Sharon Stangenes

Despite a day-late arrival because of shipping problems, the first Chicago designers to exhibit in the Salone del Mobile, the world`s most prestigious furniture fair, eagerly unpacked their prototypes and...

The woman who dressed Chicago women for success in the 1980s aims to furnish their homes in the 1990s. Jackie Renwick, proprietor of three Chicago clothing shops bearing her name...

Sculptor Martin Puryear is not an easy man to reach. The internationally known artist so seldom answers the telephone in his rural New York studio that the Chicagoans honoring him...

Defining what you are looking at can be daunting. Here is a guide to commonly used terms in home furnishings: - Reproduction: A line-for-line copy of an original piece using...

New reproductions can cost less than $1,000 or more than $30,00, depending on the piece`s complexity and material, how closely the reproduction mimics the original and how many copies will...

The official description of the kitchen at the entrance of the new Smartrooms showroom at the Merchandise Mart is ''Mediterranean provincial rustic.'' If that phrase fails to ignite the imagination,...

''Because October is the anniversary of Columbus discovering the New World, we decided to look at American design,'' said Joel Kaplan, home-trend director for Dayton Hudson department stores, about planning...

Joanna Wissinger, author of ''Lost & Found, Decorating With Unexpected Objects'' (MacMillan, $29.95), has seen collections ranging from crushed tin cans to costume jewelry used in home decor. ''It`s really...

Chicago artist Carlo Beninati, whose montage paintings are in collections at the Smithsonian Institution, the Pentagon and the White House, is using his talents to help provide a home for...

Help has arrived for work and school cafeteria captives everywhere in the ''Tray Gourmet: Be Your Own Chef in the College Cafeteria,'' by Larry Berger and Lynn Harris (Lake Isle...