What, When, Where: Public Knowledge

August 5, 2013

I’m writing this from on of my very favorite places…in a design sense, at least. Public Chicago, an Ian Schrager-designed boutique hotel in the city’s Gold Coast neighborhood that’s breathtaking, irreverent and pleasantly surprising at every turn. My husband and I checked in on Friday for a long weekend, but I’ve been a fan of Public since it opened in 2011. When I lived in Chicago, I would visit the lobby’s coffee bar for a latte on weekend mornings (or a cocktail in the same spot at night) simply so I could enjoy it one of the white fur-upholstered chairs in front of the six-foot-tall marble fireplace that anchors the lobby’s library space.

Photo courtesy of Public Chicago

Which is exactly what Schrager, who came up with the design concept himself, along with his company’s in-house architect Anda Andrei, wanted: something that made people want to linger. “Design is no longer enough,” he told Travel + Leisure in 2011. “There has to be ethos, too.” The hotel certainly has character…for days. My husband is particulary fond of the Jean Baptist Mondino photos of cows in our room, but I’m more drawn to the fur-draped cafe chair.