Ad Categories: Home and Garden

Somewhere along the line, “New Year’s resolution” became a code-phrase for “setting self up to fail, but will absolve from memory by February anyway.” Well, where’s the fun in that? We asked three designers—Steve Bruss, president of Hudson Home; Summer Thornton; and Annika Christensen, interior designer and owner of Midnight Sun Antiques—to share their New Year’s resolutions for… your home! These goals are totally achievable, but if they do fall by the wayside, just blame the room’s chi.

Try a black kitchen. “Lacquered glossy black cabinets, antiqued mirror, and brass hardware melded together make a really sexy space,” says Thornton.

Don’t be afraid to shine. Bruss gives spaces a more luxe look by introducing shimmery, icy colors. He also likes to backlight walls clad in translucent stone, like white onyx. “It gives it a very sophisticated and glamorous look.”

Rethink your walls. “I’m excited about the use of more and more fabrics as wallcoverings,” says Bruss, who has upholstered a family room’s walls in linen and a study in worn leather. “These natural materials give the home the warmth it needs.”

Don’t be fake (with your finishes). “A home with real, natural, authentic items feels so much fresher,” Thornton says. She’s been gravitating toward natural-grained stones, such as onyx, tiger’s eye, and geodes.

Chill out. Bruss is saying no to vibrant walls in 2010. “I like wall colors to be quieter, more of a backdrop. Subtle colors make you feel warm and comfortable; loud colors are jarring.”

Be yourself. Christensen had a customer who fell in love with a Swedish landscape oil painting, only to call a month later to say that the painting didn’t go with her rug. “I was flabbergasted,” says Christensen, who discovered that “someone, somewhere had told her that the painting didn’t go well with the rug. Art is art!” If you connect with a piece, she says, don’t worry what other people think.

Don’t procrastinate on quick fixes. “In my own house, I hate how I knick the paint all the time. Woodwork starts to show, and it looks shabby,” says Christensen, who encourages people to do touch-ups as soon as an area begins to look ragged. “These little things bother visual people,” she says. “I fixed the paint in a couple rooms and, oh, how refreshing!”

—LISA GARTNER

Elan Peltz, who runs an antique shop called Blackwatch68 out of his home in Wicker Park, just forwarded us a TimeOut Chicago story that blogger Tate Gunnerson of Strange Closets wrote about him. Everything in Peltz’s house is for sale, and he’s open by appointment only.

—GINA BAZER

The luxury kitchen cabinet retailer Poggenpohl has teamed up with Airoom Architects, Builders and Remodelers to make remodeling your kitchen easier. While it has always been possible to get basic kitchen elements (cabinets, appliances, and countertops) installed through Poggenpohl’s Merchandise Mart showroom, this partnership makes it easier for customers to undertake larger overhauls that require acquiring building permits, running new electrical, and opening up walls. A Poggenpohl kitchen will be on display at the Airoom showroom in mid-January.

—GINA BAZER

Lately, I’ve come across a bunch of art inspired by (or literally taken from) vintage children’s books. At the recent Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale, I, along with a pack of other people, was smitten by local artist Ashley Alexandar’s sweet-and-strange prints (top left); she knew we would be—her website is called imsmitten.com. Another Chicagoan whose paper goods possess a certain childhood nostalgia (some of the greeting cards and journals have illustrations taken directly from old children’s books) is Amy Rowan of Art School Girl; see her note cards and envelopes above. Finally, at Penelope’s in Wicker Park, I spotted Japanese artist Shinzi Katoh’s charming depictions of zoo animals, children, and woodland creatures.

—GINA BAZER