Baileys’ Range, one of my latest design project collaborations, opened recently on the corner of 10th and Olive in downtown St. Louis. During the same week, only a 10 minute walk away, the Cardinals played historically memorable games to win The World Series. Baileys’ Range continues to be a casual dining destination and offers a fun and unique menu including grass-fed local burgers, homemade ice cream shakes (spiked if your old enough), soda pop, local craft beer exclusively, and boozy lemonades.

The design decor includes old windows hung, separating the kitchen from the rest of the two level restaurant. A beautiful fifty foot long bar and a mirroring fifty foot long communal dining table was built by Tyson Rinderknecht, perhaps the longest bar in St. Louis and the first communal dining table for the city. The lighting consists of freezer locker fixtures throughout and large, vintage milk jugs repurposed into pendents. Commissioned photographs by Ricardo Martinez adorn the walls depicting rural and range landscape.

The result is a warm and inviting place to meet up for a beer and try out some of life’s simply paired pleasures, burgers and shakes.

The painted lady’s emerald earring dangles and creates an upholstered inspiration for my client’s dining room seating, a gathering of the minds– and spirits.  Keyhole shaped, Italian Empire sofa and chairs radiate chartreuse, kelly and emerald greens. All similar colors of intoxicating libations but most importantly the color of growth and balance.

Peonies are seasonally scattered about the property, yet in the dining room they are illustrated, lasting all year round. In order to quiet the mirrored wall we added a continuation of the peony vines and flowers from the wallpaper across the mirror. The vines appear, slowly disappear and then appear again. Much like a good spirit.

For the full gallery….

This week’s Time magazine covers The World’s Most Influential People and Chef Grant Achatz is one of them. When my agency asked if I would like to prop style and work with Grant Achatz and photographer Martin Schoeller, I was thrilled to be a part of the mix.

The 28 + chefs working in the Alinea kitchen moved fluidly like silent stage hands, all knowing their individual role, task and how to dance around one another seamlessly. Watching them all with their quiet focus and orchestration was fascinating.

Let’s make it clear here,  I am not a foodie.  But I appreciate good food and anyone who dares to be a modern, if not a postmodern, forward thinker. This chef is testing how we think of food, cocktails and experience dining. Grant Achatz’s new restaurant, Next, takes you to Paris 1906 with the current menu and then, down the road, to another time and place in the world for their Next menu. That is if you can get your hands on tickets.

For the headshot with Grant we used liquid nitrogen to harden up the full headed, Mediterranean shrimps in order to fix them onto his chef’s jacket and style the tentacles. For the chalkboard shot I copied on the board some scientific diagrams that Grant and Martin preferred and we then propped Grant with a live pheasant and then later a dead pheasant, as if he were opening up it’s wings like a book. The pheasant here exemplifying nature is indeed by design, which brings me to mention Achatz’ other new spot, The Aviary.

Regardless of when I will have an opportunity to experience Paris 1906 or the avant-guard not-so-cocktails, these projects and Grant Achatz certainly have my and the world’s attention.

Dive here to read the full article written by Grant’s mentor, Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, in Time Magazine.

Or check out the glob trotting and imaginative Martin Schoeller, talk about shooting three of the top 100 behind the scenes here.

Enter the foyer of one of my dear client’s Georgian Revival home, located on the South Side of Chicago in our president’s home town neighborhood. It becomes illuminated by Italian chandeliers by ITALAmps, which make an impression and set the welcoming tone. The home is stately to say the least and commonly nicknamed. “The White House,” only as you enter this house it is anything but white.

The home was originally designed by architect Benjamin Marshall in 1899, who also designed and built The Drake Hotel, The Blackstone Hotel and Theatre and the South Shore Country Club. Benjamin Marshall was known as being a big people person, witty, well dressed, flamboyant and adored celebrating. Maybe it is perhaps the reason why the home attracts like-spirited individuals.

It has been a pleasure to work on the interior of this home for the last two years with the clients, who are in a word–delightful. We have added joyful touches to breathe life into the home and the resuming results are colorful. Lighting has become an integral tool in shaping the space and flattering the client’s art collection. In my opinion, art is what makes a home feel alive and welcoming, because it means something to you personally and you are then sharing it with your guests.

So if you have an artifact, photograph or painting that you are hiding away, take it out and display it. Live with it over good conversation and a glass of something bubbly. I think the home owners and Benjamin Marshall just might agree.

Entering the dinning, an antique turn of the century, Austrian crystal chandelier found at  New Metal Crafts. The emerald and sunflower oil painting plays off the peony wallpaper by Gaetano

A yellow flower study and crystal lamps found by the client at auction.    

The painting of the horse jumping out of the dark, hung over the fireplace, was a commissioned piece by Linc Thelen

To see zebras playing in the wild along with countless species of animals is mind blowing wild. The markings or withers on the necks are what allow the zebras to recognize one another, band together, as protection to confuse other animals. It is hard to imagine why anyone would want to kill them for their hides before their natural life ends. For expressing a sort of style or statement on a floor? It is perhaps part of the reason why I have never been a fan of the zebra print itself used in interiors. Here these zebras roam freely when I saw them on safari in Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater. This is where I found myself able to appreciate their unique beauty and it is truly where I think they belong, among the living.

5 Quick Tricks For A Sexier Bedroom

By: Shani Silver

This Valentine’s Day, don’t forget the most important room in the house: your bedroom. If the sexy factor in your boudoir is lacking, let Chicago bedroom stylist Brynne Rinderknechtenlighten you with her top tips for some steamy bedroom romance. Whether you follow one or all, your bedroom will be ready for action. And, if you’re prepared to start from scratch, contact Bedrooms by Brynne for a full bedroom makeover.

1. Clean slate. Brynne starts fresh with a new pair of sheets. Pick the fabric that feels best to you. Bamboo, linen, or Egyptian cotton are the holy trinity of bedding. Select a color that compliments your skin-tone and always buy a top sheet one size larger than the size of your bed. The extra fabric will virtually eliminate fighting over covers, and you’ll have much more to snuggle up in. Try Elegant Linens Cap Martin Fine Bedding, prices vary.

2. Pandora’s box. Keep an imaginative, covered container bedside. Your bedroom buddy will never know what you’ve got stashed inside, be it toys, massage oils, condoms, whatever makes the mood a little steamier. Check out Juliska Harriet Black Glass Covered Urn, $475 from Elements Chicago

3. Be reflective. A strategically placed mirror can open your room up to endless opportunities. Brynne loves antique degraded mercury glass that reveals less precision in the body, and it really ups the mystery of what’s to come. Brynne’s thinking along the lines of the Massive Wrought Iron Dressing Mirror, available at 1stdibs.

4. Hot on the scent. A new, bedroom-only perfume will elevate your partners senses and hint at something new to experience. Our expert suggests hints of saffron, tuberose, and jasmine to spice things up. Try Fredéric Malle’s Carnal Flower, available for $200 at Barneys.

5. Get the message. If you’re the shy type, Brynne suggests being brave with a sexy message left for your lover in the perfect place. Have a note or even one word embroidered on a special pillow for Valentine’s Day and beyond. For help creating your message, go straight to Jolie Maison, 643 Central Avenue, Highland Park, IL 60035; 847-433-4555