Not Your Everyday Dining Room!

What do you get when you mix Kohler bathroom products with Susan Fredman Designers? A glamorous, Old-Hollywood inspired dining room!




Moderne Gold finish samples were strung together to create stunning curtain backdrops. The light fixture was created with Kohler’s new Karbon faucet and fiber optics. Each dinner plate was garnished with a napkin, bound by a beautiful faucet handle napkin ring that accented the cross table base. Faucet light fixtures and napkin rings, Toilets and sinks for vases; no, this is not your everyday dining room.


Not what you expected? DIFFA’s Dining by Design is the perfect outlet for designers to create playful, extraordinary dining design with practical, everyday elements. The designers at Susan Fredman Design Group had two months to prepare creative design materials, with less than two days for installation. Their inspiration was sparked by two of Kohler’s new vibrant Moderne Gold and Honed White finishes.


All of the flatware, glassware, and dininware you see can be purchased online at our urban home store, www.susanfredmanathome.com.

DIFFA/Chicago (The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) is a not-for-profit fundraising and grant making foundation that distributes funds to Chicago area HIV/AIDS service agencies.

Dining by Design exhibit is open to the public at the Merchandise Mart today and tomorrow until 3pm.

SFDG would not have been able to fashion such an outstanding dining experience without the support of sponsors & donors: Kohler Store, David Sutherland Showroom, Fiber Optic Studio, Eurocraft, Joseph Woodworking, Kravet Fabrics, Wilshart, Tables International Corporation, Daisy Hill, Michael Wainwright, Reach Distribution, and Urban Oasis.

Happy Anniversary At Home in the City!

What a night! After months of hard work and preparation, The Art of Design was a huge success! We celebrated the one-year anniversary of our urban home store, At Home in the City, with a studio full of wonderful guests who came from all over to celebrate with us and enjoy beautiful art! Our walls were covered with unique and inspiring artwork that sparked insightful conversations. Fabulous bronze sculptures were also featured by artist Gina Novendstern. (Photo features the artwork of Marie Burke)

At the event, 9 artists displayed their unique works of art. It was an honor to be in the presence of the artists who came to celebrate with us.

Along with artwork, friends and family enjoyed great food, drink, and company. Wine was served, courtesy of Juicy Wine Company and CS Interiors, along with tasty hors d’oeuvres, donated by Rockit Bar and Grill.

(Above Artwork, Samsara and Blind Love 1, by Artist Teri Tito)

A portion of the proceeds benefit: Marwen, a local non-profit organization that educates and inspires under-served youth in the visual arts.

Guests came expecting an eventful night of tantalizing conversations, and they left inspired and delighted!

(Susan Fredman Design Dinning Display and Featured Artist Norbert Shimkus)

If you didn’t attend, you missed a spectacular event! Not to worry, you can always visit us at, At Home in the City, located at 350 West Erie, or check out our great products online at http://www.susanfredmanathome.com/. Visit us in the next two weeks to see some of the artists work still on display.

Special thanks to all of our sponsors: Asher Neiman Gallery, Chicago News Gallery, CS Interiors, Rockit Bar & Grill, and Shift Art Gallery.

Stylin' Stable

No horsing around, Susan Fredman Design Group recently had the unique opportunity to provide design services for Springfield Stables located along Chicago’s North Shore. A truly exceptional full service equestrian facility, Springfield Stables provides top notch living for riders’ black beauties. Indeed, these horses live in the lap of luxury that some of us may only dream of.

When asked to design the stable’s viewing platforms and lounge areas, SF Design Group saw the opportunity for multi-disciplinary spaces that could be rented out for various occasions beyond elegant horse shows. Consequently, in addition to providing multiple comfortable seating options, a full service bar and two separate kitchens appropriate for catered events, were incorporated into this commercial space venue.


While implementing function throughout the spaces was certainly a priority, fashioning the rooms was equally important. Hence, a local artist/cabinetmaker was saddled up to the project to create custom vanities in the bathrooms as well as cabinetry in the kitchen. Moreover, to execute an overall cohesive design, interior millwork in the common spaces was selected to complement the woodwork seen in the horses’ 50-stall barn (which in itself, includes heated flooring for the hoofed friends).

The result of Susan Fredman Design Group’s efforts at Springfield Stables is ultimately an equestrian abode that is not only appropriate for its primary purpose, but is also elevated to a whole new platform of opportunity.

Shakespeare is served at a fairy tale wedding in Chicago!

Marco Alexzondra, of the Susan Fredman Design Group, collaborated with a talented team to bring a bride and groom their very own fairy tale wedding. The bride, Anny Rusk, and groom, Cory Simonson, enchanted their guests with an theme that incorporated aspects of Shakespeare's comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream and the era of King Arthur.

The wedding, held at the University Club.

For this fantasy wedding, Marco reunited with an old friend, Deborah Heagy, who was also serving as the maid of honor. In addition to collaborating with Marco on various aspects of the wedding, with Marco focusing on the flora/fauna and Deborah on the linens and place settings, she assisted Anny throughout the initial planning stage.

Deborah Heagy and Marco Alexzondra

Flower girls.

Moss incorporated into the centerpieces added an earthy delight to the evening.

Romantic, unique accents such as glitter on the flowers, flower girls adorned with fairy wings and wands, and a bride dressed in purple velvet, set the stage for the evening. The University Club in Chicago was transformed into a magical forest with moss table runners, made complete with flowers growing from it, fern fronds, and flowers dusted with iridescent glitter. The floral arrangements included roses, hot pink and orange lilies, gloriosa lilies and succulents.

A flower girl bedecked with fairy wings.

The creative team responsible for this event also included Amy Watts of Blush and Bashful events, as well as Frost Lighting and the florist, Tracy Lane.

Love was in the air and congratulations to Anny and Cory (pictured below) on their gorgeous wedding!

The 2009 Kitchen Walk a smashing success!

Designs for Dignity hosted its annual Kitchen Walk in Harbor Country, Michigan on Saturday, October 17. Close to 400 guests mixed and mingled within the various homes, sampling sweet and savory treats from local and Chicago area chefs.

More than $40,000 was raised to benefit Designs for Dignity, an organization dedicated to creating more therapeutic and aesthetically appealing interior spaces for nonprofits. Designs for Dignity believes that good design can help people create lasting, meaningful change in their lives.

Two of the homes featured on this year's Kitchen Walk.

Designs for Dignity is known for hosting extraordinary events that increase public awareness around the impact of good design, and this year's Kitchen Walk surpassed their usual high standard. With several attendees commenting on how it was "the best year yet," I enjoyed the creative mix of homes and, of course, the delicious food. Some personal highlights:

The incredible vineyard views found at one of the homes on the Walk.

Empanadas provided by Rashmi and Katrina for Growing Home, one of D4D's nonprofit partners.

Delicious grilled Panini's by Filsinger Chicago Showroom and Gallery.

Fabulous fall foliage...

Meet Traditional Home's Classic Woman Honoree, our very own Susan Fredman!

“In the arena of human life the honors and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities in action.” - Aristotle

The words of Aristotle have resonated with many, but on November 24^th Susan Fredman will experience them first hand. Traditional Home magazine selected our very own Susan Fredman as one of six outstanding women to be honored at the 2009 Traditional Home magazine’s Classic Woman Awards in New York City.

Each year, Traditional Home magazine invites millions of readers to nominate women who “show their good qualities in action” through work in their communities. For almost 10 years, Susan Fredman has been doing just that, with her philanthropic work through Designs for Dignity, founded on the belief that “all human beings deserve to live and work within creative environments.”

In an ideal world, funding for social service agencies would be unlimited, providing the necessary means to offer not only services and programs, but also an enriching and healing environment. Designs for Dignity provides pro bono design services to area nonprofits in order to create interiors that reflect dignity, hope, and comfort. Since 2000, Designs for Dignity has completed 75 projects, transforming three sites a year using only sweat equity, vendor solicitations, and donations. Last year, D4D re-used over $205,000 worth of donated goods to various project sites.

The November issue of Traditional Home magazine features the six incredible awardees, including a full-page spread devoted to Susan Fredman. It is on newsstands today, so pick up a copy to check it out!

Dreams & Nightmares

Photograph by Patty Carroll

Raw. Creative. Spectacle. Surreal. Magical. Provocative.

These are just a few of the words that come to mind when you visit Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art or if you’ve ever experienced Redmoon Theater. These are also words that come to mind when you think of Mr. Imagination. So we decided to join forces.



Visionary Ball
A Gala Celebration

Benefiting
Intuit: The Center for
Intuitive and Outsider Art
and
Honoring
Mr. Imagination

Saturday, October 24, 2009
6:30 p.m.

The Warehouse at Carmichael's
1052 W. Monroe, Chicago

Intuit is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote public awareness, understanding, and appreciation of intuitive and outsider art through a program of education and exhibition.