Looking for a no-strings-attached ballpark estimate of your cabinetry project? For the next few weeks, Christopher Peacock Home is offering to look at your kitchen, mudroom, or library floor plans and give you a free estimate on Peacock cabinetry. Email floor plans (and your zip code) to ballpark@peacockhome.com and the folks there will respond with a few different options in different price ranges.

—JAN PARR  

How many shops make a strip? We’re not sure what the rule is on that one, but the openings of SG Grand (1822 
W. Grand Ave., 630-816-9006) and Buckingham I+D (1820 W. Grand Ave., 312-933-8359) last week are proof enough that the stretch of Grand Avenue from Wood Street to Western Avenue is turning into a destination. The main cluster hovers around Damen, were the pioneering mid-century dealer Modern Times first staked its ground. Always-stylin’ Post27 has become something of a designphile hub; and the salvage shop Urban Remains recently opened a showroom (at 1819 W. Grand Ave.) just west of it. MCM Grand (lots of 1960s mod and Hollywood Regency-style stuff) is yet further west, along with its sister shop Uber Modern. Up next: The Painted Lady, a painted antique furniture shop that currently has a space in Bucktown, is opening another location on Grand August 1. We’ll keep you posted.
    Haven’t had a chance to scope out the new kids on the block? SG Grand (top two photos) is an urban outpost of Geneva’s Scentimental Gardens, offering a sophisticated-country aesthetic, and filled to the rim with rustic lighting, lovely artwork, updated traditional furniture, bold accessories, and more. Ellen DeGeneres was one of the shop’s first customers (she was in town during its opening week, taping a special)! Next door, interior designer Julia Edelmann’s spare showroom, Buckingham I+D (bottom two photos), has more of a gallery vibe and features edgier combinations of contemporary, ethnic, and antique pieces (it’s open by appointment only).
Time to carve out some weekend hours to cruise the new strip.

—GINA BAZER

Those of you who made it to the Object Society party a week and a half ago probably remember the hip warehouse atmosphere and the incredible furniture by Jason Lewis, Michael Koehler, Michael Dreeben, and others. You were also probably wowed by the solid black-walnut bike made by Seth Deysach, shown above.  Deysach worked at a bike shop for 13 years prior to embarking on his furniture-making career, so he knows his stuff—the bike is totally ride-able and its stock parts are top-of-the-line, he says. He also informed us that, yes, it is for sale. It would be a shame to ride such a thing of beauty through the urban muck, but contact Deysach through his website if you are interested. On a side note, another cool bike became an element of design in one of the homes we featured recently–Daran Puffer’s fun multicolored cycle from Florida-based custom-bike shop Republic is the star of the foyer in his Wicker Park condo.

— GINA BAZER

I was lucky enough to attend a lunch at Luminaire with design royalty recently. The event was in honor of Naoto Fukasawa, one of the world’s most important designers of everyday objects. Luminaire was kicking off an exhibit of Fukasawa’s work. Seated next to me was the delightful Nargis Kassamali, who, with her husband, Nasir, founded Luminaire in 1974 in Miami in a 500-square-foot space. It grew to 4,500-square-feet within two years, and the couple has since opened other showrooms in Florida and Chicago. Fukasawa, who has worked with companies such as B&B Italia, Magis, Artemide, Boffi, and Vitra, and who has won scores of design awards, led a tour of the exhibit, which is on the third floor of Luminaire until the end of July. His elegant designs (my favorite is the elegant humidifier shown here) are based on his careful examination of how people use items. "Good design means not leaving traces of the designer and not overworking the design," he has said. The exhibit contains items representative of Fukasawa's work from the beginning of his studio in 2003. Luminaire sells many of his designs, including all of his work for Boffi, B&B Italia, Magis, Artek and more. Fukasawa's items for Boffi (the tub and basins pictured here) remain popular with Luminaire clients, as does his furniture for B&B Italia. If you haven’t been to Luminaire lately, here’s a good reason to stop by.

—JAN PARR

We saw a lot of cool stuff at Morlen Sinoway’s annual indie design fest, The Guerilla Truck show, and we’ll be blogging about them in the coming weeks and featuring them in our magazine. These globe lamps by Erica Milde caught my eye. She sells them on Etsy for $38, along with other handmade goods, such as this maple end table/storage box ($98). The table was made by Milde’s friend and fellow Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design grad Karl Williamson.

—JAN PARR

I’m in love with the new Acanto chair (it comes with or without armrests) at Maxalto. Designed by Antonio Citterio, the chairs have solid wood frames and comfortable seats covered in fabric or leather. I love the leather version at the showroom in River North, shown with a new walnut finish. Elegant, comfortable, and modern—with a nod to the past.

—JAN PARR

I’ve got my eye on this new shower curtain from Amy Butler for Welspun. Sophisticated and graphic, it’s at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Butler has a couple of other terrific new curtains for the same price—very Anthropologie-esque. They’re only $40 each.

—JAN PARR

This new fish “bowl” from Umbra is made of glass with a plastic outer shell (the glass portion is removable for cleaning). Individual dwellings can be stacked to create a fish hotel. It’s eight inches tall and $30 at the Chicago Architecture Foundation Shop.

—GINA BAZER

Photo courtesy of Umbra

Have an eye for vintage modern furniture? We do too. Former Heywood Wakefield furniture showroom of Three Oaks, Mich.—Springdale Furnishings—has closed its doors and will auction off its impressive collection of dining, bedroom, and living room furniture at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 19th in Hartford, Mich., about two hours from Chicago. Some 250 carefully restored pieces will be on the block, as well as 1,450-plus pieces in slightly distressed condition.

—Elizabeth Frantz

I really love the new Reagan Hayes Collection at the David Sutherland showroom at the Mart (suite 1800). If you’re over there for NeoCon, be sure to stop by and see it for yourself.

—JAN PARR

I’m addicted to Leslie Hindman auction previews—such a great place to see astonishing objects and think about what kind of house I’d have to have to accommodate them. (Where would I put that six-foot-long French Calcutta marble bar?) And of course there’s the fun of bidding on something and actually getting it—woo hoo! So much more exciting than going to a furniture store. Hindman’s Marketplace auctions can be a jumble, with treasures and tchotchkes side by side, but the prices tend to be lower than at her Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auctions, and some of my favorite purchases have come from them. Her next Marketplace auction takes place on Wednesday and Thursday this week; the preview started Sunday and runs through Tuesday. I had some pangs over these six wrought-iron garden chairs that I’d love to see go to a good home—unfortunately, it can’t be mine. A rusted table (missing its glass top) is part of the lot. The light-colored chairs need new upholstery but their weathered frames are sturdy, comfortable, and super graceful. Please buy them before I change my mind!

—Joanne Trestrail

No self-respecting lover of fun and/or design would miss Morlen Sinoway’s annual truck fair, featuring U-Hauls backed up onto the loading docks surrounding Sinoway’s gallery. The trucks are filled with furniture, accessories, and decorative objects by independent Chicago designers. There’s good (free!) beer and a deejay, and the whole thing turns into one big street party. This year several other groups are holding events the same evening in the area: Object Society, Strand Design, Object Design League, and Studio Murmur. We’ll see you there Tuesday, starting at 5:30!

—JAN PARR  

Photo: Core77.com 

Saturday is the day for one of my favorite house tours—lots of talented Chicago-based designers with homes in the Michigan/Indiana area near the lake are on the committee to scout and find houses for the annual Celebration of Home & Garden tour, which benefits the Heartland Alliance. The home pictured on our May/June cover, a charming modern take on a classic cabin, was featured on last year’s tour. This year, look for the log cabin of Chicago designer Larry Boeder, a stately 10,000-square-foot Georgian on Lake Michigan, a 1920s cabin and gardens owned by a landscape designer, and more. Tickets ($125) can be purchased Saturday morning at Lovell & Whyte (14950 Lakeside Road, Lakeside, Michigan).

—Jan Parr

The guys behind MCM Grand and Uber Modern have joined forces with a few other dealers (including Mr. Modern) to offer a sale this weekend at a warehouse loading dock just west of 2219 W. Grand Ave. From 9-5 on both Saturday and Sunday, find a couple thousand square feet of vintage modern, contemporary, and antique furniture and accessories for 60-70 percent off regular retail. Expect to see a Knoll Saarinen table for a C-note.

—JAN PARR