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Life On Virginia Street

Life On Virginia Street

DIY . Home Decor . Travel . Style . Life

A Day of Inspired Design in Chicago

Decorating Ideas, Tips and Trends, Room Makeovers + Design Plans, Travel

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I had an amazing day in Chicago which was full of kitchen and bathroom design inspiration!

Thank you to Delta Faucet® for sponsoring today’s post. As always, all thoughts, opinions and designs are my own.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to join Delta Faucet®, along with several bloggers, in Chicago. We were in town for a day of inspired design and to compete for a dream kitchen or bathroom renovation based on the design plans we came up with. Today I’m going to share all the details from the exciting trip, and give you a sneak peek of an upcoming renovation!

Along with me on the trip were some of my favorite bloggers (and likely yours!):

Young House Love | Bower Power | Cherished Bliss | A Blissful Nest | Becki Owens | Inspired By This | Place of My Taste | Design For Mankind | The Creativity Exchange | Home Stories A to Z

I knew about half of the other bloggers before the event, but I can say after spending a full day together, we all became fast friends. Every single person on this trip was so friendly, inspiring and quite simply, amazing. I couldn’t believe the group of talent that Delta rounded up for our day in Chicago!

The morning started off with a tour of the gorgeous Delta DREAM2O showroom in the Merchandise Mart. I think I touched at least half of the Delta faucet combos because they were just so pretty!

The delta showroom in Chicago with the faucets on display.

 

The light installation at Delta faucets.

After wandering around the showroom oohing and aahing over the fixtures, we heard a brief presentation from Missi at Delta faucets and then John and Sherry of Young House Love.

There’s so much I love about Delta faucets (other than their gorgeous designs). It was so fun to hear about the two sides to every Delta product: the SEE and the DO. The SEE portion is literally that – the beautiful fixture that you see on the exterior (and trust me, they have tons of gorgeous options). The DO is the interior workings and technology on the inside (they even have touch faucets!). Together the two qualities work in perfect harmony to create beauty and function all in one sparkly, pretty package.

A shower stall in the showroom with the faucet ideas.

John and Sherry talked to us about finding the four key elements in all good designs: beauty, function, meaning and mood. Most of these are fairly self-explanatory, but you may not always evaluate every single room design based on these four key elements. However, they really are the key to a ‘dream room’ because one element without the other isn’t nearly as practical or well-loved when it comes to day-to-day living.

A presentation from Young House Love.

After the presentations and a little more wandering around the showroom, we set out on our tour of Chicago.

The first stop was the Chicago Cultural Center. As we walked in the doors we were all struck by the textured intricate tile work throughout. As you climb the stairs, the unique details continued.

Tile work in Chicago.

The blogger influencers taking a picture in front of the ornate ceiling, tile and chandeliers.

Preston Bradley Hall has a 38-foot dome, which is the largest Tiffany stained-glass in the world, valued at an estimated $35 million. It was so beautiful, very stunning and photos really don’t do it justice!

preston-bradley-hall-dome-in-chicago with the Tiffany stained glass ceiling.

The next stop on our tour was The Rookery. The interior was absolutely breathtaking and I couldn’t believe all the intricate detail and patterns everywhere you looked. The suspended staircase was pretty incredible to see as well!

The-Rookery-ceiling-details-Chicago with a suspended staircase.

The suspended staircase.

The ornate suspended staircase, with a glass ceiling.

The stairs were the perfect spot for our first group photo!

The group of bloggers at the foot the stairs posing for a picture.

Our third stop on the tour was Buckingham Fountain, which is considered one of the finest ornamental fountains in America. The fountain itself symbolizes Lake Michigan. There are four separate basins and the lower basin has four sets of ornamental sea horses – one for each of the states that border Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, the fountain had just been drained for winter, but it was so beautiful nonetheless.

Buckingham Fountain in Chicago .

The ornate details of the fountain, plus a bench to sit on while you observe.

The Chicago skyline behind the fountain.

Our last stop of the architectural tour was Aqua Tower. When viewed from far away, it looks much like other skyscrapers in the area. But, from below, it looks like pools of water. Such a unique design concept!

The Aqua tower Chicago.

Looking at the Chicago skyscrapers from the bottom up.

Our cute little trolley we used all day for the tour of the city.

A red trolley car in Chicago.

After touring Chicago, we went to The Hampton Social for lunch. It was seriously the cutest place and had amazing food. I couldn’t stop taking pictures here!

The Hampton Social restaurant in Chicago.

A rope wall with a sign that says please wait to be seated.Navy and white wallpaper, and a navy blue painted runner on the stairs.

A Rose All Day sign above a bench in the restaurant.

A private room with a long table.

Needless to say, after the tour and lunch, the creative juices were flowing and I was ready to work on my bathroom design board! We all headed back to our hotel to get to work.

Below is a quick iPhone snap I took of my design board. My design board is for our dream master bathroom renovation. I added inspiration images I found on Pinterest or in various catalogs, along with a few of the pictures I had taken throughout the day in Chicago. It should come as no surprise this includes lots of white, blues, greens, neutrals and some wood tones.

A bathroom design board with Chicago inspiration.

After completion of our design boards, we got ready for cocktails and dinner at Cafe Spiaggia (another amazing restaurant). The winner of the design competition was also announced. A big congrats goes out to my friend Beth from Home Stories A to Z for winning the design competition! I can’t wait to see her design board come to life over the coming weeks in her master bathroom! It was the perfect end to an amazing trip. Not only was I so inspired by everything Delta showed us in Chicago, but I met so many great new friends and continue to be inspired by all the amazing talent in the blogging world.

Although I didn’t win, I still have a really amazing (and much needed) bathroom makeover coming up in the coming weeks. I’m finally going to be updating our powder bathroom. It’s the only room left on our main level that hasn’t received much of an update (other than paint), so it’s time to go lighter, brighter and so much prettier! After further research, I’ve had to make a few modifications from my initial design board, but I think you’ll see the base elements will remain and the new powder bathroom will fit in so much better in our home!

The powder room before being renovated.

I’ve already started making progress on our bathroom makeover, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you! I’m planning on new Delta fixtures, a new countertop (including removing “the valley” in back), tearing out that tile that I’ve hated for so long, painting the cabinets, the addition of a fun pendant light, new pulls on the cabinets, lighter paint on the walls and so much more. It’s a lot to do, but I’m really excited to make this transformation over the coming month. Stay tuned for updates!

This was such an amazing trip and I couldn’t have asked for a better time or a more inspirational trip. Thank you to Delta for this wonderful opportunity!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Delta Faucet .  The opinions and text are all mine.

If you would like to follow along on more of my home decor, DIY, lifestyle, travel and other posts, I’d love to have you follow me on any of the following:

Pinterest / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / Bloglovin’ / Google

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November 15, 2016 · 11 Comments

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Comments

  1. Meg @ Green With Decor says

    November 15, 2016 at 8:40 am

    Sounds like such a fun trip – I love Chicago! Can’t wait to se what the bathroom makeover!

    Reply
  2. Lisa says

    November 15, 2016 at 9:54 am

    Looks like you had a great trip! Seeing the group photos, I’m curious to know how tall you are? I’m 5’8″ and like your style recommendations. Just wondering for future reference if we are similar in height?

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      November 15, 2016 at 10:46 am

      I’m 5’8″ also! I think people always assume I’m even taller, but that’s because I usually wear shoes with at least a 2-3″ heel 🙂

      Reply
      • Lisa says

        November 15, 2016 at 12:57 pm

        Awesome! Thanks for sharing that!

        Reply
  3. Amy | Delineate Your Dwelling says

    November 16, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    I can’t wait to see your bathroom taking shape! Looks like a great trip in Chicago, too.

    Reply
  4. Breanna says

    November 16, 2016 at 1:32 pm

    Sounds like such an awesome trip! Can’t wait to see the progress on your bathroom!

    Reply
  5. Kristin salazar says

    November 16, 2016 at 9:05 pm

    I can’t wait for your reveal, I love Chicago, looks like so much fun!

    Reply
  6. Jenna says

    November 17, 2016 at 8:50 am

    Wow, Sarah! Such a great trip and your design is beautiful!! You killed it!

    Reply
  7. kristi@ishouldbemoppingthefloor says

    November 17, 2016 at 9:15 am

    Can’t wait to see how it all comes together! and what a great place for inspiration!

    Reply
  8. Meegan says

    November 17, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    Wow! The style, architecture, colors and designs are stunning. I really like your choices. I can’t wait to see it all come together with your own touch of class.
    Thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply
  9. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says

    November 20, 2016 at 10:22 pm

    What an amazing trip! I love that you got to meet YHL!

    Reply

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