Meet Cooper. He lives with Troy Calkins and Robert Liem in a beautiful butter yellow home in Roscoe Village. Come one in, it’s nice and warm inside.

What a thrill (and comfort) to spend some time in Debra Phillips’ wonderful Wayne home. The owner of Scentimental Gardens calls it an 1850s cottage. We think it’s that and so much more.

Where else can I knock and move in to a home in the mountains for a night? Sit down to a dinner of elk loin and jalapeno rice casserole?

“I’ve never liked couches. I’ve never liked comfortable things. “The reason for that? I have no idea,” artist Derek Erdman says. [But] I always thought it was better to have the space than to have the clutter of furniture.”

You know those friends, who, when you compliment them on their sweater, whip off the bargain price and where they got it from? That’s Uncle Mike. But his deals come in the form of swimming pool railings, decorative tiles, furniture and fireplaces.

Knock, knock . . .
Who’s there: Nick and Carol Sommers, Chico, their Havanese pup, and two cats, Sasha and Peaches.

Knock, knock . . .
Who’s there? Collage artist Linda Summerfield Crispell and Gar Crispell and their beauteous offspring, the lovely Lulu (her nom de Web), and her delightful bro, Deke (ditto on the alias). Oh, and I must not forget their ever-obedient Mssr. Buddy.

Putting on a stoic front:  The Crispells’ ivory-colored home with red-brick chimney [...]

I was so lucky today to meet Susan Thomsen when I knocked at the ivy-draped home just west of the Kennedy. The one the retired Whitney Young High art teacher shares with her husband, Finn. She waltzed me right in and started showing me around their home and studio.
Both of them are artists and seem to see [...]

Who lives in this Palatine home with the gently sloping pagoda rooflines?
Knock, knock . . .
Who’s there? Min Pak and her son, Andrew
The back story: Min, an artist and, until recently, photo imager for the Chicago Tribune, bought this five-bedroom home 3½ years ago. She’s its third owner; the first was the home’s architect Dennis [...]