Best of CS Interiors: Fall 2010

As soon as I saw the new fall issue of CS Interiors on the stands, I dashed across the sidewalk, weaved through the pedestrian traffic, and grabbed a copy all for myself. I know I have shown why I love this publication time and time and time and time again, but I must reiterate that it is a fountain of beautiful photos and amazing home decor, mostly native to the Chicago area or created by Chicago-bread talent.

The fall 2010 issue is chock full of great inspiration, in fact, one of the ads caught my eye as well. Check out this beautiful (I'm guessing) ceramic rhino bust from Branca. Ever since taxidermy has come into the trendy home decor spot light, I have loved the alternative materials companies have made animal busts from including this little guy.

The article accompanying this photo was called The New Clutter, fitting, no? What strikes me in this photo is not only the abundance of old photos on the wall, yes there are a lot, but rather the manner in which they are used, as a wallpaper. It may not toot everyone's horn, but the large amount of photos applied en masse diminishes the "cluttered" look and appears as a varied texture, lush and rich paired with the red-burgundy leather couch.

Photo by Maia Harms, CS Interiors

Another way, albeit less hectic, to round up a collection is to create a framed collage, such as this one found in the home of Jerry Kleiner and Marisa Molinaro. I am always drawn to gallery-looking collections in homes and this one joins the pile in my inspiration folder. It can be quite difficult to successfully create an assorted framed collage but one tip I picked up from this image is to limit the frames you use to two colors, such as what Kleiner and Molinaro used (black and gold).

Photo by Tony Soluri, CS Interiors

When I glimpsed these voluptuous jug table lamps by C.A.I. Designers I was attracted to their bodies. The curves of the base are so lovely and large but in any other material they would appear heavy and overweight. However, because the base is transparent glass, and is paired with a well proportioned light-colored drum shade, the lamp is graceful and would look elegant sitting right on my office desk.

CS Interiors

It's not every day that a model home interior looks this mod. When charged with the task of designing the models of Aqua Parkhomes, designer Jeanne Gang called upon art guru Mark Rowland for some fine art finessing. With their two powers combined, they created a bedroom, and model, worth spending all your life savings. The triptych of tree photographs is by Jin Lee and is completely DIY worthy and doable.

Photo by Maia Harms, CS Interiors

Last, is this kinetic light fixture titled Gleam by RockPaperRobot. With the click of a button this $9,000 fixture can "widen or bend" and "cluster or radiate" depending on the mood of the operator. Aside from the price tag, I love everything about this baby. Adjustable lighting in every room is a dream I have and a motorized chandelier seems right up my alley.

CS Interiors

Thanks CS Interiors for another fabulous issue. I can't wait for winter 2010!

Want to flip through the whole issue? Read it online!

Run Your Ass Off

This post goes out to all the crazies who are participating in the Chicago marathon this Sunday (10-10-10). My good friend Stephanie is running it for her second year in a row and while she's hustling her ass across the various neighborhoods of Chicago, I will be sitting on my tush at home. Because I won't be there to cheer her on (though, she rarely needs it), I designed this little poster and sent it to her this morning for some last minute support.

If you are one of the aforementioned crazies, feel free to download your own and post it on your bathroom mirror for some inspiration. Good luck all!

Quite Strong

About a month or two ago, I was invited to join Quite Strong, a website that promotes creatives of the female variety. Although I did not get my information to the group of gals right away (tsk tsk), I did eventually and am proud to return the favor by promoting their site to you all.

Quite Strong is run and organized by a posse of five friendly chicas. When I was first invited to collaborate, I did not know any of them, but coincidentally after a few weeks of finding out about it, my office hired one of them as a freelancer, so when they threw their site's launch party, I had a direct connection to one of the hosts. Score!

If you have a minute or two check out my personal portfolio page. Who knows, you may learn something secret about me! Although I haven't received work inquiries just yet, I have enjoyed perusing my peers' work and advocate all fellow female creatives to join because Quite Strong is another way to get your name out there (ahem, ahem, I am talking to you!). Heck, you don't have to be in the Chicago area to be added to the lust list, just send in a request to be added.

So, to repay the favor, thanks Quite Strong and by association, the leading ladies behind the curtain of this awesomely fabulous site!

Banana Republic Fall Jewelry Displays

During one of my recent lunch stops at the gigantic, 4-floor Banana Republic store on Michigan Avenue, I couldn't help but notice the new fall jewelry displays because they reference two of my loves: home DIY (paint roller covers) and reading (books).  And the jewelry isn't bad either!

If someone is looking for an excellent way to organize bracelets or necklaces, this is the way to do it. Do I see an inventive necklace tree or jewelry stand in the future?

I also loved the way they used stacks of old books and papers, compressed together to post brooches and pins in. This is a great sculptural alternative for a cork board.

Or you could just lay your baubles across a blank or monochromatic book cover.

I think these are very fitting for the fall season, especially with schools welcoming back students and a new wave of fall DIY projects. What do you think?

Best of CS Interiors: Summer 2010

As soon as I picked up a copy of the summer 2010 issue of CS Interiors, I plopped down on my couch and started perusing. There is some good eye candy this issue! Here are some of my favorites.

First, this funky, vertical garden. I've seen these in a few magazines and blogs now and they amaze me. How and what can you grow like this? I know certain things can be planted to grow upside down (like my strawberries), but where do the roots of these plants go? Somebody please tell me!

CS Interiors

Next was this home. Although the photo is quite small in the actual magazine, I am enthralled by all of the pink books. My immediate reaction was, who owns that many pink books and then I read the accompanying paragraph explaining that the owner Dave Albin painted a bunch of second-hand books to use as an art installation for his bookshelves. Ingenious!

Photo by Tate Gunnerson, CS Interiors

The article married to these next two beautiful photos describes the design excellence of a Chicago home's three-tiered patio deck. I enjoyed reading the article but more so liked looking at the pictures. I love the space's minimalism with much needed splashes of organic colors, textures, and shapes. Also, the little Yorkie pup was a selling point as well.

Photo by Bob Coscarelli, CS Interiors

Photo by Bob Coscarelli, CS Interiors

I always make sure to take a few extra minutes browsing the Trends! section of CS Interiors. I like to see what is coming around the corner while at the same time scoping out some cool stuff. This issue, the magazine fittingly showcased some cool planters that would be excellent in any home (especially ours). These two were my favorites from the bunch.

Wood grain herb pots by Magenta

CS Interiors

PAD Pod planters at Sprout Home

CS Interiors

Because this glossy is localized (the C in CS stands for Chicago) when I flip through the pages, I am bound to add items to my "To Buy," "To Wish For," or "To Visit" lists, like this shop Marco Polo Antiques. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of tiptoeing through antique stores so not to break anything and therefore tend to avoid them all together but one that touts its Haute Farm goods, I've got to visit. Just look at this image for example. It looks wonderful.

Photo by Jim White, CS Interiors

And of course, I have to show you images of the amazing featured homes. The first is the Wisconsin weekend retreat of Jay Franke and David Herro. As you can see, it oozes with mid-century-modern lushness

Photo by Tony Soluri, CS Interiors

Photo by Tony Soluri, CS Interiors

But what really makes my heart flutter is the art gallery in their stairwell. I love love love the collectible-kitschy vibe it has going on.

Photo by Tony Soluri, CS Interiors

The second featured home is the Michigan weekend getaway for Jodi and Walt Eckenhoff. They designed, built, and decorated it themselves all with eco-friendly materials. This photo alone convinces the city-girl in me that living in the woods (preferably on a lake) wouldn't be too bad.

Photo by Tony Soluri, CS Interiors

Anybody else lovin' the summer 2010 issue of CS Interiors as much as me? Want to flip through the whole issue? Read it online!

Look at my favorites from past issues of CS Interiors here, here and here.

Robots in Disguise

If you are not a Chicagoan or a suburbian of Chicago, you may not know that over the past month Transformers 3 has been filming in our lovely downtown metro landscape. Going to work is exciting every day because you never know if you should be running away when you hear gun shots, ducking when a helicopter zooms overhead, or calling for help when you see someone jumping from a building, and because of my office location, we have one of the best seats in the house to view the action. Here are some photos of what we have become accustomed to seeing the past few weeks. Nothing phases us anymore!

The leading actor, Shia LaBeouf.

This sign is for all the oblivious tourists milling about.

The view from the conference room in my office.

Rubble (a.k.a. painted styrofoam) in front of the Tribune Building.

View from the Trump Tower across the river. I spy an upside down ambulance, do you?

Life-size destruction.

This poor boat, if only it knew what it had coming.

A lot of people have been taping the commotion and posting videos on YouTube. I like this video from someone who works in another building in this war zone. Note the caption: "How am I supposed to get work done while decepticons are attacking?"



Happy Friday everyone!

Thanks to my coworkers for letting me use some of their photos.

Good luck guys!

In the past two weeks, my place of employment has lost two talented designers and friends to us all in the office. While we still mourn their departures, I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we are really excited for their upcoming adventures. One is moving to Kansas City to continue his career in higher education and the other is moving to San Francisco to get back to his roots—per se—at an architecture firm.

Not to sound too sappy or wistful, I just want to share this little design I created as a nod to their time in Chicago. Good luck guys!

Boats, Trains, and Automobiles

Today I'm letting you in on some interesting facts about my commuting life.
1) Our house is 50 miles from my office in downtown Chicago.
2) I commute at least 2 hours each way before and after work, pending all of my public transportation is running on time.
3) I use four modes of transportation during the day: car, bus, train, and boat

Most of you may jump to the assumption that I must hate my life because of my commute, but I actually don't, rather I enjoy the commute. I get time to myself and don't have to worry about traffic or other road-rage inducing factors.

Last week, the weather was so beautiful that I brought my camera to work with me so I could snap some photos of the great architecture along the banks of the Chicago River. Here are four of my favorites from my 15 minute boat ride that day. (You can see more if you click to read the whole post.)

These would be great printed and framed, similar to what I did with photos I took on our honeymoon in Italy.

Chicago's Merchandise Mart Spring Sample Sale

Have you ever heard about Chicago's Merchandise Mart Spring sample sale and wondered what exactly happens during it and what kind of deals you can score? Well I have! So when I received an email a few weeks ago advertising the sale happening May 14 & 15, I added it to my schedule.

When my calendar reminded me of the sale last Friday, I couldn't wait for my lunch hour to roll around, and as soon as the clock chimed 12, I hit the pavement. Merchandise Mart isn't terribly far from my office, but a well paced walk can still take 10-15 minutes. Upon entering through the doors, I felt the crisp air conditioned air and headed straight to the elevators, traveling up to the 15th floor, the first floor of the sale.

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I was greeted by a concierge and handed a flyer listing the stores participating in the sale on floors 15 through 18. I thanked her and started looking around. I wasn't sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised to see that even though the layout was essentially an office building, instead of large corner offices and conference rooms there were interior design home decor shops. Heaven!

I immediately developed a clockwise strategy to browse each floor within my limited amount of time. The following photos show you some stores and their samples for sale lining the hallway just outside their doors.

Although, some hallways were full, others were completely empty, and some stores invited you in to shop their samples. On the other hand, other shops would only allow you in their stores if you were in the trade and if you weren't, the sales associates would usher you out the door (reminding me of a bouncer at a club).

After looking at a few items, I quickly learned that this wasn't a sample sale I was going to be spending money at. I was hoping to see some real steals, but unless you think a dining room set originally priced at $4200 on sale for $1800 is a can't-miss opportunity, you might want to visit the sale for personal enjoyment rather than hoping for a $50 persian area rug.

Nonetheless, these were some items that I was majorly crushing on:
Faux fur pillows and throws that were so soft you might have mistaken them for real fur.

Tons of somewhat discounted wall art.

These super sweet gilded bird motif finger bowls.

This really cool drum pendant shade, which I'm still kicking myself for passing up.

All being told, I had fun shopping the sample sale, even though I didn't buy anything. I'm not sure if I will return again, I'm more of a $15 dining room table kind of gal, but it was interesting to see what is considered by the trade "high-end" decor items.

Has anyone else shopped Chicago's Merchandise Mart sample sale? Did you score a deal or just had fun looking?

Best of CS Interiors: Spring 2010

As soon as I saw the newest issue of CS Interiors on the newstand, I grabbed myself a copy. Not only does this publication have great photography, it is one of my favorites because it is specific to the Chicago area. In past issues, I've posted information about Chicago vendors or other Midwest designers (read them here and here), but in this issue, I am loving local interior designers.

Such as this inviting entry in designer Tom Stringer's home in Belmont Harbor, which is one of the homes participating in the Chicago City Day School house tour. I love the color scheme of creamy neutrals and rich deep browns, but my favorite part is in the far right back of the photo. The grid of black framed photos with generous white mattes look like an art gallery installation and something that can easily be copied in any home.

Photo from CS Interiors

The next photo that captivated me was of this room designed by Jordana Joseph. A few of the many things that I am crushing on in this room are: the color palette and the Jonathan Adler accents. I think this may be the color scheme I go with in our TBD office.

Photo by Bob Coscarelli, CS Interiors

Next on my list of favs is this photo from a house in Bucktown designed by Aimee Wertepny. Talk about modern glam! The mix of shiny tile, the crisp white mantel, and the red art make this wall striking.

Photo by Tony Soluri, CS Interiors

Designer Amy Lehman, gives us the pleasure of the next two photos and all I can say is texture, texture, texture! There is so much visual interest in her dining room I don't know what to focus on. The oven? The antlers? The windows? They're all so lovely!

Photo by Tony Soluri, CS Interiors

How cool would it be to have a swing in your house? Well, just ask Amy Lehman because she's got one, and it's super cool. Being a fan of swings myself, this image definitely made my list.

Photo by Tony Soluri, CS Interiors

The second to last photo from the spring issue is of Dave and Jeannette Jordano's home. The combination of funky chairs and the collection of hulk fists would make any dinner party in this room a blast. It especially hits home with me because the hulk hands are flea market finds—score!

Photo by Dave Jordano, Michelle Litvin, and Leah Missback Day, CS Interiors

This last image digresses from my theme of Chicago-land designers but for reasons, as you can see, I still had to include it. This is a shot of the interior of Po Dog Coffee hot dog shop on Capitol Hill in Seattle designed by Pb Elemental. The oversized photo of the pug dog is ultra cute and adds playfulness to the otherwise basement-looking space.

Photo by CS Interiors

And those are the images that top my list from the spring issue of CS Interiors. If you don't live in the area, but want to see what's up in the interior design world of Chicago, flip through or download the digital edition from their website here.