I’m a big fan of rings, but hate it when they lose their luster with all the scratches from normal wear over time.  Even platinum needs a buff or polish here and there despite it being a fairly dense metal.  If you are looking for an alternative metal to slap on your finger, try a tungsten carbide ring.  Tungsten carbide is the most wear resistant metal and always maintains a permanently polished luster.  Tungsten is about 10 times harder than 18K Gold, 5 times harder than tool steel, and 4 times harder than titanium.  Tungsten rings will hold their shape and shine longer than any ring on the market; they are literally scratch proof.  I have had mine for quite some time and I love it!  Trust me, you will get a lot of compliments!

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You can now have a one-track mind with style.  And who said wallpaper is not fun!?  Belgium designers from Atelier Blink have the right theme in mind for you know what as you can see with their Rendez-Vous wallpaper.  I saw this wallpaper featured at ICFF and just fell in love with the pattern; I loved it even more as I inspected the design up close!  The wallpaper pattern is very elegant and I can definitely see function with this design.  Just follow the pattern with that special or not so special someone and you can have hours of fun admiring the pattern and maybe trying some new things.  I think this design will definitely put the “bang” back in your decor!  The Rendez-Vous 1 and Rendez-Vous 2 wallpaper is available with different positions patterns and colors and can be purchased at Vlaemsch.

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Located in Chicago’s Wicker Park, 1233 N. Marion is an architectual masterpiece I stumbled upon that is up for grabs.  From it’s TerraNeo façade, to the floating staircase, the white oak floors, to the fabulous italian design kitchen, this home boasts a lot of luxurious features under it’s roof.  All this can be yours for a mere jaw-dropping 1.39 million US dollars.  Other features include:

Exterior - masonry construction with TerraNeo innovative façade, limestone caps and parapet walls
Architectural lighting by Lightology
Professionally landscaped front and rear yards; 1200 sqft of deck space
2 ½ car garage with a roof deck
Living/Dining Room with an award winning SPARK “ribbon” gas fireplace.
White oak floors with contrasting reveal wenge stained baseboards
Custom floating staircase with wenge treads, stainless steel inlay and architectural railing
Living areas integrate with outdoors through a remote operated architectural overhead door
Italian Wenge/Glass/Stainless Steel Aran Kitchen Mia cabinets with full extension, soft close drawers
Gourmet appliance package by Wolf and Subzero
Honed quartz countertops in kitchen and bathrooms
Italian porcelain 12” X 24” tile flooring
Double bowl square under mount sink / Hans Grohe kitchen pull out faucet
Most bedrooms have direct access to decks or balconies
Lower level guest bedroom suite (maid’s room) offers private living quarters for live-in help
Master bathroom features 5’ X 5’ Neptune whirlpool with a waterfall faucet; steam shower has body sprays, a hand-held shower and a rain head
Custom mahogany cantilevered vanities in the master bathroom
All master bathroom fixtures by Hans Grohe; other bath fixtures by Grohe or Hans Grohe
Imported Italian porcelain and mosaic tile in various custom sizes
All toilets by Duravit (wall mounted in powder room and master bathroom)
Tempered glass frameless shower doors as installed
Duravit and Lacava sinks and vanities

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It’s been a great 30 days of digging around London stores, researching new artists, and visiting the Summer Fair.  We’ve seen some incredibly cool new objects from a whole crop of new manufacturers that we’ll share over the coming weeks. 

This table will definitely be the conversation piece and life of your party.  Cinimod Studio creates dimension to their design with this interesting concept for a table.  With it’s 3-dimensional complex interactive lighting matrix, your guests will want to flock to this table and time warp into an endless stare into space.  You will have many followers and they will obey you soon enough!  This is no ordinary lit table in that it’s lights can shift interactively to set the mood using some complicated calculations.  It would be nice for a change to have a piece of furniture to entertain the party.  Now if only this concept were available as a floor; it would be the new age Saturday Night Fever!

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What do you do with a creative mind, 3000 ping pong balls, and a lot of time on your hands?  Make a chandalier!  This modern day chandalier, named The Troy by Zia-Priven, hangs at an impressive 9 feet.  It’s big, dramatic, and just big!  “This One of a Kind, oversized Troy Chandelier was the centerpiece of the Circular Ligne Roset Lounge at The Architectural Digest Home Design Show and is available for purchase or display with the proceeds to be donated to DirectEffect for HIV/AIDS Research at The Rockefeller University.” Very cool that the proceeds for this chandalier is going for a good cause.  Smaller versions also available and customizable to suit your lighting needs.

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If you feel like your bathroom is missing some ambiance, check out these glowing wash basins from Neo-Metro.  Neo-Metro is a manufacturer of luxury trippy yet sexy stainless steel bathroom products.  Basins can be customized in an array of resin colors; they will even color match your favorite color!  Lighting is optional on the units and sold separately.  They also carry other products like stainless tiles and toilets to give your bathroom that missing pizazz!

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If you can’t find that perfect belt or handbag to match your chic-trendy trend look, Heroine-Chic has some accessories (designed by Colleen Soisson) that will pop your style.  They carry some interesting, unique belts and handbags that are handcrafted.  Some belts are made with real flowers, different types of wood, and even butterflies!

...thanks to my friend Ben for this find!

Step up your poker or pool game with the clean, luxurious gaming tables from Michael Wells Design.  You couldn’t ask for anything more in a poker table; it’s design is fully functional and caters to the avid poker players.

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This is a neat spin on fiber optic lighting.  Luminex has a very interesting fiber optic fabric that can be used in many applications.  The fabric can be cut like any other fabric and emits a nice sparkling effect.  The description of how it works sounds complicated, but the fabric itself looks really cool.  You can see the fabric being used in clothing and other fashionable or home accessories.

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Now that mick and PJ are soaking up the sun this week at the local watering hole in beautiful London, the weather in Chicago has taken a turn for the worse (for now).  We have been getting a LOT of rain the past few days and I am not liking it one bit.  With that said, the scooter was put away this weekend and now back to the “real” job!  (My office is a mess!)

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Architecture is a big thing in Chicago and I am always happy to see new modern architecture at it’s finest. Pictured below is a single family home around the corner from my apartment that is absolutely amazing; this is in the Northcenter area of Chicago. As you can see from the picture below, the dramatic bay window exposes the main living section of the home.  With the blind fully retracted, you can see right through the house into the living room and kitchen and through another bay window exposing the backyard. The picture does not do this home justice, but believe me, the home is just breathtaking.  I have yet to stop and ask the owners more details about their home, but soon enough I will hopefully write more about this house and the thought that went into building this spectacular gem.

So while Jool’s takes the scooter to the countryside in an attempt to point out that we are in dreary London… The tables have turned significantly as you can see the sun is shining and in a country where A/C isn’t widely used—I’m rethinking this apartment..I mean flat.

(crowds cooling their heels in the Diana Memorial Fountain… seems a bit disrespectful to me… but I’m just another “yank on holiday")

A view more scenes from Hyde Park:

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While out an about in London we stopped in Harrod’s to see what they had on display in the modern furnishing dept and came across this spectacular chandelier by Ligne-Roset. The super thin wire connect white LEDs to the ends of curving fiber optic cables creating the cluster of floating stars. We were immediately measuring the fixture to see how we could fit it in our house! It was however a bit expensive even on sale given the wonderfully declining US dollar. This picture doesn’t do the lamp justice - iPhones are great but it’s just not a pro camera. See the manufacturer’s close up after the jump.

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If you live in Chicago and like to envelop yourself in the modern lifestyle, then this IS the place!...For your pooch that is!  STAY is a large pet boarding facility, owned by Michael Heltzer, that has all the bells and whistles to ensure that your pooch is also rolling around in the chic lifestyle.  The state-of-the-art 30,000 sqf facility is located on Chicago’s north side along the banks of the Chicago river.  The facility is also climate controlled and has 24 on-site supervision so your dog will be in GOOD hands.  If you are still feeling uneasy about leaving your dog in a boarding facility while you’re away, why not check out the webcams to see what your dog is REALLY doing!  If your dog is also the athletic type and likes to run for miles, then the 12,000 sqf area of play space will suffice.  A 2,000 sqf fitness area with a swimming pool designed specifically for dogs is also in the facility; all dogs are fitted with life vests and receive a 1-on-1 workout with trained staff.  Can I play too!?  Other amenities include grooming and a retail boutique with custom functional accessory designs by Michael Heltzer.

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