Creating environments to meet your needs and suit your lifestyle.
Residential & Commercial Interior Design :: Chicago and North Shore
December, 2017
December, 2017
September, 2017
August, 2017
BETH BOYD:
THE COMPOSER
It’s quite a stretch to go from lawyer to designer, but that’s exactly what Beth Boyd did. Since launching Wiley Designs in 1998,
Boyd has become known for well-composed, tailored spaces that maintain a bal-
ance of clean lines, textures and strategic color. Her goal is to help clients find their
own aesthetic. “A lot of people are unsure how to articulate what they want,” she says.
“So just talking to them and drawing them out make a diference.”
Ultimately, says Boyd, it’s all about surrounding clients with the things that are meaningful to them to make them feel connected to their environment.
One of Boyd’s most notable projects came in 2009, when she invested in a 100-plus-year-old house on Fullerton Avenue. “We gutted the house and completely redesigned the interior,” she says.
Months after selling the property, Boyd was contacted by the new homeowners, who wanted her to do their interior design
and had no idea she was involved in the renovation. “It was a fun piece of synchronicity,” she says.
ARTFUL DESIGN: “Last year we moved and opened an art gallery space in conjunction with our office. Our goal is to bring in work by artists and designers in a variety of media and to host events that encourage a conversation with the community around us and support art and design.”
RUG REVOLUTION: “There’s been a really interesting evolution in rug design lately. Certainly, Persian and oriental rugs are classic and wonderful, but there’s been a great movement in artist-designed rugs.”
CEILING CHIC: “Don’t ignore the ceiling. It’s an opportunity to make everything else in the space feel completely pulled together. White can be fine, but why not do something more interesting?”
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A new exhibit will be opening at Gallery A+D on Friday, September 22nd featuring works by fine artist, Lorna Marsh. In addition, Gallery A+D is hosting A Conversation with Lorna Marsh on Saturday, September 23rd from 5:30pm to 7:00pm where members of the Highwood and surrounding communities can discover the artist’s vision and insight of her work and discuss her pieces over light bites and beverages.
Lorna Marsh is a classically trained figurative expressionist who blends symbolism, surrealism, and expressionism to create images which reflect upon the human condition. She achieves her vision not only through the images she creates but also through her mastery of media – Marsh possesses the prowess to manipulate her materials creating multiple layers on her surfaces. Marsh has exhibited in numerous international group and solo shows at various galleries including Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin America, the Jacobo Borges Museum in Caracas, Venezuela, and the Aldo Castillo Gallery in Chicago, Illinois (now relocated to Florida) to name a few.
Works by Lorna Marsh will remain at Gallery A+D through November 11th.
June 2017
Source: Pagoda Red
There is a reason why a spacious laundry room is high on the wishlist of any prospective home buyer. Dorm residents, first—apartment renters and city dwellers all know the joy of an en suite laundry experience. Beth Boyd of Wiley Designs in Highland Park has rewritten the rules on the traditional laundry space for the Lake Forest Showhouse. Her approach was to treat the room as its own decorative statement. This was achieved by incorporating elements that were contiguous to the architecture of the home and dressing it up with colorful accents—like PAGODA RED’s vibrant cast of ginger jars and vases. Anything to make the chore of scrubbing and drying that much more enjoyable…
PR: Describe the vision for your space.
BB: The house this year was a beautiful, very livable, human scale English Tudor-inspired designed by architect Howard Van Dorn Shaw. Every space in the house was lovely and inviting and we wanted the laundry room to be no exception. We thought it should reflect the architectural period and still be seen as a functional, sensible space but with a more modern, colorful spin.
PR: Laundry rooms are usually associated with a rather mundane task, but you have enlivened the entire environment. What mood did you want to set with your design?
BB: Vintage can be new again! For those of us who love older homes, we appreciate the details that give them their stylish character. We wanted to maintain that, thoughtfully update the color palette and broaden the concept of how the space could be used. We wanted the laundry room to feel appropriately vintage and yet reimagined for modern times. We used a variety of bright colors and different textures to create layers of interest, for which the soft gray cabinetry and blush colored walls were the backdrop.
PR: The PAGODA RED pieces featured in your laundry room are all so decorative and colorful—why did you select them?
BB: The porcelain pieces from PAGODA RED were perfect for our space. The shape of the vessels we chose all had strong, crisp lines. The colors blended beautifully with our palette. We loved that the porcelain pieces were antique and yet worked well with the modern bed + bath products.
February, 2017
Poetry, art, and performance exhibit at Gallery A+D
On February 8th, we hosted a special exhibit, in conjunction with Ragdale Foundation, showcasing artwork and performance by interdisciplinary artist, Carron Little. The work revolved around Little’s project Spare Rib Revisited where she had transposed interviews into poetry and engaged gallery guests that evening with those poetry readings.
Spare Rib Revisited began in the summer of 2016 when Little spent time in Lucerne, Switzerland as artist in residence for the city. She interviewed women between the ages 21 to 91 and wrote poetry inspired by their responses. These women shared their life stories in response to which Carron used as a starting point to create a poem for each woman. Her visual art was then generated as a visualization of these poems. Little states, “I am thinking about how women’s stories get lost from one generation to the next and how we are constantly having to relearn our past.” She describes Spare Rib Revisited as an intergenerational project and intends to pursue it in five cities.
Prior to the poetry reading, Carron engaged gallery guests in an exchange of reflecting on an important moment in their own lives – an exercise that immediately created a warm atmosphere among the crowd.
The gallery is filled with brightly colored prints and sculptures, all inspired by the interviews from her Switzerland residency and will remain at Gallery A+D until March 8th.
About Carron Little
Carron Little is th efound and director of Out of Site Chicago and teaches Performance Art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
February, 2017
Wiley Designs showcases a young and upcoming photographer
On Saturday, January 28th 2017, we hosted a Meet the Artist event with young, up and coming photographer, Noah Gelfman.
The gallery was filled with members from the Highwood and surrounding communities who came to browse and admire Gelfman’s prints on display, as well as a few book of his work including “Urban Portraits” and “Light Study”. Gallery curators Beth Boyd and Mary Shea showcased images form his trips to China, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Utah, and Chicago.
Gelfman’s work ranges from urban landscapes, to portraits, and real estate. He originally sparked an interest in taking photos through skateboarding and purchased his first DSLR to film skateboard videos. From there, he slowly transitioned into fine arts photography. Today, his work shows a great deal of promise as he captures cities and landscapes in their best light.
The meet and greet was a great success as people chit-chatted and became inspired by such a young talent.
Gallery A+D’s next event will be held on February 8 and will feature works from Carron Little and a presentation of her current project, “Spare Rib Revisited”, a piece that is based on interviews with the public that are translated into poetry and visual art.
About Noah Gelfman
Gelfman is a senior at DePaul University studying psychology, sociology, and photography. He intends to pursue a career helping those with substance abuse disorders.
December 2016
Wiley Designs Reveals New Artwork at Gallery A + D Open House
On Thursday, December 8, 2016 Gallery A+D by Wiley Designs, LLC debuted new artwork and photography at their year-end Open House. The night featured refreshments and camaraderie around the new additions to the gallery as well as a live painting exhibit from Voytek Gallery. Gallery curators Beth Boyd and Mary Shea showcased more than 20 new pieces of work from artists like Voytek, Margaret S. Boyd, and newcomer Noah Gelfman.
As the night’s main event, Voytek captivated his audience slowly but firmly. He began painting an abstract image of two people with little context to start. After 30 minutes had past, a reciting began of the poem “Upside Down Man” by Shel Silverstein. Voytek turned the canvas “upside down” and it became clear that he wasn’t painting the people, but their reflections in a puddle. You can see final product below as well as on display in the gallery now.
Gallery A+D’s is open Tuesdays 11am to 6pm and Thursdays and Fridays 1pm to 7:30pm, but will be closed from 12/23-1/3. All other times throughout the holidays and into 2017 can be arranged by appointment. Stay up to date on events at Gallery A + D by visiting wileydesignsllc.com/gallery-ad/events/.
September, 2016
Gallery A+D Presents FUSION: Art + Viewer
On Friday September 30, 2016 Gallery A+D by Wiley Designs, LLC will host FUSION: Art + Viewer at their downtown Highwood, IL gallery space. FUSION will create an environment for participants to engage in conversation with the artists about how they create and how we experience what we see.
The event will be open to the public, however limited space is available. A reception starts at 6:00pm and the event will begin at 6:30pm. Guests can RSVP to the event by visiting wileydesignsllc.com/RSVP2 and completing the brief response form.