Chicago Medical District Restored and Reborn Sitting vacant for 18 years, the 106 year old Beaux-Arts classical style landmark, formerly Cook County Hospital, has been reborn as a stunning Hyatt hotel. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the façade served as the inspiration for the television show ER, as well as being featured in numerous other films and TV shows. Design Intent KOO, a Chicago architecture…
Bold, illuminating and authentic, Architectural Metals is available in collections of Aluminum, Copper, Hand Painted and Art Metals. Expertly engineered to be high-quality and resilient, this collection provides a perfectly stylish solution for projects at any budget and surfaces of any kind.…
Quietly Putting the Pieces Together in Boston's Most Lively Board Game Café …
Creating a Chic, Modern Wallcovering with Art Deco Flair Within Hollywood's Most Iconic Landmark Building…
It’s no secret that COVID-19 has drastically changed how we function in the day to day. It is essential that businesses adjust the design elements of the workspace to adhere to our rapidly changing environment. Social distancing and sanitation requirements have created a need for workspaces that can quickly and easily adapt in a changed but enduring industry. Design Pivot was created with one goal in mind —…
At first glance, designing a new space seems relatively straight-forward. Select several items with complementing texture and tone, and your result will be a beautiful space, right? At MDC, we know this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, selecting appealing colors and patterns will not yield a successful design without the presence of supreme functionality, and in this case, we’re talking acoustics. But oftentimes, it seems…
Bolta Contract Collection from MDC Reenergizes Vinyl Wallcoverings with Fresh Styles, New Design Categories CHICAGO (February 2020) — Known for its diversity of color, pattern and texture, Bolta vinyl wallcoverings from MDC have defined decades of contemporary contract interiors. Today, the longstanding brand reinforces its position as a design leader, releasing a complete refresh of its product line, including recolors and design tweaks of best-selling favorites as well…
As original and eye-catching as the design was, something was missing. Applied directly to the painted wall, the montage of images fell flat. Then Director of Design Pam Valenta had an idea to use Vycon Legacy Pivot wallcovering from MDC as the base for the digital images. The design took on a rich look, full of dimension. It became the dynamic “Mexican toile” Valenta had envisioned for the…
Educational designers might learn a thing or two from Julie Williams of Larson & Darby Group in Rockford, Illinois. The firm received the AIA Prairie Chapter’s 2018 Excellence Award for Interior Design, having turned an Illinois high school into a space where school pride is high and the noise low, thanks to her creative use of Zintra acoustical ceiling clouds from MDC. “Schools love any and all opportunities…
At first glance, you’d swear you were looking at a full-scale renovation of the second floor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. In truth, the interior design team transformed the Digestive Diseases clinic of the Thalians Health Center into a more inviting space simply by installing a custom digital mural. Vivid lotus flowers create an inviting atmosphere for patients and staff alike. It had been years since the clinic’s last…
New Scales, Patterns and Finishes Add More Drama, Design to Dimension Walls from MDC CHICAGO (December 2019) — Designers, we dare you to turn any wall into a dynamic focal point. A wow factor. An eye grabber. A conversation starter – or stopper. The top-selling and ever-growing collection of Dimension Walls from MDC Interior Solutions not only makes it possible, but also easier than ever with four new…
CHICAGO (September 2019) – MDC is pleased to introduce Duratec, a breakthrough concept in highly durable wall protection. Conceptualized for the wall but built with the performance standards of a floor covering, Duratec is skillfully engineered to protect against abrasions, stains, scratches and more. From a simple scuff all the way to the toughest impact collision, Duratec has it handled. Industries that primarily cater to high-traffic areas, such…
MDC’s latest design tool is an industry-first, one-stop solution for creating a perfectly curated color story CHICAGO (August 2019) — Color is everywhere and impacts everything. It affects mood, sways thinking and changes actions. It can boost energy levels or supercharge productivity; make us happy or make us hungry. Color is powerful, especially in design. And now it’s easier than ever to curate the perfect color-inspired space with…
A custom-designed wallcovering is one that every designer can appreciate. What could be better than having a style created specifically around your vision, to be incorporated perfectly into your unique commercial design? But depending on your project and your budget, opting for a custom wallcovering solution may not always be an available choice. So, what is a designer to do? Enter MDC’s Digital Curated, our new innovative wallcovering…
A complete, inspired room design is one that discovers the perfect balance between several key artistic elements. While some of these elements, like shape and color for example, are typically rather simple to express, others like texture can be a little more challenging. Oftentimes, when designers hear the word “texture,” it actually sounds more like “expensive” to them. So, depending on a project’s budget, texture can often be…
If you design for high-traffic service industries, you know it well. Someone nicking the side of the wall with an unruly cart. An employee spilling coffee everywhere after they turned the corner too fast. A patient or patron accidentally scuffing the wall. A scenario that immediately makes you think… “yeah, that’s gonna leave a mark.” But what if we told you that the threat of these occasions will…
When approaching a new design project, where exactly do you begin? Typically it is not with a small decorative accent, a lamp, or even a piece of furniture, but instead you often start with a feeling. A source of inspiration. A gentle nod to an emotion, an experience, to comfort and enthusiasm. And of course, the best way to express all of these things is… through color. The…
The more familiar you are with your favorite grocery store, the faster you can shop up and down the aisles. Senior Interior Designer Vicki Wiesman remembers this when choosing materials for a Kroger Grocery Store remodel. “We like patterns and products that are timeless but trending, within budget, and can withstand the elements, because it’s hard to disrupt the customer experience with a renovation,” Wiesman says. After all,…
Interior design is the closest thing we have to time travel. An apartment complex clubhouse in the Chicago suburbs recently moved out of the 1990s and into modern day, under the expert eye of Creative Director Paul Polk of dL Design Chicago. He combined colors and textures to achieve a more sophisticated image for the property, including Factory wallcoverings from MDC. “Our objective was to modernize the clubhouse…
Like the cover of a book, a hotel lobby sets expectations. It projects an image that tells guests they’ve come to the right place. Hotelier Amy Gamble uses MDC Dimension Walls to create a first impression that makes a lasting impact. Gamble and her husband began buying, renovating and selling hotels approximately 14 years ago. Their company, Area Code Hotels, currently owns six properties and recently put the…
There’s a lot riding on the interior design of Flywheel cycling studios. Heart-pounding, music-driven workouts keep Flywheel members coming back for more. And Zintra acoustic panels keep that energizing music right where it belongs: inside the studio. The originator of stadium-style cycling, Flywheel has studios in 16 U.S. cities and Dubai, and the company continues to expand. Design Manager Jacqueline Showalter is part of the team that plans,…
Even an expert eye can’t tell the difference. The ceiling appears to be made of metal panels that lend a silvery sheen to the sleek interiors of the New Medical Office Building for Joliet Oncology-Hematology Associates (JOHA) in New Lenox, Illinois. In reality, the panels are an inexpensive gypsum board coated in LiquaPearl metallic paint from MDC. The illusion was dreamed up by Kaleb Yanko and Bret Mitchell…
There’s that moment when you hang a painting and the beauty of a newly appointed space becomes perfectly complete. Interior Designer DeNae Krzyzanowkski of Linden Group Architects used framed artwork to finish her transformation of a historical bank into an 18-room boutique hotel in Homewood, Ill., with a distinctive French theme. But rather than actually purchase art, Krzyzanowski created custom digital wallcoverings with MDC, applied them to the…
SERA Architects had a small budget and a big idea when they set about renovating the third floor of their offices in Portland, Oregon. They wanted more communal space where designers and project managers could collaborate. They envisioned a new, experimental workstyle, and they created it with an open floor plan and FUZE Dry Erase Paint. The new third floor space brings together SERA’s Urban Design & Planning…
