[image]
[title]WISHY WALL The food at Ria (11 E Walton St, 312-880-4400, elysianhotels.com) is so spectacular (our Eat Out section gave the Elysian Hotel eatery four stars) that it might take a while before you glance up from your plate. But when you do, the reward is a view of a cool wall installation made from wishbones. It’s the design work of Gina Deary, cofounder of downtown interior design firm Simeone Deary Design Group . “The restaurant’s motto is ‘where the land meets the sea,’ so we wanted to create a statement piece along those lines,” Deary says, noting that it could also be seen as fish bones. Drawing inspiration from artist Maya Lin, Deary created small clay bones (with the help of architectural manufacturer Rareform, rareform.cc) and placed them on the wall to look like a school of fish. To create a similar look at home, Deary suggests finding a shape that’s pleasing to you and will be easy to repeat. “It could be as simple as using thumbtacks or found objects like twigs,” she says. Once you decide on an object (and pattern), use pins to mount the art, or ask an expert at your local hardware store for advice on more-permanent mounting options. If you’re feeling too lazy to create something, purchase 3-D art and just hang it on the wall. The gold-tinned half-shell eggs ($62.50) at Andersonville home-decor shop George Lowell (5123 N Clark St, 773-754-8106) remind us of Ria’s wishbone wall. Regardless of which route you take, Deary says that placing proper lighting in front of your new work of art is essential. “You can find really simple track lighting fixtures at IKEA, so your piece will be lit right,” she says.