Happy Hour

10/23/08

French Infusion

Botanica, a newish home accessories shop in Oak Park, last week held a reception featuring the charming ex-owner of Le Magasin (now closed), Didier Milleriot (shown here with me). Milleriot is consulting and advising Botanica's owner, Danah Kozma, on many of the glassware, linen, and candle lines La Magasin carried. Wine and cheese from Marion Street Cheese Market made the night extra fun. Milleriot, who now lives in Paris, says he misses Chicago. “Now that I am back in Paris I see all these things that drive me crazy about Parisians!” he says.

-Jan Parr

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10/16/08

Expert Opinions

Jill Weinberg of Refind Interiors recently hosted a panel discussion on home remodeling at Pauline Grace’s showroom. Local experts in lighting, kitchen and baths, tile and stone, and home furnishings gave tips on how to successfully tackle a renovation project. Here are some tips I picked up from the panel:

Jill Weinberg’s pre-construction tips:
-Before you even start, flip through magazines and keep a file of looks you like.
-Determine how you want to use the space you’re renovating
-Prioritize and set budget.
-Build in a 15 to 20 percent cushion for those inevitable unforeseen costs.

Kate Solovio of Materials Marketing on trends in stone and tile:
-Natural stone tiles cut in an elongated plank size to mimic wood floors are the new hot thing (see photo).
-Also look for beveled and stainless steel tiles.
-Add interest to your room with bamboo and wood mosaics.

Community Home Supply’s Julie Bower on kitchens and baths:
-Go green!
-By January 1, 2010, high efficiency toilets, or toilets that hold 1.28 gallons of water per flush, will be required. Consider installing these and low-flow faucets.

Jeff Wonsetler from Lightology:
-Today’s standard lightbulb is being phased out for more energy-efficient version.
-Screw-in, dimmable LED fixtures are the future.
-Compact fluorescent bulbs are will soon be required, so don’t buy fixtures that won’t accommodate them.

Pauline Grace’s Megan Hinchsliff on design trends:
-There’s a lot of chocolate brown out there, and a bright, chrome yellow seems to be accent color of the moment.
-Vinyl is a popular right now—it wears like leather but is less expensive, and it’s easily cleanable.

—JESSICA LINN

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10/15/08

Franco-Fair

If you’re jonesing for some Gallic gifting this year but can’t swing a trip to the Paris fleas, the Lycée Français de Chicago can hook you up this weekend at their annual Fall Market. The Northside French language school has rustled up more than 40 dealers and creators of antiques, linens and tabletop items, jewelry, and food and bath specialties, all with a French twist, including local faves Marguerite Gardens (see chairs above), Vintage Pine (we especially love Jeanne Steen’s Figaro Antiques), Heather Gentile Designs (see paintings above), Katherine Anne Confections, and Virtu. Get a sneak peek for a sawbuck this Friday, Oct. 19 from 7–9 at the opening, with nibbles, bubbly, and an appearance by Chicago appraiser Gary Piattoni. The fair runs through Sunday with cooking demos, supervised activities for les enfants, and an onsite café. (The $5 admission fee aids the école.)

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

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10/13/08

Delightful Dana

I think I will never again stay in a hotel that doesn’t have floor-to-ceiling windows. We went to see the new Dana Hotel & Spa last week, and, standing in a guest room, thought how great it is to feel like you’re floating on the skyline. The rooms are impressively designed with modern and eco-friendly elements by EDI Architecture of Texas. I loved the reclaimed Australian Jarrah wood floors (I can’t recall ever having seen wood floors in a hotel room—it’s so great.) Philippe Starck spa-inspired benches in the double shower are also a great touch.

—JAN PARR

Photos: Craig Dugan/Hedrich Blessing

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10/10/08

Bourbon, Make It a Triple

Basil Hayden scored a hat trick with the last of the debutant parties for their Tastemaker’s design competition. This one was held at Angels and Kings and celebrated Bryan Lump’s winning entry—a sleek coffee table with a mid-century-mod surfer vibe (pictured above). I’m looking forward to seeing all three prototypes at the final fiesta at Crimson Lounge on Oct. 16, where partygoers will pick the winner. If you’d like to mingle with Nate Berkus, snag some swag, and put your own two cents in to help decide who goes home with $10,000, RSVP here.  

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

Photos by Frank Failing

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10/03/08

MoSS Def

Through October 5th, check out MoSS (Museum of Sustainable Style) on Fulton Market, a show curated by Jessa Brinkmeyer, owner of Pivot, a clothing boutique specializing in eco-friendly fashion. Look for sustainable furniture and objects by Chicago Home + Garden subjects such as Ted Harris, Roscoe Jackson, Sean Scott, Jill Salisbury, and more. (Shown above, Sean Scott’s lounge and ottoman and Robert Wayner’s “Aardvark” bench.)

—Gina Bazer

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09/23/08

Contested Development

Ding! Ding! Round two of Basil Hayden's Tastemakers Design contest last week, and in this corner (of Stone Lotus Lounge) we have Rion Stassi presenting his octo-armed woody chandelier, inspired by the B.H. bourbon bottle. I haven't been back to Stone Lotus since profiling its décor for this magazine last year, but I'm happy to report that it's still dishing drama with those blood-red walls and wall-length waterfall. Rion's sleek design is a knock-out too. That's the dashing designer above, on the left. The next and penultimate party will be at Angels & Kings on Oct. 2 and you're all welcome to attend if you RSVP here.

-BRADLEY LINCOLN

PHOTOS BY FRANK FAILING
 

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09/17/08

Tour Time

Dozens of rain-slicker-yellow lawn signs pop up every autumn in my neighborhood, and by now I don’t even have to read them to know that this means it’s time for another Edgewater Home Tour, organized each September by the Edgewater Historical Society. I walk my dog all over the ‘hood and love to look in the windows at night to critique paint colors, window treatments, etc., so it’s great fun to snoop around inside the spacious old houses, picking up design ideas and comparing notes. This year the walking tour is Sunday, Sept. 21 from noon to four, $25 admission, and it kicks off at the church at 6200 N. Glenwood, where you’ll get a map of the participants to lead you around at your own pace. The weather is supposed to rock, so I’m thinking maybe post-tour margaritas on the cute back patio at Cocina de Frida’s.

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

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09/15/08

A Trio of Tastemakers

I went to a swell cocktail party recently at Lumen to celebrate the first of three finalists Nate Berkus chose in the Basil Hayden’s Tastemakers Design Chicago competition. The event was a joint presentation of Chicago Home + Garden and Out magazines, and Basil Hayden’s bourbon. The gal of the evening was Sarah Tranum (pictured above with her entry), a Chicago design grad student who has envisioned a curvilinear lounge chair that evokes the BH packaging (that’s the criteria for the contest—design whatever you want, but use Basil Hayden’s as the inspiration). The other two finalists will be feted at events coming up at Stone Lotus (RSVP here) and Angels and Kings, before Berkus puts the prototypes up for a vox populi judging on Oct. 16 at Crimson Lounge, over at the Hotel Sax. The bad weather didn’t stop the stylin’ crowd from coming out for fun Basil Hayden’s cocktails and passed pupus. I chatted with Project Runway alum Steven Rosengard, Oscar Tatosian from Oscar Isberian Rugs , Anthony Almaguer and Steven Burgert from I.D., and my neighbor Bryan Lump, who designed a table that earned him one of the other two finalist slots. His wife is hoping he wins, so they can spend the $10K prize on fixing up their basement. 

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

Photography by Frank Failing

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07/25/08

Me, at the Manor

If you find yourself near Bannockburn Tuesday evening, join me at the Scottish Manor, a concept home by Orren Pickell. I’ll be leading a tour and discussion with Pickell’s Tracy Konrath, the designer who chose the finishes in the 9,000-square-foot manse. If you’re into the barrel-vaulted-ceiling-tons-of-tumbled-stone-and-wood look, you’ll love this 9,000-square-foot home. The event is free, and takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 30 Aberdeen Court (call 847-572-5200 for directions).

—JAN PARR

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