07/22/08
A stylish crowd of about 200 people came out last week for the opening party of Florense in River North, the Brazilian furniture and cabinetry company. If you didn’t know better, you might have thought you were in the Poliform showroom: the company’s sleek wares are very similar (the internal structure of the cabinets is indeed the same as Poliform’s; the wood veneers are made in Italy and then shipped to the factory in Brazil), at about half the price. The reason? This Brazilian company doesn’t have to deal with the strong Euro/weak dollar issue, and the cost of raw materials and production is lower in South America. This is Florense’s third North American showroom (the others are in New York and Miami). Bonus: the company’s goods have met rigorous ISO green certification standards both for its materials and manufacturing processes. Also find Pallucco Italia lighting and Miele appliances in this 5,000-square-foot showroom. —JAN PARR
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06/30/08
I stopped by Vesta Chicago's Fuego grill launch party last week and it was sizzling. What makes the Fuego grill so cool is that it doesn't really look like one. Architects, designers, and friends of Vesta (a dealer of modern kitchen cabinetry and wardrobes) gathered around what looked like several industrial-style kitchen islands to collect their delicious burgers and fish tacos. The Fuego has no visible lid (it's fully retractable), so there's no physical barrier between the grill master and his/her friends. Teak and slate countertops surrounding the cooking surface allow you to set down your plates and drinks as if it were a bar. The grill also has tons of hidden storage (including a place to hide the gas tank), and for purists, a drawer containing an optional charcoal-grilling system. Next, it was on to a soirée at the remodeled home and studio of the husband-wife architect team, Lisa and Ron Elkins, owners of the eco-friendly firm 2 Point Perspective. We checked out their cool new kitchen with its bamboo cabinets, recycled glass countertops, and energy-saving LED lighting (we will post photos as soon as we have them), and we marveled at the huge, gorgeous planks of rough reclaimed wood, freshly purchased from Horigan Urban Forest Products , that they had leaning against their living room wall next to a sign proclaiming: “Future dining table.” The nice people of Greenmaker, an eco-friendly remodeling supply store, were on hand raffling off gift certificates. -Gina Bazer
Claudia Skylar of Mastro & Skylar Architects, Colette Rodon-Hornof of Vesta Chicago, and Ann Clark of Nicholas Clark Architects
A Fuego grill in all its glory
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06/25/08
What a great idea: a house tour of “modest” but well-designed homes in Oak Park. I toured eight houses last Saturday on the “Southeast Style” tour and found a bit to like in each (it was particularly fun since my husband and I own a bungalow in southwest Oak Park). One favorite was a gut conversion of a brick bungalow—inside it feels like a downtown loft. Brian and Angela Pettit did most of the design work themselves. Brian told me he reasoned that bungalows are essentially modern—he just took it a few steps further. I’ll keep you posted should the tour be held again next year. –JAN PARR
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06/23/08
The Mies van der Rohe Society hosted a cocktail reception and tour of Helmut Jahn’s elegantly simple 600 North Fairbanks glass tower last week. Two of the light-filled units, with signature concrete walls, posts, and ceilings, together with floor-to-ceiling windows—were furnished and decorated by Jennifer Sweas, a local interior designer. I loved the way Sweas did the unit shown here; it goes to show that modern does not have to be cold. The other model, the penthouse, is equally stunning. I ran into a couple of tenants in the elevator; they seemed very happy living there. Think you’d be, too? Don’t dally. Only ten units in this 41-story building are still available. —JAN PARR
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06/16/08
Most of our staff came out last week for Morlen Sinoway’s Guerilla Truck Show, his way-cool annual anti-Neocon event. It showcases independent artists and designers around town, who pull trucks up to Sinoway’s loading dock in Fulton Market to show their wares.
Our associate art director, Adam Moroschan, had this report:
•Met Dale Meiners of Trimline Custom Designs, who does a lot with veneers and custom woodworking. He talked about how to trick out standard cabinets,including various hinge options, backlighting options, veneers, etc. (I really like the bar stool prototype on his site as well.)
•Nevin Peters is doing some interesting sustainable side tables. I loved the texture and pattern of the top panel.
•Jason Wade of 45 degrees has made four very modern chairs out of a single piece of wood. He had a great photo album that showed the entire process. The ultimate in recycling.
•Really liked the quality and lines of Jason Lewis' mid-century-modern–like furniture. —JAN PARR
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06/11/08
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Holly Hunt, center, with interior designers Laura Kirar and Doug Levine (her former staffers, featured in our May/June issue) |
It was the biggest design party of the year. That’s a risky statement as I am not the biggest partier at the office, but I’m going to throw it out there ’cause I haven’t been to a party like this in a long time (I blame a certain three-year-old who lives in my house for this). Holly Hunt’s 25th anniversary bash Monday night on the terrace of the Harris Theater was HUGE. Some 1,200 beautifully dressed people showed up to fete the design doyenne, who seemed genuinely touched by the show of support as she addressed the crowd from the stage before introducing the evening’s entertainment, Poi Dog Pondering. Hunt is beloved by the design industry and this showed—as did her long-held business mantra of offering the “best in class.” The food and wine were abundant and delightful, and the setting was classic and perfectly appropriate. Guests looked like movie extras lounging on the Holly Hunt Great Outdoors casual furniture line, displayed in surprisingly un-muted tones, below a gigantic billowing white tent that was illuminated by modern orange-shaded fixtures. Even the day’s iffy weather cleared up just in time. Here’s to another 25! —Gina Bazer
Photos by Chris Guillen Photography
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06/06/08
Imagine how you’d look carrying this into Ravinia:
The Veuve Clicquot Globalight, designed by Karim Rashid, is a portable champagne cooler that features soft LED lighting. It’ll keep your bubbly cold for four hours (no word on whether it automatically ejects a non-Veuve sparkler). Hurry, only 500 were made ($4,000 a pop). We saw it last night at a launch party at the W Hotel. Buy it here. And no, the Clicquot is not included. —JAN PARR
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06/02/08
 At least two guests were appropriately dressed for the opening party of the Scottish Manor, a concept home in Bannockburn developed by Orren Pickell (our magazine is a marketing sponsor). That’s my dashing husband, Peter Turek, on the left, and Orren himself on the right. Our publisher, Randy Hano, dressed in civilian clothes and showhouse booties, is in the middle. Hundreds of guests packed the 9,000-square-foot home, which was decorated by Kiki Luthringshausen and her staff at K-Haus. There are a lot of wow-factor touches, such as the massive reclaimed barn beam in the kitchen (shown here), the bath with a view, the multiple fireplaces…
The Manor is located at 30 Aberdeen Ct, off Telegraph Rd, 3/10 of a mile south of Half Day Road (Route 22) and is open to the public through Sept. 21. Hours are: noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays, or by appointment. Like what you see? The home is yours for a cool $4.8 million (you’ll have to negotiate separately for the furniture and accessories).
—Jan Parr Kitchen Photo by Linda Oyama Bryant
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05/28/08
 The party for textile designer Lulu de Kwiatkowski's new book Lulu (AMMO) at Elements was hopping. The preggers designer sat up front signing her gorgeous folio with one of the evening’s hosts, Nate Berkus, sitting at her side and cracking jokes. “Let me answer that,” he quipped when I asked the authoress about the inspiration for her book. She told us (or actually, her PR person told us later, as she was so busy greeting admirers one felt bad making her go too deep) it was “all about the journey of the artist--how you get to where you are going.” And indeed these collage-style pages with diary entries and snapshots of family and friends, alongside original botanical art by Kwiatkowski herself, give you a peak inside her very creative mind. The other eye candy was Elements itself. The new store is amazing. —Gina Bazer Photos by Barry Brecheisen
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05/19/08
My favorite design blog, Apartment Therapy, recently sponsored a contest, Small Cool 2008, in which design-savvy people living in less than 850 square feet competed for Room & Board gift certificates and accolades. I was one of the judges, who took readers’ picks and helped choose four winners from the semi-finalists. Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan flew to Chicago for the party last week, where the winners were announced. We were thrilled that a Chicagoan (and one of my picks) made it to the top four; see it here. We also hope to publish photos of this apartment—located in the iconic Marina City—in a future issue. —JAN PARR
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