Strange Closets

Brett and Shane lived in Lakeview before buying their vintage one-bedroom condo in Edgewater Glen in 2001. While the new zip code lacks Lakeview’s hustle-bustle, it’s not without its own charms: the lake’s a few blocks away, the streets are lined with mature trees (including many Catalpas), and the housing stock is gorgeous – a mix [...]

Please check out my latest Time Out Chicago story featuring Josh Rogers very cool Printers Row loft. When Josh moved into the 2000 square foot space, he asked his friend, Agent Gallery’s Mariano Chavez for help, and the two wound up working night and day incorporating salvaged pieces and constructing custom furniture and lighting. For [...]

Neil Goodman moved into his 860 square foot “space-age studiolo” ten years ago this week when his aunt Ann, the one-bedroom apartment’s first and only prior inhabitant, passed away at the age of 99. “When I first moved in I was conscious of the fact that a relative had lived in the space for over 30 years and that [...]

There’s something magical about Wilhelm (Bill) and Kathee Kiesselbach’s two bedroom Niles, Michigan home. Bill bought the one and a half acre property several years before the couple first met, but the first time Kathee saw the house, she felt as if she had been there before. In fact, nearly everybody who visits senses something special. ”My [...]

Sean Cowan and his partner Eric Silvestri’s masculine, sophisticated Edgewater Beach apartment is one of the many spectacular spaces featured in the July / August issue of Chicago Home + Garden (on sale now). From the eclectic mix of furnishings to the taupe-black-white color scheme to the intellectually quirky collection of science and religious art, [...]

When I learned that Julia Buckingham Edelmann had moved her interior design firm to Grand Avenue, I realized the area had shed its status as Chicago’s best kept secret and officially become Chicago’s hottest new design district. Julia and friend Debra Phillips, who owns Scentimental Gardens in Geneva, IL, decided to take the West Town plunge [...]

The Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society hosted its annual House Walk in early May, and it was a particularly good one, highlighting notable homes surrounding Indian Boundary Park, including units in the Park Castles and Park Gables buildings. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had a more fun and interesting afternoon. Longtime [...]

Despite the fact that Threadless motto is Nude No More, the Chicago-based company has developed a rabid, cult-like following thanks to their innovative use of crowdsourcing, a hot trend in consumer design. Here’s how it works: Threadless invites designers, artists and anybody with a cool idea to submit their graphics to Threadless, who puts them [...]

Last year KitchenLab founder and interior designer Rebekah Zaveloff introduced me to her friend JB, who also happens to own one of Rebekah’s favorite design projects, a stunning nineteenth century, 6500 square foot Queen Anne Victorian in Highland Park that feels homey despite its size and contemporary despite its age, moldings and original woodwork. While [...]

The sign that welcomes visitors to Forest Park says Big city access, small town charm,” says Sue Haas. “So corny but true.” Indeed, there’s a great shopping district just a few blocks away, and you can see the public park across the street from the enclosed front porch of their stylish, two-story dwelling. The park has a swimming [...]