In design, add the X for instant sex appeal. For more design rules, visit StrangeClosets.com.

This week's "Open House" is a New York flat and the first Strange Closets tour outside the metropolitan Chicago area. New "Open House" Home Tours every Thursday on Strange Closets interior design website.

Patina, a rural-chic boutique, seems to hover just under the radar. Located in a slightly subterranean storefront on a slightly residential, slightly commercial stretch of North Damen in a neighborhood I can't quite identify. A Strange Closets review . .

A Strange Closets Intelligent Design Interview with Matt Lorenz, owner of ML Interiors and the winner of Bravo's Top Design Season One.

We, the good citizens of Andersonville, have been blessed with a bounty of design stores that deliver the goods, including Scout, Urbanest and White Attic. Adding to our riches last week is Room Service, which specializes in mid-century treasures.

The VENU / TG Couture, located on the 16th floor of the Merchandise Mart, was stunning - jewel toned fabrics, high fashion and a bit of Hollywood glamor. See the Strange Closets photo tour.

Jim's Bucktown dwelling is the subject of this Thursday's Strange Closets Open House Photo Tour. Photo Tours every Thursday on Strange Closets.

I.D. was started by two gents with very different strengths and interests. One of them wanted to open an optical store and the other had a design background. You know where this is going, don't you?The result is funky and fun, funky and fabulous.

I wrote about Revival before, one of the only boutiques in Chicago that should come with a warning label and addiction counselors on-site. Sadly nothing has changed. The furniture, primarily mid-century, is still intoxicating.

Art Thang distributes my favorites - old phones, seltzer bottles and misc. curiosities. And he spends half of his time in Buenos Aires, where he buys his goods from other families. Profits contribute to a children's fund. This should be my life.