Strange Closets

During a recent gathering of friends at the Drake Hotel’s Cog d’Or bar, Richard Norton Gallery’s Susan Klein Bagdade held out her wrist and asked me if I could discern which of the three light green bangle bracelets she was wearing was made not from Bakelite but from a non-flammable version of Celluloid called cellulose [...]

I recently visited  Chicago Home + Garden art director Megan Duffy Rostan’s place, and while I wasn’t there specifically to shoot it for an Open House, I was so impressed with the entire apartment that I asked her if I could share the photos with you.  Megan’s  husband Tim Rostan wasn’t home when I stopped [...]

“It was love at first sight,” says Matthew of the one bedroom apartment where he’s lived for more than eight years.  While Matthew’s building is located steps from Lake Shore Drive, Oak Street Beach and the bustling Magnificent Mile, the building and tree-lined street nevertheless feel quiet, tranquil even.  Matthew loved the lobby’s elegance, the [...]

Thanks to regular contributor and the Found founder Albert Tanquero (who has spent the past few weeks soaking up the sunshine in Mexico*) for introducing me to today’s Open House subjects Marc and Seth.  The Manhattan transplants met Albert at the Chicago Antique Market when they bought a set of mugshots from the well-known ephemera [...]

Craig and Clarice were among the first couples to purchase and inhabit a unit in the Montgomery, the stunning conversion of the former Montgomery Ward’s headquarters into luxury condos. The building, which boasts floor to ceiling windows and wide open space unobstructed by pillars, was built in 1972 by Minoru Yamasaki, an architect who also [...]

When Paul and Diane’s two sons left the small town where they grew up and went off to college, the smart and sophisticated couple tackled the empty nest syndrome by building a new one in a locale where loneliness would be next to impossible, Chicago’s Gold Coast. Their home, located in the landmark, 179 E. [...]