Pouf!
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These fabulous poufs have just arrived at @Work Design in Forest Park. Think of them as throw pillows for your floor. Frank (red), 13½ inch diameter by 15¾ inches high, $617, and Henry (black), 16 by 16 inches, $317.
—GINA BAZER
Ad Categories: Home and Garden
Down Under Design
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It’s summer in Australia right now and Chicago’s Aussies are missing the motherland. That’s why this Sunday from January 24, from 1 to 5 p.m., a bunch of mates are getting together at The Trump Hotel for Experience Australia. Dozens of Outbackers will be selling artisanal cheeses, specialty seafood and meat selections, desserts, aboriginal art, and more; there will also be live performances by popular Australian musicians Anthony Snape and Claire Windham. Among the vendors will be one of our favorite Aussies, Jenny Rossignuolo, co-owner of Urban Source, who will display the lovely wallpaper of fellow countrywoman Florence Broadhurst, which is carried exclusively at Urban. Buy a $35 ticket and you’ll get a chance to win two rolls. That would make it a G’day!
–GINA BAZER
Architectural Anarchy
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Gosia Korsakowski, an entrepreneur we’ve long admired for her keen eye for vintage home accessories and furniture, has started a new venture with an industrial antiques veteran. The new space is called Architectural Anarchy, and it’s next to Gosia’s booth in the Andersonville Galleria. Her partner is William Rawski, who has run Zap Antiques & Props for more than 20 years, outfitting movies filmed in town as well as many local restaurants. The two met when Gosia started shopping at Zap. Gosia says Anarchy will be home to “funkier, more industrial finds.” Friday would be a great time to visit; that’s the night of Andersonville on Sale, an evening of food, drinks, and discounts at some of our favorite neighborhood retailers and restaurants.
—JAN PARR
Blackbird's Salon Series, a New Crate, Fired Up
Artists and restaurants have always enjoyed a symbiotic relationship—free rotating interior embellishment for the establishment, free exposure, sales opportunities, and maybe an occasional slice of tiramisu for the creator—but it’s not all that often that diners have the chance to meet, greet, and eat with the artists in situ. The upscale, esteemed Blackbird is continuing its Salon Series dinners in the private upstairs dining room next Wednesday, January 27, with a showing…
Nifty Knobs
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Oh, Facebook. What can’t you do? Reconnect me with old friends, make it easier to know what my buds are up to. You’ve also introduced me to new people and things. When I saw that my pal Martin Giese (a talented artist) was in a new relationship with someone named Jude Gries (Giese/Gries: I know, I know!), of course I had to click to see more. Turns out that (among other arty things), she creates custom decorative hand-painted cabinet hardware. The knobs are made of wood and finished so that they look like porcelain or ceramic, but they won’t break, chip, or crackle. What kid wouldn’t love these on a dresser?
—JAN PARR
On the Horizon: Study anticipates stable housing recovery for Chicago in 2011
After enduring a multiyear decline, the values of most homes in the Chicago area may finally increase slightly by the middle of 2011. Or so says a detailed national forecast issued this past fall by Fiserv, a Wisconsin-based financial services company. According to the report, home prices in the metropolitan region defined as Chicago-Naperville-Joliet will … Read more
A Passing Grade: Francis W. Parker principal Daniel Frank sells in Lincoln Park
Francis W. Parker School’s principal just misses his purchase price when he sells his 1890s row house
Fourth Estate: Wayne house finds buyer
After a trio of failed contracts, residence finally finds a buyer
Name Your House
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After reading our blog about the elegance of monogramming a few weeks ago, Don Raney and Jaymes Richardson, the duo behind Civility Design introduced us to a new concept. Why not name your residence, they proposed—as in the Vanderbilts’ Biltmore Estate or Nixon’s California estate, La Casa Pacifica—to “add further depth of personality within your home, just as art, family photos, and other personal treasures provide that glimpse into the spirit of its owner.” The possibilities are endless, they say, suggesting putting your home’s name on a cashmere throw, cocktail napkins, stationery, matchbooks, serving trays, and china. Civility Design’s turn-to sources for monogramming are A Little Bit of This and Queen of Cashmere. Like this idea? You’d better really like the name you choose. Raney and Richardson have some tips:
•For a whimsical touch, how about naming your 400-sqaure-foot studio something like “Buckingham Arms?” Think grandiose.
•For an easy option, combine the names of the homes’ owners, a la “Pickfair,” the Beverly Hills estate of film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
•Still at a loss? You can always fill in the blanks: “________ more” or “ ___________ haven.” Just insert a portion of your surname and it automatically sounds like old money. Think of “Biltmore,” the famous and legendary home of George Vanderbilt in North Carolina.
Thanks for the idea!
—GINA BAZER
Spa Bedding
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Our hometown source for down, United Feather and Down, has teamed up with the famed cosmetic company Borghese for a new luxe bedding line. The new comforters and pillows are made of 300-thread-count Italian Tile Dobby Cotton and finished with an aloe vera treatment to make them super soft. All bedding comes with samples of Borghese skin-care products. Villa di Borghese bedding is sold exclusively at Bloomingale’s. A king-sized comforter is $500. Hmmm. Wonder if any of this will eventually find its way to one of United’s popular warehouse sales?
—JAN PARR