The Lincoln Park Row House featured on our portfolio page was quite the transformation. See the dramatic before and after photos below! 'After' photos by Leslie Schwartz Photography #architecture #chicago #design

Today’s Designer Spotlight features Charlet Design, a custom furniture studio located in Brooklyn, NY. Spearheaded by its namesake Laurent Charlet, the company offers meticulously crafted pieces that function incredibly well while adding beauty to any space. Charlet carefully sources all materials himself to ensure that the carbon footprint of each item is kept to an absolute minimum. In addition to furniture designer, Charlet is a practicing architect, which is evident in th

Good design can be found anywhere – and it most certainly is found in this fabulous pair of C.Wonder (sadly now out of business!) shoes, a gift from my Mom. The flashy gold honeycomb heel and subdued linen body could be straight out of a Kelly Wearstler interior. I can’t wait to break these in this summer! #design

Last Friday I attended the Small Project Awards, a reception hosted by the AIA Chicago Small Practitioners Group. The fourth annual awards program celebrates projects both built and un-built that have been designed by firms with 9 or fewer licensed architects. The evening strives to highlight small practitioners within the architecture industry. Featured here is one of our favorites of the 96 entries, a Straw Bale Cabin submitted by Laura Garcia Design. Sustainability and ene

Close friends of mine recently built a custom home in Indianapolis and the result is a stunning residence that is both cleanly modern and incredibly welcoming. The 3,000 square foot home is located in the historic Herron Morton Place neighborhood of Indianapolis, a vital area that is urban living personified and rapidly growing. When initially meeting with their architect, Rob Collier of Rottmann Collier Architects, they expressed their desire for a unique design that functio

Chicago had a fleeting glimpse of spring last week and the blue skies that accompanied it were so inspiring. Shown here are some of my current blue favorites – they will have to do until summer arrives permanently! Clockwise from upper left: This vibrant Star Tetrahedron acrylic painting by Jessica Caputo Macon is a perfect combination of colors, with the geometry emphasized in a gold outline. I can't decide if I would use this sophisticated navy Palms Console in a foyer or a

This month’s Designer Spotlight features Chicago based Modern Urban Woods. Founded in 2012 by brothers Adam and Devin Long, Modern Urban Woods fills a very unique void in the realm of sustainable design. They provide not only reclaimed wood from barns located in the Midwest, but also each barn’s history, thus providing their clients with a connection to the wood itself. They also encourage clients to visit their warehouse to select their own material. This approach sparks cre

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded every year to a living architect who has contributed significantly to society with his or her built works. The prestigious honor is widely considered to be the highest prize in architecture. It was founded in 1978 and is sponsored by the Pritzker family, who are native Chicagoans. This year’s winner is Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. Born in Tokyo in 1957, Ban dreamed of being a carpenter. Soon that goal evolved into becoming an arch

A favorite artist of mine is the incredibly accomplished glass sculptor Dale Chihuly. He was born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, and began his career in the arts with a degree in Interior Design from the University of Washington. Chihuly also received Masters Degrees from the University of Wisconsin and the Rhode Island School of Design. Perhaps his most influential studies took place in Venice, where he worked at a glass factory while on a Fulbright Fellowship. Chihuly was b

This month in our Designer Spotlight series we are featuring the insanely talented Erin Bodnar. She formed her design firm, EEB Interiors, in 2008 and has been improving residential and corporate interiors nationwide ever since. When asked about her design style, Erin said, “Honestly, it is specifically suited to each client. The modern design I create for a client in a downtown high rise looks vastly different from the more traditional style I incorporate into a client's hom

Pantone's 2014 Color of the Year is Radiant Orchid, a vibrant mix of purple, pink and fuchsia. Perhaps if we start dressing and designing in this gorgeous color, Mother Nature will come to her senses and spring will soon follow? Photo Credit: Alexander Parker #design

I recently took a trip to Kohler, Wisconsin, to celebrate an anniversary. Although it wasn’t on the agenda, my husband and I made a visit to the design center located in the quaint town. What an unexpected surprise to stumble into such an amazing space! The main floor of the center features thousands of Kohler products, from sinks to showers to toilets. The second floor is a series of design vignettes and has the feel of walking through an incredibly designed dollhouse. We mo

We will now be featuring a fellow designer in the first blog post of each month! To kick off our Designer Spotlight, we have the very talented Cari Smulyan, who formed the jewelry line Bubby’s Vintage in 2010. Cari scours flea markets and vintage shops to unearth treasures, which she then creatively re-purposes into beautiful jewelry. Pictured here is one of her most special pieces, a necklace created from an Eisenberg brooch. Eisenberg & Sons was formed in Chicago in 1914 an