Forward Fruit

Happy Saturday! Maybe some of you are at home thinking of a cool project, a way to work with your hands. But not me! I am a confident DIYer. Probably too confident. My first job out of college was as a display artist for Anthropologie. There, we learned how to make absolutely everything. I loved it and it was empowering. But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.

When my husband and I moved in together, DIY was the name of the game. We had the vision and we had the time. But the more I started to seeing the results of these refinishing projects professionally done for my clients, and the more babies we had (there’s honestly just 2 but still…), the less motivated we felt to do the projects ourselves.

This doesn’t mean we will never ever be refinishing something ourselves again, but while these babes are still little, we will happily let the refinishers and workrooms we work with execute our ideas. And I will do the same for you! 😉

Let this post be an homage to our DIY era, and a Saturday without paint on my clothes.

Hot off the press! Our Inky Kitchen project was featured in the latest issue of … in print! Thank you so much to for the wonderful spread, to for the beautiful photos, and to our color-loving clients for being fantastic collaborators.

Kitchen renovation, chicago interior designer, design inspiration, Oak Park

Installs moving forward for our Potomac project, where we created 4 distinct “zones” in an open floor plan “situation”. We really went all-in with on this one!

Chicago interior design, block printing, pattern on pattern, colorful millwork, storage inspo

Exciting to see our primary bath featured in the latest edition of as they celebrate the Chicago folks ! And also proof that Allison and I made our way to LA this winter 🤣

Chicago interior design, luxe magazine, bathroom design

Bopped down to with Odette today! And yes, going anywhere with an 8 month old vs a 3 year old feels like a “bop”. 🤣 So casual! They do whatever! Anyways, here are some of my favorites, in order of mention.

these are so exquisite! At

at



Imaginary Friend by at

Ceramic Flowers by at

Chicago local at

Another local Chicago fave

Mondrians Assistants 🥹🥹🥹 By

The Multiplicity of Being bjurstrom at

ICONIC Bad Lemon by

When I was younger, my parents gave me a folding screen with 3 panels, each with space for 3 photos. I’d swap them out with artwork or photos, and always kept a robe hung from one of the panels. It made me feel like a very sophisticated tween, and I after designing my very own screen last year for the , I can confidently say I still feel the same.
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Slide 1,2&3 Design by , built by , embossed leather by Photo
Slide 4 Mother of Pearl inlay folding screen
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7 Jean Lurçat textile folding screen, 1925 repost from
Slide 8 Town and Country, 1951. Screen by Tony Duquette
Slide 9 Photo
Slide 10 Piero Fornasetti folding screen

Checking in on the staircases and kitchen refresh at our Elmwood Oak Park project. Our clients went moody and full of pattern with the design on this one! Can’t wait to show you the rest once the window dressings are layered in.
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Everyone loves a powder room for stretching the limits, but let’s do staircases too!
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Interior design, staircase inspo, staircase design, wallpaper, grasscloth, chicago interior designer, oak park interior design, old house design

Sometimes we design a room around a piece of art (something I’m aiming to do more of these days!) but more often, we source art in the design development process. Here are a few paintings, prints, and photographs that came into the picture at various stages - all the way up to the final styling.
Slide 1: This butterfly was always part of the plan, but for me, it was the styling of the flowers and pillows that made it soar. Photo
Slide 2: This horse photo had to live on this wall due to its size, so we built the black and white story around it. Photo
Slide 3: We brought this painting in at the tail end of the process. It was a vintage find from an estate sale. We actually painted the frame to match the decor! Photo
Slide 4: Brought in during styling as the perfect way to anchor the red detail in the wallpaper. Photo
Slide 5: Sourced during the design development stage - this is actually a pink resin coated mirror. Totally stole the show! Photo

I’m looking for some new directions to go in tile, and took a quick exploration through my phone to reference images I’ve snapped when out and about. I searched “tile” and got 2,452 results. Don’t worry! I’ve narrowed it down to the 8 you see here. From zigzag pool tile, to chunky Italian terrazzo, to a simple checkered porcelain, it’s hard to pick a favorite.