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!

Pink is Powerful

If you have stepped outside your home this month, you probably have seen a lot more pink around than any other time of year. Well, welcome to October, also known as Breast Cancer awareness month. Not only will you see more people wearing the self-proclaimed color of support in various shades from mauve to bubblegum, you will notice store shelves flooded with pink items that when bought, send part of their profit to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. However, in lieu of buying a new pink spatula or umbrella adorned with a giant pink ribbon, some vendors on the awesomely homemade site, Etsy, are selling "Breast Cancer Awareness Month" goods and also donating some (or all) of their profits to the Foundation as well. Here are some of my favs.

Little Vintage Hearts by sarahandbendrix

Pink Glory Ring by thepinklocket

Keep Calm and Carry On Poster by posterpop

Pink Peruvian Opal Earrings by maribellecampa

Think Pink Cookies by chrisgalli

Pink Cloche with Fat Flower by niseylee

Pretty in Pink Headband by daintybutton

Glass Pearl Earrings by larababot

Pink Ribbon Long Strand of Pearls by larababot

Ballet Slipper Glass Crystal Necklace by brideblu

Whether you are looking to give to the foundation through some personal retail relief, or looking for a gift for a fabulous female who is/has endured breast cancer, turn to the not-so-typical Etsy shop and do a little monetary damage in support of breast cancer research.

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.

French Paper Sample Room

When I come across a website that is a cool resource, fountain of inspiration, or fun tool, I like to share it with you; the only problem is that I find sites that fall into these categories nearly every day, therefore I only post the ones I truly love. I believe the one I'm featuring today deserves to be raved about, it is French Paper's sample room.

I have a soft spot for French paper, because I used it for my wedding invitations, but I must say that their site is awesome. The blog is run by French Paper Company, but it is about so much more than paper, it celebrates design that is printed on French paper. The sample room is a place where anyone who has used French paper in a project can submit a photo or samples to not only be featured in a blog post, but also entered into a monthly design contest to win an all-expense paid trip to Niles, Michigan, French Paper's headquarters (see the June winner here).

Aside from being a monthly-running contest, it is a tremendous source of inspiration. I could spend hours looking through their past posts (and have). Here are a few that immediately sparked my creativity.

Designer: Katie Kirk, Paper: Muscletone Pure White

Designer: Allan Peters, Paper: Speckletone Madero Beach

Designer: Jennifer Davis, Paper: Pop-tone Spearmint

I urge you to check it out, if not just to see some great design, but to stimulate your creativity.

See a few other posts about cool sites here, here, here, here, and here.

Type with Style

There is something that pulls at my heartstrings when I receive a handwritten note, whether it be in the mail or just left on my desk, I always get warm fuzzies. I remember being away at summer camp and receiving letters and cards from my mom, updating me on the curiosities my cat was getting into and I remember sending my grandparents letters telling them all about my upcoming travel plans to visit them. But where have those gone? I believe we all still enjoy receiving letters and maybe even more so because they are rare these days, so why have we stopped sending them? Ah, that's right, because we are all uber-busy and it is much faster and instant to tap out a quick email when we feel the need to reach out to a friend or family member. Am I wrong?

Well today, I tip my hat off to Pilot for creating this sweet little tool that takes your handwriting and turns it into a font that you use when you email notes to your friends and family. It doesn't bring back the excitement of receiving a note about the weather in your mailbox, but I felt nostalgia when I saw it.

Ready to make your own font? The process is simple. Go to Pilot's site, print out a template, fill it in, upload it (scanner, camera, or webcam), and then type your message.

Here is my font I call jessi.

And here's a note I typed to myself using my font.

Isn't it the coolest thing you've seen today? Try it out and send me a note, I'd love to see your handwriting!

Compute this

On February 15, Best Buy launched an in-store e-cycling program in all of their US locations, and one of the many items they accept are old computers. Recently, my coworker got a new MacBookPro and chose to bring his old desktop PC in for e-cycling. However, before taking it, Best Buy told him to destroy his hard drive. The store had numerous reasons but their main one was that they did not want to be liable for the information on the disk. Fortunately, destroying a hard drive is an extremely easy process if it is less than five years old and a little more difficult if your computer is more than five years old, which my coworker's hard drive was, so he asked for my assistance. Also by destroying his hard drive, it reassures him to know that no one will be able to access the information in the future.

Generally, hard drives newer than five years have glass disks that a simple pound of a hammer will shatter, but hard drives that are more than five years old have metal disks that demand more extreme measures. Here is my coworker's ancient (in technology terms) 8-year-old 60GB Maxtor hard drive.

As you can see, it is pretty solid. So, to destroy this hard drive, I used my power drill to core a hole right through the area that the disks are in. My plan was to drill on each end of the drive to guarantee that the disk was thoroughly demolished.

After choosing my drill bit and making sure my safety goggles (my glasses) where in place, I got to it.

Justin wasn't home at the time, so while I held it down with one hand, my other hand held my power drill as it bore a hole in the drive.

Within a few minutes, I had successfully impaled the drive on one end.

And a short while later, the other end had a piercing to match.

I got a little drill happy and started a third, but it seemed my bit was exhausted and snapped in two. I took that as a sign to stop.

If you are still at a loss for how to disassemble and destroy your hard drive before recycling it, watch this video created by a few of Best Buy's Geek Squad agents.

Blog Love: Ikea Hacker

Little to my knowing, our fabric paneled wall was featured on ikea hacker yesterday!

Head over there and check out all the Ikea hacking going on all around the world.

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.