{"id":14822,"date":"2019-01-01T12:01:59","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T11:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.giberto.it\/kneen-co-dazzles-the-gold-coast-with-new-luxury-showroom-architectural-digest-usa\/"},"modified":"2021-01-25T14:32:35","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T13:32:35","slug":"kneen-co-dazzles-the-gold-coast-with-new-luxury-showroom-architectural-digest-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.giberto.it\/it\/kneen-co-dazzles-the-gold-coast-with-new-luxury-showroom-architectural-digest-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"Kneen & Co Dazzles the Gold Coast with New Luxury Showroom – ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\"\"[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]CHICAGO<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kneen & Co Dazzles\u00a0the Gold Coast with\u00a0New Luxury\u00a0Showroom<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new Chicago showroom is an impressive collecton of rare home furnishings from around the world<\/p>\n

Text by Zlata Kozul Naumovski \u00a0\u00b7 Posted January 23, 2019<\/p>\n

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Asking Mary Jeanne Kneen of Kneen & Co, purveyor of luxury tabletop, dinnerware, bedding, and lighting, to pick a favorite product category is like asking a parent to pick a favorite child. \u201cI love it all,\u201d she says, unapologetically.<\/p>\n

Step inside her Magnificent Mile showroom in Chicago, open since December, and it\u2019s easy to see why she\u2019d be so torn. In a highly curated feast of home decor\u2019s finest, eyes dart from cashmere blankets by Loro Piana to dinnerware in saturated graphics by Richard Ginori to jewel-toned Venini chandeliers. \u201cYou can find anything for your home here except appliances and large furniture,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Kneen, a tastemaker who got her start by representing Nymphenburg porcelain after moving from Germany, outgrew her longtime Lincoln Park location and decided on a refresh in the Gold Coast, where she\u2019s close to both clients and design professionals. \u201cWe are a luxury global brand and this is the luxury shopping area,\u201d she says. Her showroom on Michigan Avenue\u2014styled like a chic apartment outfitted with opulent accoutrements for the home\u2014is mere blocks from Barneys, Herm\u00e8s, Harry Winston, and Christian Dior.<\/p>\n

Shoppers come from around the world to browse her wares in a glass-walled dining room. They are treated to an ensemble of egg-darted candlesticks in burnished brass or satin silver by Ted Muehling for E.R. Butler & Co. and all manner of glassware. For those who don\u2019t know a ballerina wineglass from a footed coupe, Kneen will happily explain the variables and help you choose a coordinating dinner plate. In fact, she\u2019ll pour visitors a Scotch or pass hors d\u2019oeuvres while musing about products. \u201cGuys love it,\u201d Kneen said of the intimate setting. \u201cThey can sit on the sofa and read the paper or enjoy a drink.\u201d And if they\u2019re so inclined, they could even buy a bar trunk from Robbe & Berking with service for six straight off the floor for $23,000. Saunter into the bedroom setting and run your fingers over 1,400-thread-count linens by Mirabel Slabbinck.<\/p>\n

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That level of exclusivity is what distinguishes Kneen & Co from other retailers. While there\u2019s no shortage of luxury brand heavyweights in stock, Kneen is the exclusive Chicago provider for Lobmeyr and the only one in the U.S. for Giberto Venezia. She also works with small vendors who don\u2019t have a large distribution. \u201cWe work with them as partners and represent their entire line,\u201d she says. \u201cMost are from Europe, where there\u2019s a history of producing these things that were born there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her staff, she says, is very knowledgeable about a vendor\u2019s entire portfolio, and works with shoppers as consultants. They can also assist engaged couples on creating a wedding registry that weighs the pros and cons of sateen versus percale cotton. Kneen is a big fan of mixing brands as well as price points. On the high end, she offers custom Venini chandeliers, which can cost upwards of $40,000. The store also offers more moderately priced items like bespoke stationery and place cards for $15.<\/p>\n

Kneen\u2019s trick is to be always on the lookout. Having just returned from Paris for the Maison & Objet show, her watchful eye is ever searching for new brands. Dreams of adding to the shop\u2019s wares a luxury candlemaker or placing an order of hand-embroidered linens from French brand VIS-A-VIS are always on her mind. \u201cEverything can be 100 percent customized,\u201d she says of her newest vendor. \u201cThey make linens in organza and organdy silk that are super luxurious.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a store and design expert this sought-after, Kneen always encourages making an appointment before dropping by.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love this segment of home decor and really enjoy it,” she says. “I love the brands I rep and it\u2019s fun to work with customers. We have a great offering that is like nowhere else in the U.S.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

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