Ad Categories: Home and Garden

Svenska Mobler is closing its doors on Wednesday, November 26 (the L . A. location will remain open, and purchases can still be made online). Starting October 1, all items in the River North store will be 30 percent off; in November, they will be 40 percent off. It’s a shame to see yet another world-class dealer shut down in our city. Shopping online is convenient, but it’s just not the same as seeing, touching, experiencing the piece you are buying in person. So sad. Good time to get a deal, though.

—Gina Bazer

I walked by Zella Brown the other day and thought to myself: love that window display. So bold and colorful. Hollywood Regency style at its best. And then I saw that dog… Turns out that fake little pooch draws more people in off the street than anything else—and it’s not for sale. Owner Trisha London’s mom bought it for her 10 years ago and she can’t remember where. It’s so real-looking it’s creepy! But London, who has witnessed many people knocking on the glass to “get its attention” maintains that she will always find a way to incorporate the odd dog into her window, no matter what people think of it. The things that drew me in: the tulle-wrapped-metal curlicue chandelier by 2Jane (not too shabby for $409) and the fun papier-mâché birds ($30 each) and stool ($299) from Stray Dog.

—Gina Bazer

My contractor friend Dave Albin [albin720@aol.com] bought a fixer-upper vacation home in LaPorte, Indiana, has been working on it for a while now, and we drove up to check it out and have some end-of-summer R&R. It’s on a couple acres of land, so he put a lot of thought into landscaping the backyard, and came up with a great alternative to a traditional swimming pool. He researched and built a natural swimming pond, using a phyto-filtration system that apparently is really big in England. The idea is to have a deep area for swimming and surround that with a shallower area that’s planted with special grasses that purify and oxygenate the water, eliminating the need for chemicals. The water is kept circulating by the different water temps, a small waterfall and a solar-powered pump. I love the natural look of it, with all the rocks and waterlilies (and some melodic frogs, and friendly fish as well), and it’s going to be a lot more interesting to look at in the winter than a tarp-topped rectangular hole in the ground.

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

I got an advance look at the Oak Park River Forest Showcase House on Thursday. My favorite rooms: Debbie Weber and Rod Maxwell’s dark chocolate/glam living room, with a wonderful faux grasscloth paint treatment. The fun “ladies’ lounge” on the top floor, created by Marge Ericksen of Oak Park’s Mixed Company, is also coolly glam.  See the home through September 28.

—JAN PARR

Larkspur, the fabulous Bucktown floral shop, has started selling flowers that its owners are growing from heirloom seeds on their farm in Southwest Michigan. They say they’re the first flower shop in Chicago to grow their own. 

—JAN PARR

I think I have an addiction. OK, I know I do. I’m BML and I am a monogram-aholic. My new fix is the monogramania that just launched at Jonathan Adler. Leave it to Mr. Tastefully Playful, who in all of his spare time (does he ever sleep?) launched a brand spanking new line of custom textiles. Llama rugs are $25 a square foot in any color combination and a variety of edging selections; wool pillows, $98, any way you like, and even a tote for $125 that you can make your very own. All the wool is hand-dyed and comes in the most delicious colors, creating infinite one-of-a-kind combinations we L-O-V-E. Check out the wall of fame at the Chicago store that we snapped. Orders take 10-12 weeks if you can stand to wait!

–Barri Leiner