There are few places in Chicago that offer such treasures as the Golden Triangle. This past Wednesday The Golden Triangle, one of the member of the River North Design District, hosted our group’s monthly meeting. I am so glad I arrived early to preview their collections. It’s my pleasure to share my photos with you. The showroom hosts a variety of vignettes depicting every room in the home including bedrooms, dining rooms and even a kitchen. My only question, “when can I move in”? Find statement pieces for your home from this extraordinary collection.
The Golden Triangle
330 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 755-1266
www.goldentriangle.biz
-Jill Maremont
Established in 1989 by Douglas Van Tress and Chauwarin Tuntisak, The Golden Triangle began by selling the artifacts and antiques from just one city –Chiang Mai, Thailand. Over the years, the store expanded its offerings to include antiques from all over Asia and more recently, Europe. In 2006, The Golden Triangle launched its own modern collection hand-crafted from salvaged hardwoods. Today, the store’s collection is richly eclectic –a unique blend of ancient and modern, rustic and refined that transcends chronological and national boundaries.
In 2007, The Golden Triangle moved to 23,000 square foot gallery just north of the Chicago River and a block from The Merchandise Mart. The goal was to create a display environment as unique as the store’s growing and ever-changing inventory. Under Tuntisak’s art direction, what was once a cavernous warehouse was transformed into an “Asian village”, with authentic building facades arranged around an Asian interior court yard shaded by bamboo trees. Moving through the block-long store, the visitor passes through distinct architectural and historical zones –a British Colonial veranda house, the courtyard, a Chinese scholar’s house and a sunlit modern wing housing pieces from all periods and places.
The architectural vignettes have a dual purpose: to show the beauty and function of each piece and to show how they can be used in a modern home. Though it is helpful to see a store’s inventory online, Antiques are tactile things. Wood, stone and ceramic and glass engender distinct feelings and impressions that cannot be fully recorded in a photo. Likewise, the multi-dimensional patina that develops on the surface of a piece is difficult to capture. The owners confess to being a little old-fashioned; they hope you find the website interesting and informative but that they have a chance to meet you in the store, face-to-face as you begin your collecting and decorating adventure.
