One of our favorite annual architecture awards is the AIA Chicago Small Project Awards. It's an opportunity for small firms to recieve recognition for work that might otherwise be shadowed by larger offices. The AIA awards innovation, low budgets and small firms — this year there were 15 winners, ranging from a table on two wheels to a studio renovation in the Hancock building.

High Fidelity keeps coming up in conversation, and it's made me think of this exchange between Rob and Laura: "And then I come home, and there´s no lingerie and..." "I have lingerie." "Yes, you do. You have great lingerie, but you also have the cotton underwear that´s been washed a thousand times, and it´s hanging on the thing.." I'd like to avoid that exchange.

Some people always have Saturday and Sunday to look forward to: The Weekend. But for many of us, weekends occur haphazardly and sporadically, with "my Saturday" falling on a Tuesday and "my Sunday" not appearing until the next Thursday. How do you mark your weekend, when it's not clearly marked on the calendar?

When I told my dear friends that I'd be moving to the prairies of Illinois, they were all excited for me, thrilled about the new adventures I'd be embarking upon. But whenever acquaintances hear I'm moving to the country, they immediately start listing all kinds of elaborate ways I can fill my apparently soon-to-be-empty days...

In preparing for my upcoming move to Illinois, I was faced with a decision: live in a town of 9,500 on a quarter acre of land surrounded by neighbors, or live in the country surrounded by 2,000 acres of prairie. For me, the choice was clear.

We've all heard the arguments, for and against, online designer sample sales: the adrenaline fueled urge to buy things you may or may not really need, the inability to "try things on" before committing, non-refundable purchase. With the surge in home-centric versions of these sales, how do we best navigate these issues?

My work-wife (boss/dear friend) and I have been working an inordinate amount of hours together lately, and things are only going to get more intense over the next month. When we received the offer of a dog-/house-sitting gig (usually we take turns handling these), we decided to do it together. If you're already spending 12 hours a day with each other, you might as well just go for it!

Each year Consumer Reports comes out with their latest pick for best interior paints. Judged on performance, value, washability and durability, this year a new brand emerged with the highest scores of 65 paints tested. Find out who, after the jump.

Seed Furniture is an appropriate name for Reeve Schley's designs. Schley intends his furniture to grow with you and to make that happen the pieces can adapt over time. There's also a certain whimsy in his furniture. I mean, just look at that puzzle inspired armoire!