Attend it
Kick off the 2008 antiquing season with the annual Winnetka Antiques Show, Friday [March 7] through March 9. The 39th version of this stalwart event will feature the usual mix of antique furniture, decorative arts, jewelry, folk art, paintings, vintage clothing and books, but with a boosted dose of education. As has become tradition, the event offers several opportunities for collectors to beef up their topical knowledge. This year, the show features more lectures than ever — a total of seven — on a range of topics, including Sailor’s Woolwork and majolica. All ticket proceeds benefit the non-profit Winnetka Community House.
Cost: $15 for all three days; lectures included with admission. Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. March 9. Winnetka Community House, 620 Lincoln Ave., Winnetka, 847-446-0537, winnetkaantiques.com.
— Shaila Wunderlich
Order it
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Looking for a comfy upholstered chair but finding that the available fabric options leave you a bit flat? If you’re craving a hit of hip print, check out the new slipcover fabrics available from Pottery Barn Baby. The new offerings represent a step in a more stylish direction for the catalog retailer — and we don’t mean a baby step. The fabric line includes seven prints from of-the-moment design house Hable Construction (we love Basil Big Beads) and 45 other choices that can be applied to any of the slipcovered pieces.
Cost: $549 to $3,599 for a range of pieces in designer prints; slipcovers can also be purchased solo, though they are tailored to fit the Pottery Barn Baby pieces. pottery barnkids.com; 800-430-7373.
— Cindy Dampier
Shop it
Mobili Mobel, a shop in River North that specializes in European contemporary furniture, is having its first big sale since opening last June. Through Saturday [March 8], all dining room furniture is reduced 15 percent to 20 percent off normal prices. That includes glass, wood and stone-top tables from Germany, Austria and Italy; leather and fabric-covered chairs along with wood and leather benches; and sideboards in a variety of materials and sizes. All furniture is by custom order, except floor models that also happen to be on sale and include pieces other than dining furniture. (Those floor models are 50 percent or more off and the sale runs until all samples are gone.)
549 N. Wells St., 312-329-9669,mobilimobel.com.
— Karen Klages
Shop it
It just got a little easier to keep your DIY renovation budget-friendly, thanks to the opening of the third Chicago-area ReStore, Habitat for Humanity’s home-improvement resale shop.
The store, which opened March 1 in Chicago Heights, sells donated building supplies, fixtures, appliances and furniture — both new and “gently used,” says Habitat’s executive director David Tracy. Inventory runs the gamut from sinks, toilets and bathtubs to doors, windows and wooden trim, all 50 percent less than their “fair market value.” All proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity Chicago South Suburbs, which plans to build six houses in the south suburbs this year, Tracy says.
180 W. Joe Orr Rd.,Chicago Heights, 708-755-1840.
— Marcia Borucki
Shop it
Following closely on the heels of a new Bolingbrook-store opening in November, recliner giant La-Z-Boy continues adding to its roster of Furniture Galleries with another location in South Elgin. The 17,479-square-foot store, which opened in January, carries the standard mix of chairs and sofas, cocktail tables, lamps, rugs, wall art and accessories.
422 Randall Rd., South Elgin, 847-841-6632, la-z-boy.com.
— S.W.
Buy it
What fun it is to watch the new tile designs that, twice-yearly, come out of Ann Arbor, Mich.’s Motawi Tileworks. One can almost feel the excitement and inspiration that lead brother-and-sister studio owners Karim and Nawal Motawi to create each work. While most of their inspiration comes from the decorative arts of the early 20th Century — including their Louis Sullivan-inspired Montrose tile of earlier this year — it’s especially exciting to see them moved by current-day artists.
It’s one of those artists, popular block-print designer Yoshiko Yamamoto, who’s behind the introduction of their latest tile, Montana de Oro. Yamamoto first created her Montana de Oro block print in 2006 as an homage to the California state park of the same name. The Motawis always had been fans of Yamamoto’s fusion of Japanese artistry with Arts and Crafts subjects, and when their relationship evolved from fans to friends, they knew it was time for a collaboration. The 6-by-8-inch Montana de Oro art tile comes with a notch in back for hanging but also can be used as relief in a backsplash or fireplace surround.
Cost: $80 unframed; $224 framed. Visit motawi.com for retailers near you.
— S.W.
Read it
There are snow whites and winter whites — and there’s none of that cold stuff in a story titled simply “White” in Coastal Living’s first-ever special edition, simply titled “Color it Coastal.” It’s all about light, bright, gossamer, gimme-some-spring/summer whites in this issue, which features 113 pages of color palettes and decorating tips for those who live by the sea — and those who wish they did.
The “White” story doesn’t rely solely on its beautiful and abundant photographs. The text offers readers specific tips on how to achieve the right white room.
For instance: If you want to make a vintage white sink stand out in a room you want white as well, “paint adjacent surfaces [the walls, the exposed pipes] a softer, creamier white.”
And: “Choose [white] paints with tints of blue, gray or pink to prevent rooms from looking washed out.”
The issue is $9.99 and is on newsstands until March 25.
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— K.K.
Tell it
We want to hear about your upcoming house and garden walks for listings we will publish in the spring. We’ll feature house walk listings on April 28 and garden walks May 11. The deadline for sending house walks information is March 28; for garden walks, April 4. Please e-mail or mail typed information (event, time, date, place, organization, admission fee, phone number for the public to call as well as the name and daytime phone number of a person we can contact). Please put “Garden walks” or “House walks” in the subject line of your e-mail or on your envelope.
Send e-mail to: home&[email protected]
Or mail to:
Home&Garden
baiduhai
435 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
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