As you enter Betsy Tilkemeier’s new kitchen, just know that the pretty blue tea towel you brought as a hostess gift is destined to be regifted. “Orange, black, gray, white and green are the only colors I allow in this room. Potholders, placemats, dish towels–I don’t care what, if it’s not ‘up to code,’ it has to go,” she says, sounding like an overzealous building inspector. Indeed, her color “code” was in place long before her stylish Home Depot redo when, for the Tilkemeiers, only Eames chairs in orange would do. “Then we spotted this ‘FOOD’ sign at the Winnetka Community Center Modernism Show and I went completely nuts,” Tilkemeier enthuses, ignoring the wince from her husband, who is still rueful about their pathetically weak bargaining position. “I mean, it’s the right size, it’s fun and it’s absolutely to code.”
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