It’s the Mecca of all things beautiful to me!!  I consider it like my personal jewelry box, filled with all my favorite and exquisite jewels!

So large that it has its own zip code, it was originally designed as a market center for trade professionals.  Although The Merchandise Mart continues to cater to this core audience today with many showroom floors being only accessible to interior designers, architects, wholesale buyers and escorted visitors, it also has a large section that’s open to the public!!  The general public is welcome to shop more than 30 luxury kitchen  and bath showrooms, called LuxeHome, located on The Merchandise Mart’s first floor year round.  Don’t forget to check out the clothing and accessories shops that are cash and carry on the third and fourth floors!!

The Merchandise Mart is also home to some major trade shows including three of my favorites; Neocon, where thousands of innovative products for interiors from more than 700 showrooms and exhibitors are showcased; Stylemax, a great jewelry and fashion trunk show; and Chicago Style where you can find thousands of lines, incredible emerging artists and new to market products at The Chicago Market. 

Jewelry heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a designer, I tend to get a lot of my inspiration from some of these showrooms and often frequent it to get the ideas flowing.  The energy and ambiance of the showrooms invogorate my ideas and stirs the excitement to try something new!

Go ahead, walk in, and explore!  I love going to their Design Center Showrooms (open weekdays 9 to 5 pm). The LuxeHome® Boutiques are also open weekdays 9 to 5 pm and Saturdays 10 to 3 pm (which is a bonus for my schedule).

If you are a morning person like I am, I’d suggest getting there early and heading over to the Doughnut Vault, for their piping hot fresh delicious doughnuts (cash only and 6 limit)!!

Saturdays they open at 9:30am until they run out, but the line is wrapped around by 8:30 so get there early!! They’re located 401 1/2 N. Franklin Street (kitty corner around Gilt restaurant).  Take your doughnut and coffee and walk down the street into the Merchandise Mart and check out this amazing building that houses some of the best kept jewels!

I always tell my clients that before they do anything in regards to searching, that they get pre-approved by a lender to make sure they know exactly what their budget is, how much they can spend, put down for down payment, how much they can afford in assessments, etc.  This not only takes the guessing game out for us when we start our search but it also helps narrow down our search.

Step 2 is to make a list of all the must have’s in  your new home.  Do you have to have parking? Balcony? Extra Bathroom?  All those things will matter when your realtor sets you up on the MLS with your search criteria.  Now, make another list of ‘like to have’s’ also.  This list will include all the items you’d like to have but are not deal breakers if the units you are looking at don’t have them.  You’ll see why this becomes handy later!

Off you go on your search based on your search criteria with your realtor!  I always advise my clients to come prepared to showings with notepad, camera and any other material that will help you remember the homes you are looking at.  I always supply the listing data sheets and neighborhood information.  When we are looking at the homes, I like to play a fun game with my clients.  After the showing, I have my clients rate each listing between numbers 1-5.  5 being I must have this unit today, 1 being I never want to see this unit again and then write down the pro’s and con’s of each unit on the listing sheet.  This helps my clients keep track of what they are seeing and slowly they begin to see their list of must have’s change.  It’s a fun process to go through with my clients!

The best part is when they find the 5! It matches up with their list of must have’s and maybe even has some of their ‘like to have’s’.  That moment is priceless!  It’s one of the best moments of my job as a broker =)

Some of my favorite places include:

The Golden Triangle is filled with antiques from all over Asia and more recently from Europe.  They also design their own brand that is the stores collection full of eclectic blend of ancient, rustic and modern pieces.

 Nadeau is another one of my favorites.  The owners travel all around the world picking out amazing pieces and bringing them back to their stores. They have an amazing blend of timeless pieces that are so unique.  The best part is you don’t have to order and wait for 4-6 wks, you can take it right there and then.

Roys Furniture is another staple in my catalog.  They recently had a terrible fire in the Lincoln Park location but are rebuilding and taking sales online.  They are one of the oldest established furniture companies in Chicago, with a great eye for modern pieces.  I love getting the wood pieces from there!

 Aosta in Lincoln park recently opened.  You can find good deals on vintage modern furniture and accessories at this location.

Casa Spazio in River North is the best for Italian furniture and accessories with the middle price range budget.

Nest Furniture in Lincoln Park is all about the reasonably pirced transition furniture.  The owners watch the trends and manufacture their own version of them all around the world

There are so many more places to tell you about but this should give you a good head start! Happy hunting!!

Attack the list of maintenance jobs you have been meaning to get to. 

Properly maintaining your home means keeping minor jobs minor, rather than letting them get larger, and more costly. Homes that aren’t properly maintained lose value, especially in today’s real estate market where the buyers now clearly have the upper hand. So, where should you begin?

Tackle the obvious maintenance issues first -

- the cracked stair

- the circuit breaker that trips several times a week

- the leaky roof

Maintenance issues such as these are safety issues, and can lead to greater problems. Be sure to take care of both the outside and inside jobs.