For the first time in its 20-year history, PAGODA RED is launching its own wabi sabi furniture collection. Designed by founder and creative director Betsy Nathan, these artisan-made pieces are crafted from centuries-old reclaimed elm wood. Made from ancient materials by modern hands, the Provincial Collection embodies a new generation of heirlooms.  A Lifetime of Learning Living […]

“Gardening is an activity for the soul,” explains Donna Dorian. A lifelong plant lover and the former editor of Garden Design magazine, she knows this firsthand. Dorian grew up among apple trees and raspberry bushes in New York’s Westchester County. Her grandfather tended a large vegetable garden, and her grandmother cooked three meals a day […]

Clients who enter the PAGODA RED gallery often tell us they feel they’ve been transported into another world. Inspired by classical Asian elements but designed with a modern sensibility, our space is influenced by the belief—shared by world philosophies including Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and many Western practices—that balance can be achieved through the coupling of […]

One can imagine themselves reading, relaxing and enjoying a warm cup of tea or coffee in a room designed by Jeannie Balsam. Her eye is present not only in the details that make up the design, but also in the unseen ways a room works — the seating arrangement that inspires conversation in groups and […]

As co-founder of Chicago-based architecture and design firm fcSTUDIO and the owner of an impressive portfolio that spans North America, Julie Fisher is at the vanguard of a movement that blurs residential, commercial, and hospitality design. Yet no matter how innovative her interiors, Fisher keeps art front and center. “We create spaces that have lots […]

Tina Ramchandani’s interiors share an innate sense of balance. Understated and beautifully curated, they adhere to what she calls “soulful minimalism,” a style that’s “clean, comfortable, relaxed, and meant to be lived in.” Rather than stark white spaces, her version of minimalism is thoughtfully layered with light, texture, and depth. Ramchandani cultivated her talent for […]

“You have to listen to what a home tells you and go with it,” says Kevin Isbell. The designer, who lived and worked in New York for 18 years, recently moved to Los Angeles, where he’s attuning to a new language of architecture, space, and light. “Color is different in California,” he says. “It’s a […]

Chicago-based designer Shelly Handman has an innate sense of balance and beauty. Over many years, his eye has been trained to perceive details that others miss. “I have always had a reverence for age—a respect,” he says. “We are such a transient society, and everything is always being replaced or torn down.” As an antidote […]

With more that 20 years in the industry, and an international roster of clients, interior designer Shelley Johnstone of the eponymous firm Shelley Johnstone Design is one of Chicago’s brightest style stars. Known for creating elegant, modern spaces with a strong European influence, her designs are equal parts luxurious and livable.  “I like to create beautiful, […]

It’s not every day that we chat with a top designer who also happens to play elephant polo competitively. But when the designer is Sara Story, an AD100 (and PAGODA RED) favorite, the larger-than-life hobby makes perfect sense. After all, one look at her beautiful work and it’s clear—this tastemaker is no stranger to risk taking. […]