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March 2009
On the Market: A House in the (River)woods
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $2,599,000
The Property: A winding drive through the woods leads to this new 17-room house, designed in the style of a French country manor by the builder, Stephen Kozer, and his wife, Patty Kozer, an interior designer. The home’s well-chosen details start on the exterior, where carefully placed pieces of limestone give depth to the façade, especially in winter when snow and ice highlight the many crannies and ledges. A customized set of wrought-iron insets on the doors carry through to the wrought-iron railings of the main interior staircase. Read more
Dumplings and Dragons
By Kate Seamons
Stadium West’s crawl from just another neighborhood dive to the vegan-Korean-food-cheap-beer haven known as Dragonlady Lounge (3188 N. Elston Ave.; 773-597-5617) has been a slow and stealthy one, but, with its name change last December, the metamorphoses is complete. And what a work of wacky, wonderful goodness it is... Read more
New at Room & Board

I have the unfortunate knack for walking into a store and immediately honing in on the most expensive item available for purchase. So when I recently dropped by Room & Board to get a look at their new lineup, I stayed true to form and promptly fell in love with the Cirrus sectional. But who could blame me? Every part of this lush and extravagant sofa is wrapped in a cozy down fill, and it even features magnetic pillows that can be positioned at different heights for personalized comfort. As my gracious Room & Board tour guide, Steven Rosengren, noted, “It’s design-forward but comfortable.” The Cirrus comes in a variety of colors in both microfiber ($5,999) and leather ($9,999).
Room & Board also has several new offerings that will appeal to those who are watching their budget. For the first time, Room & Board is selling its own line of bed linens, and in keeping with the store’s commitment to elegant simplicity, the colors are neutral and the look is clean. The best-selling percale queen sheet set costs $119, as does its companion queen duvet. Not inspired by muted colors? Rosengren suggests “adding life with accent pillows.” Also new is the ability to order four styles of rugs in custom sizes. And finally, be sure to take a look at Room & Board’s new line of furniture designed and built by West Virginia woodworker Gat Caperton. His Hudson collection includes a beautiful storage bed that combines practicality with delicate craftsmanship. A queen is $2,299 in solid cherry, or $2,699 in solid walnut. Caperton is an ardent supporter of sustainable furniture-making practices and donates all of his leftover sawdust to local farms for use in animal pens.

—ARANYA TOMSETH

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Achatz is Twitterpated
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby
A Different Shade of Sepia
Kendal Duque, named the best new chef of 2008 by Chicago magazine last May, announced he will leave his chef position at Sepia (123 N. Jefferson St.; 312-441-1920) at the end of March to pursue his own restaurant in Chicago. “It will probably be a small, casual place,” says Duque, a 36-year-old native of Ecuador. “l have a very, very good concept in mind and I’m being as tightlipped as I can for now. But I can say that I have a lot of energy... Read more
Contributors
By Graham Meyer
March 2009: David Royko, Joe C. Moreno, Noah Isackson, Laura Caldwell, Brittney Blair Read more
Feedback
In March's letters: property-tax premiums, psychotherapy, hindsight, and Barack Obama Boulevard Read more
Va-Va-Vintage
By Barri Leiner, Rebecca Little, and Cassie Walker
Our experts did the legwork—driving 446 miles and scouring the racks of dozens of shops—so you don’t have to. The payoff: a guide to the best vintage vendors in town Read more
Redmoon on the Block; Lighting Deals; Antiques
By Bradley Lincoln
Redmoon Theatre is known for wildly inventive productions staged all over the city, from the Jackson Park Lagoon to the façade of the MCA. The shows always have great trompe l’oeil sets and props, and now you can bring home some fakin’ (as well as other donated artwork, vacation packages, etc.) courtesy of an online auction. View the lots and bid online from now until March 11. The live event will be held at Spectacle Lunatique, their annual fundraiser, March 13 at Redmoon Central, 1463 W. Hubbard St., but absentee bids are welcome. This three-foot puppet, used in Cyrano, reminds me of something from designer Julia Edelman’s house that we profiled recently. Other auction co-stars include a Tony Fitzpatrick painting, colorful Mardi Gras headpieces, props from Moby Dick and The Golden Truffle, and outsider art. Read more
Dean’s List
Dean & Britta*
Andy Warhol begat the Factory, which begat The Velvet Underground and Nico, which begat Dean Wareham, an indie rocker who has made a career of emulating the Velvet’s chiming songs—first with bands Galaxie 500 and Luna, then with his Luna bandmate and wife, Britta Phillips, playing Nico to his Lou Reed. Now the couple comes full circle... Read more
Design S.O.S.

The folks at Refined Rustic just emailed us about a new service they are offering: The Creative Handyman. “Whether you’re looking to install light fixtures, window treatments, artwork, or tackle something a bit more complicated, our all-in-one decorating team and handyman service has the experience and creative eye to get the job done right.” Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

—GINA BAZER

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