If you have not been to the Mart’s south lobby lately, do yourself a favor and check it out. There you’ll find an incredible installation of Buckminster Fuller’s “Fly’s Eye Dome,” which was built for the Mart’s recent Artropolis exhibit (and to promote the Buckminster Fuller exhibit at the MCA. Made of 50 fiberglass sections, it’s 24 feet high, and weighs 3,500 pounds. Fuller, an architect and all-around visionary had originally conceived of this design as pre-fab affordable housing (the holes were for windows). So it’s appropriate that the Mart incarnation is filled with—and surrounded by—futuristic-looking furniture from the Vitra showroom, including the cool Vegetal chairs (whose design is inspired by the shape of a mature tree) and the funky high-backed Alcove sofas, both by French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, shown above. The amazing green mass that hangs around the chandelier inside the dome is also from Vitra—called Algues, it’s actually a puzzle-like plastic room divider comprised of branches that can be assembled and molded into any shape or size. The dome and furniture will be on display through mid-June, coming down after the Mart’s major commercial furnishings show, NeoCon.

—Gina Bazer

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If you have not been to the Mart’s south lobby lately, do yourself a favor and check it out. There you’ll find an incredible installation of Buckminster Fuller’s “Fly’s Eye Dome,” which was built for the Mart’s recent Artropolis exhibit (and to promote the Buckminster Fuller exhibit at the MCA. Made of 50 fiberglass sections, it’s 24 feet high, and weighs 3,500 pounds. Fuller, an architect and all-around visionary had originally conceived of this design as pre-fab affordable housing (the holes were for windows). So it’s appropriate that the Mart incarnation is filled with—and surrounded by—futuristic-looking furniture from the Vitra showroom, including the cool Vegetal chairs (whose design is inspired by the shape of a mature tree) and the funky high-backed Alcove sofas, both by French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, shown above. The amazing green mass that hangs around the chandelier inside the dome is also from Vitra—called Algues, it’s actually a puzzle-like plastic room divider comprised of branches that can be assembled and molded into any shape or size. The dome and furniture will be on display through mid-June, coming down after the Mart’s major commercial furnishings show, NeoCon.

—Gina Bazer

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If you have not been to the Mart’s south lobby lately, do yourself a favor and check it out. There you’ll find an incredible installation of Buckminster Fuller’s “Fly’s Eye Dome,” which was built for the Mart’s recent Artropolis exhibit (and to promote the Buckminster Fuller exhibit at the MCA. Made of 50 fiberglass sections, it’s 24 feet high, and weighs 3,500 pounds. Fuller, an architect and all-around visionary had originally conceived of this design as pre-fab affordable housing (the holes were for windows). So it’s appropriate that the Mart incarnation is filled with—and surrounded by—futuristic-looking furniture from the Vitra showroom, including the cool Vegetal chairs (whose design is inspired by the shape of a mature tree) and the funky high-backed Alcove sofas, both by French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, shown above. The amazing green mass that hangs around the chandelier inside the dome is also from Vitra—called Algues, it’s actually a puzzle-like plastic room divider comprised of branches that can be assembled and molded into any shape or size. The dome and furniture will be on display through mid-June, coming down after the Mart’s major commercial furnishings show, NeoCon.

—Gina Bazer

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In the Eye of the Dome

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If you have not been to the Mart’s south lobby lately, do yourself a favor and check it out. There you’ll find an incredible installation of Buckminster Fuller’s “Fly’s Eye Dome,” which was built for the Mart’s recent Artropolis exhibit (and to promote the Buckminster Fuller exhibit at the MCA. Made of 50 fiberglass sections, it’s 24 feet high, and weighs 3,500 pounds. Fuller, an architect and all-around visionary had originally conceived of this design as pre-fab affordable housing (the holes were for windows). So it’s appropriate that the Mart incarnation is filled with—and surrounded by—futuristic-looking furniture from the Vitra showroom, including the cool Vegetal chairs (whose design is inspired by the shape of a mature tree) and the funky high-backed Alcove sofas, both by French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, shown above. The amazing green mass that hangs around the chandelier inside the dome is also from Vitra—called Algues, it’s actually a puzzle-like plastic room divider comprised of branches that can be assembled and molded into any shape or size. The dome and furniture will be on display through mid-June, coming down after the Mart’s major commercial furnishings show, NeoCon.

—Gina Bazer

Fantastic Plastic

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  The new molded plastic Rin Chair by Hiromichi Konno for Fritz Hansen has a futuristic feel that will add pow to any setting. Currently available in black or white, with more colors coming this fall, it’s $840 without an upholstered seat pad, from $1,097 with a pad in fabric, leather, vinyl, or other materials. … Read more

Skip to the Loo

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Plus Aqua, Dots Petal, and Transportation bath mats, $56 each  Dwell Studio has introduced a kids’ bath line featuring fun patterns we’ve seen in other incarnations (sheets, window coverings, wall art). Some styles—like the Garden Blossom shower curtain, $56 (left)—are sophisticated enough for grown-up bath time. At Hadley, 1205 W. Webster Ave., 773-883-0077; hadleybaby.com

Show It

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The biennial Lake Forest Showhouse and Gardens event is back, this time featuring a 22-acre Beaux Arts–style estate built in 1911 for the head of Rand McNally. Interior designers Michael Del Piero and Kara Mann and landscape artists Craig Bergmann and Rocco Fiore and Sons are among the 36 pros whose work is being showcased. … Read more

Center Stage

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Some months ago I agreed to put our house on a tour in Oak Park on June 20, called South Oak Park Style: A Tour of Modest Homes. Our home is indeed modest (it’s a 1,700-square-foot Prairie-style bungalow). Worthy of a tour? Don’t ask me. I’m the editor of a design magazine, of all things, so as you might imagine, I’m exposed to tons of gorgeous interiors everyday in my job that I can’t afford and don’t have the time to execute in my own home (I believe you are familiar with the cobbler’s children….) .
    One reason I agreed to the tour is: stagers. That is, People Who Take What You Have and Rearrange it to Look Nice for the Tour. And maybe bring a few accessories/flowers in. And get you to hide things in closets. My stagers, from the firm Kelly + Olive, introduced their low-cost, transparent decorating service to me via e-mail one day and the two seemed perfect for the task. Lauren and Courtney (Lauren is the brunette) are young, enthusiastic, and full of great ideas. On Monday they showed up and started moving everything around. Using what we already have, they rearranged and edited.  I opened beers, and it became a party. When they demanded (OK, suggested) that I trim back an out-of-control hanging plant, I immediately complied. “Look at that! They squealed. You have a dining room!” OK, it’s true that the plant had taken over the space.
    They suggested we move my most treasured painting, by local artist Traci Ostmann-Haschke (see above), to a place of prominence, where guests could see it immediately upon entering. Why didn’t I think of that? They rearranged the living room furniture. We love it. They arranged pottery and a Michael Aram candelabra on the fireplace where it can be seen, diplomatically rejected some items (what fun it is to evaluate all one’s objects objectively!), got tired, and left. They will return. And I’ll blog and post some more photos.

—Jan Parr