Creating a Vision Board Every January, I get together with my design group and create a vision board. A vision board is a physical representation of hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. Some say it’s a manifestation. Manifestation sounds like a “woo-woo, if I put it out in the universe it will happen” idea, but it’s not that. It’s about seeing what you want, being inspired by the images you’ve chosen and taking action – sometimes daily, to move forward toward those hopes and dreams. When I sit down at my desk every day with a list of to-dos that never seems to get any shorter, I look at my ..read more

A Few of My Favorite Things I have a lot of favorite things, honestly, but here are twelve, and if you’re still shopping for the holidays, maybe this list can provide a little inspiration: 1.) Beautiful Briny Sea Salts. I discovered these at a Renegade Craft Fair and they have filled our spice carousel ever since. My favorites are Campfire, on popcorn, on roasted chickpeas; Magic unicorn, on eggs, on chicken; and French Picnic on literally every vegetable cooked every which way. $25 for a set of three. 2.) Matouk’s Cadiz Throw. A cashmere throw, made in Scotland, but it isn’t plaid! This lo ..read more

Let’s Get Cooking When I first made the switch from designing only commercial interiors to dipping a toe into the world of residential, it started with kitchen design. After getting to design several new kitchens and renovating dozens of kitchens, I realized there are so many decisions to make: wood or painted cabinets? Two-tone tops and bottoms or perimeter one color and the island another? Marble or quartz that looks like marble? Tile backsplash or glass or a slab of stone? Splurge for the professional grade appliances or take it down a notch? One bowl sink or two? Built-in espresso maker o ..read more

Get Comfortable One of my favorite things to do as the leaves fall and the crispness turns to chill, is to while away a weekend afternoon on the chaise with a warm beverage (lemon ginger tea) and a good book (currently Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin). This mid-century style chaise was upholstered in a faux suede in a client’s sunroom. Chaise longues and a two-person version, the tête-à-tête, are two of my favorite pieces to incorporate into spaces for so many reasons. The chaise longue, pronounced “shayz long” or simply “shayz”, is literally “a long chair”. So ..read more

Summertime Blues As a water sign, I have always loved being near, in or on the water. It has played a role in where I have lived and where I like to travel. Even when touring cities I will find the closest body of water and incorporate it into the planning. Milan and Lake Como? Seattle and Lake Crescent? Anywhere along the PCH? Yes, please (maybe with some motion sickness bands for that last one). I find it both calming and invigorating and I know I’m not alone! With Lake Michigan and the Chicago River as part of the landscape, many Chicago clients want to bring those watery hues inside thei ..read more

What Can I Get You? Little known fact about me: When I was in design school at night and working during the day doing marketing for a local architecture firm, I found myself constantly strapped for cash. I decided to get a side hustle as a bartender. I went to the Borders Books on Michigan Avenue, bought, and read “The New International Bartender’s Guide” and ended up scoring a position at a restaurant bar near my office called Ben Pao. They had a signature Mai Tai drink and if I couldn’t remember how to make a drink that a customer requested, I would suggest that they try the signature Mai ..read more

The Power of a Powder Room When designing a whole house project, or even a first floor, I almost always begin with the powder room.  With the functionality of the powder room already in place, it’s a natural place to experiment with finishes and fixtures. And even if a client has bought a new home with a perfectly fine cabinet/countertop, changing the mirror and lighting, and adding a wallcovering can transform the space from merely functional to fabulous! Here are some of my favorite powder rooms: hhh When my traditional client fell hard for this gorgeous decorative sink, I kne ..read more

Open or closed? Yes, please. Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time in the house I grew up in. It is filled with possessions that are deeply meaningful to my parents. Things they saved from their parents and grandparents – china, tins, linens. Things that they made – stained glass art, carved wooden birds, handmade lighting, walking sticks whittled from fallen branches. Things that they bought on e-bay or at estate sales. On shelves in every room, in glass-fronted china cabinets, all their treasures are on full display. Living among and displaying your possessions is an art form. One pers ..read more

Your Own Private Island As people go on spring break adventures over the next couple of weeks, I thought it would be fun to share private islands of a different sort: ones in the kitchen!  I enjoy renovating kitchens because I like problem-solving and some of the most common pre-renovation problems are storage, workspace, and seating.  All of which can be solved with an island, regardless of size. While large islands that seat four are the standard in many new construction condos and single-family homes, that wasn’t the case for homes built more than fifteen years ago.  Here a ..read more

Getting Around Furniture and Freight Delays – 3 Tips! Furniture and freight delays continue to be a challenge and are projected to continue for the foreseeable future, even into 2023. Raw good shortages (foam, lumber), coupled with the transportation of materials, components, and finished pieces of furniture have made for a frustrating experience for everyone involved in both new home construction and remodeling. Fortunately, there are three viable ways to bypass these tiring issues! Two mismatched chairs, from different parts of the home, became fast friends front and center once they ..read more