Mood Board Monday: a red hot hair salon

My hairstylist cousin Tina was my inspiration for this beauty salon design. She loves wearing black clothes and bright red lipstick, so I decided that I would design a salon in her favorite colors.

Art by Nicholle Kobi

Art by Nicholle Kobi

Art by Tiffani Anderson Illustration

Mood Board Monday: a traditional living room with a twist

Traditional lines have stood the test of time, so why not give them some pizzazz with color and interesting patterns? This living room is all about pattern mixing. The result is playful but refined.

Artwork: A Mindful Garden by Duy Huynh  

Mood Board Monday: an art deco condo

Here's still another design school throwback. This one is from a class I took called Materials and Sources. One of the objectives of the course was to keep track of all the things we selected for the project. Because it's an entire condo with a bedroom, living room, dining room, and home office to furnish, there were loads and loads of products. I only included my favorites on this board so it wouldn't get too cluttered.

The 2019 SOFA Expo

I don't know how to describe this year's SOFA Expo without using a bad pun, but it was more like a loveseat or a settee because it was smaller. Like last year, it was in an exhibition space all the way at the end of Navy Pier, but the booths seemed to have a smaller footprint this time. I don't think as many galleries were there. Still, despite the smaller quantity, the quality of the artwork was still outstanding. This was the second year in a row that I received a VIP ticket and was able to attend the VIP opening night reception. Despite the unexpected Halloween snow, I still made it.

Every year, there are pavilions designed by college students. This year, my favorite one was this space designed by University of Iowa students.

It was a very inviting space and I enjoyed spending time there. I can see why it won first place in the competition. I actually liked it better than this year's VIP lounge because it felt enclosed, while the VIP area felt exposed because it wasn't tucked away into its own cozy corner.

Here are photos of the other things I saw at the show and enjoyed. As always, I try to include the names of the artists whenever possible but there may be a few that I've missed.

Anthony James

Gil Bruvel

Stallman Studio

Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h

Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h

Thor and Jennifer Bueno

Cheryl Prisco

Kate Davis

Kirsten Stingle

Kirsten Stingle

Larisa Safaryan

Larisa Safaryan

Kaiser Suidan

Jarrad Tacon-Heaslip

Beth Foley

Jesús Curiá Perez

Don Pollack

Greg Klassen

Greg Klassen

Linda Lewis

Joseph Leroux

Joseph Leroux

Female Design Council Presents Intricate: Complexity & Beauty Sewn Up

Female Design Council Presents Intricate: Complexity & Beauty Sewn Up

Miles Jaffe

John Miller

Jae Yong Kim

  

Alexandra Murguia

Jiyoung Chung

Ruben Sanchez

Olga Oreshyna

Olga Oreshyna

Peter Monaghan

Nelson De La Nuez

Walter Knabe

Michael Behrens

Vivian Wang

Jiyong Lee

While I was leaving SOFA, I walked outside on the pier and saw that a new hotel is being built in the area where the festival halls it once occupied used to be. I'm not sure if those event spaces will be absorbed into the hotel or remain a part of Navy Pier, but I hope that once the construction is finished next year, SOFA will be as big as it used to be.

Mood Board Monday: a funky folk art dining room

Here's a dining room to go with the kitchen design I posted a few months ago. It's an eclectic, international mix of motifs from Mexico, Poland, and Sweden. And unlike the items I selected for the kitchen, these are not very expensive. The credenza features work by justhappiling.

Artwork by bachullus