Sharon Stangenes

Sensing a consumer taste for designer quality furnishings at discount prices, retailers Char Pieser and Anna Ahlgrim have added new furniture floor samples to the ''barely used'' consignment pieces they...

What`s afoot in top management at the Merchandise Mart and the Apparel Center, Chicago`s huge design centers? In a move that would appear to open the way for a changing...

At last, a residence that comes equipped with a wife-or better yet, a concierge. Homeowners in the new Residences of Chicago Place, 700 N. Michigan, will not have to butter...

Tobacco and textiles leap to mind when this Southern city is mentioned, but during the holiday season it offers a more unexpected local specialty: a vision of Christmas past. Several...

You`ve seen the movie. You may even have seen the exterior of the Winnetka house starring in John Hughes`current hit film ''Home Alone.'' But no, you have not seen the...

Like gamblers bending over bets at a casino, party guests huddled over shiny puzzle pieces on a huge conference table at the Playboy corporate offices recently. Carefully assembling the shapes...

Even before celebrating Thanksgiving, Heidi Reis and Deb Dockendorf were decorating a 5-foot spruce tree. The women lavished the tree with Italian lights, shimmery copper mesh ribbon, exotic dried flowers...

Entering the ''art'' world is intimidating for novices, especially when time and money are limited. The enterprising interior design team of Bob and Martha Ruschman eased that entry for clients...

With the holidays bearing down and so much to be done, good help is hard to find. One Chicago contractor recently found out how popular his skills are when he...

With torrential rains pouring outside, the ''home as a refuge'' message brought to Chicago by fast-rising home design star Lynn Hollyn was appealing. ''More than ever, home is a sanctuary,''...