculpture. In my friend’s own words: “Matt surprised me today when he asked what we were keeping in the drawers. I still don’t think he has any idea how much we enjoy these drawers as living-room sculpture. We do not find this chest to be empty… it is quite full.” Just shows that there are no rules when it comes to decorating.
—JAN PARR
Like resale bargains with hipster cred, but not the schlepping all over town, from parks Wicker and Rogers to Andersonville, to peruse the inventories of our dozens of dealers? This Saturday is the first of Katherine Raz’s (left in pic) and Libby Alexander’s (on the right) pop-up flea markets, called The Vintage Bazaar, with more than 40 invited…
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We’re crazy for the Liberty of London line for Target! It will be available around March 13.
—JAN PARR
Tartella just might be the secret ingredient your kitchen is missing. This local company’s wine tags, cookbook bookmarks, and recipe cards have simple, appealing patterns and messages such as “Bake. Eat. Live. Love. Repeat.” The tea towels (pictured, $11-$14) are almost too pretty to use. Available at Renegade Handmade, 1924 W. Division St., or … Read more
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This is the coolest fan I’ve ever seen. The Air Multiplier from Dyson is safe, easy to clean, and generates smooth airflow (for about $300, in 10- and 12-inch table models). “The blades on conventional fans cause unpleasant buffeting because they chop the air before it hits you,” Dyson says. Who needs unpleasant buffeting? It’s sold at Luminaire here and will be at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, and Target the end of March.
—JAN PARR
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The scene: Chicago magazine conference room. The cast: a couple of WGN staffers, Shelterrific blogger Katie Donbavand, me, and some Tile Shop folks, fresh off the plane from HQ in Minnesota. (They brought beer! A local brew called Lakemaid.) Our task: to find the ugliest bathroom in the Chicago area. Some 300 Chicago-area homeowners submitted photos or video of their sorry bathrooms, and made a case for winning the prize from The Tile Shop: all new tile and fixtures for a new bathroom, valued up to $50,000. You may ask: what qualifies a person to judge an ugly bathroom contest? And I would answer that I’m not sure, but we knew ugly when we saw it, what was workable and what was atrocious. Mostly we agreed. A few entries we reviewed were deemed just not ugly enough. The stories were good, and so many people seemed truly deserving of a new bath. In the end, we chose the entry shown above, belonging to Suzanne and Matt Witt of Evergreen Park. The Witts bought the home seven months ago from an owner who had lived there 30 years. It shows: The bathroom floor is covered with pink linoleum square tiles, circa 1960s. The walls are covered in a combination of green and light yellow plastic tiles, some missing. The shower stall is built with a plastic surround with stubborn mold. The Witts, who are expecting a baby, will take on the project themselves, with design help from The Tile Shop. We spread the love around: Rich Richter of Rolling Meadows won all new tile to remodel his classic 1970s gold bathroom, and Jennifer Healy of Palatine won a $500 gift certificate from The Tile Shop to remodel her lime green bathroom. All in all, good clean fun!
—JAN PARR
Everything is marked down 20-50% at Martha Peck Antiques in Northfield. Her lease is up so she’s closing shop March 31, though she’ll continue to sell at shows (including the Chicago Botanic Garden Antique and Garden Show in April), by appointment, or through her website. Peck specializes in 18th and 19th century American, English, and Continental furniture and accessories.
—JAN PARR
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Sunday is the last day for the pink tag sale at Anna’s Mostly Mahogany. Save 30% on all items marked with a pink tag (there’s still lots to choose from in this 25,000 square-foot space, a sales clerk reports). Lamps, both table and floor models, are half off. The other antiques vendors in Anna’s space are also holding a sale.
—JAN PARR
It’s out with the ox and in with the tiger, Chinese New Year–ically speaking, and to celebrate, Pagoda Red’s owner Betsy Nathan has generously extended a grrrrrrrrreat offer for the rest of the month. Anyone who mentions Domestica at either the Bucktown or Winnetka locations of this Asian…
