iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Also, if anyone is selling a CD tower or big CD rack, let me know.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This may be my favorite Marketplace description gore yet

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Years ago when I was doing Curbed Chicago, commenters would often skewer Lagrange and his signature neo-deco pre-recession style, but there were also some interesting outliers like Erie on the Park, which felt more more adjacent to structural expressionism.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Chicago architect Lucien Lagrange received an honorary street designation. Here's his post on LinkedIn and the ordinance from 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins. Lagrange is best known for designing luxury towers (Park Tower, Waldorf Astoria) prior to the Great Recession.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

haha totally! That is exactly the vibe. And Frontera Grill

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Here's the home audio system that would pair with the bedroom set

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The person who originally bought this bedroom set brand new likely drove either one of these cars

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Here's a pretty neat bedroom set on FB Marketplace. It feels like that bridge between mid-90s soft tech and Y2K aesthetic. My best guess would be that this is from 99-2003. It has that strong late-90s corporate relocation modernism aesthetic.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This leans too far into the shabby chic thing. And I hear you on that

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Oh wow, no I hadn't seen this... but the Denver public library was a big inspiration to me for that early-mid 90s CD ROM point and click adventure aesthetic

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

After playing around in ChatGPT for about 30-40 minutes, I was able to make my dream soft tech modernism home office circa 1994.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Both of these images are more late 80s and maybe more of the direct precursor of the stuff I'm envisioning/thinking about from the early-mid 90s, but it's pretty close.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Now that the mid-2010s millennial modern interiors are falling out of style, I'm going to predict that early-mid 90s cozy (overstuffed couches, pastels, floral patterns) and mid-90s soft tech modernism (beech, glass and metal) is going to make a comeback.

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Reposted by AJ LaTrace

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention @afspnational.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

It's #WorldSuicidePreventionDay! 🌎💙 Whether you've lost a loved one or experienced your own personal struggles, we're sending love today to everyone who has been touched by suicide. #NationalSuicidePreventionMonth

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My toddler and I are watching “Space Buddies” — one of the Air Bud sequels where puppies sneak onto a space ship — and I swear I thought Proco Joe Moreno was playing the bad guy in the movie.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

One thing I didn't document at the store and should have been in this thread was the rattan/wicker/flatweave wave of the last 10 years. For instance, I just searched for rattan dining chair and found this "The Frigg" chair that has been discounted twice because rattan has also become mass market.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I'm out of touch these days and couldn't really tell you. I think in a lot ways, what eventually trickles up into mass market design starts with stuff that becomes cheap and plentiful in thrift, resale and secondhand markets... hence MCM --> late modernist --> pomo revival waves.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Anyways, that’s it. Here are some more gold lamps to remind us of the days before the pandemic, before inflation, and when owning a gold lamp with a round shade meant you were “with it” and “on trend” and probably had a preferred Instagram filter.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Also distinctly 2015-2016: “handhelds” and MF’ing avocado toast. Bruh.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Also distinctly 2015-2016: stomp-clap millennial optimism burger joint music, which was being piped through the store. Some song about holding on tight and being happy, because of course. lol

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Anyways. If the MCM reproductions came in with a roar, the postmodern revival seems to have gone out with a whimper. These two end tables in the clearance section were the only pieces I saw that really leaned into the distinctly playful design language of mid-late ’80s pomo.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I personally leaned very hard into the glossy red/color-block, pomo-adjacent look around 2016. My apartment had a big dark green sectional, glossy red cabinets, color-block blankets — all of which now read very distinctly as staples of mid-2010s design.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

And here is a great sampling of the emerging design trends of 2015-2016, including pale wood, tripod bases, linen shades, matte black, brass and geometric forms — plus one lone glossy red lamp that signaled the more fun, colorful, pomo-adjacent design revival that was also happening at the time.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

But who knows... maybe the ostentatious barn door thing will capture the imagination of future generations who will see it as a charmingly over-the-top relic of 2010s design.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

One thing I was a little surprised to see, but maybe shouldn't have been, was that the barn door is still in rotation in various forms. When I saw this, I was thinking so many of these are going to end up in landfills once Gen Alpha flippers start remodeling the flips from millennial investors.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I distinctly remember seeing big arched floor lamps like this in the apartments of stylish friends around 2015 and thinking they seemed very current. And now a big floor lamp like feels very much like "mid-2010s design." I saw this and immediately thought, "Wow, that's so 2016."

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I remember in 2014-2015, new apartment towers sported darker, more masculine bronze and black finishes. Then came the gold and plated brass revival. Some of the Wayfair display rooms had so much gold, it reminded me of touring apartment towers in the West Loop around 2016-2017.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

In the year 2026, MCM reproduction stuff seems to be past the point of being interesting, unique or even particularly stylish. At this point, a lot of it just feels like the default language of mass-market/fast-fashion furniture. (Anyone remember this Tumblr? fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com)

fuckyournoguchicoffeetable.tumblr.com

Fuck Your Noguchi Coffee Table

Twitter @FYNCT Instagram @FYNCT

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I went to the Wayfair store in Chicago’s north suburbs this afternoon for the first time. And as someone who used to write daily about residential real estate listings/trends, architecture and design, it felt a little like going back in time about 10 years — in both good and bad ways. 🧵

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

It's pretty amazing how you can just go to a thrift store in the suburbs and find some killer early 80s post-disco living room furniture

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

LVP flooring is the greatest interior/housing sin of the last decade, similar to what split face block was in the pre-recession years. I understand the need for something cheap and “good enough,” but man, LVP products are going to be landfill waste sooner rather than later.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

It's also so interesting how so many of these couches are in such good shape 30-40 years later. They were likely the couches that were in the room that no one was allowed to actually hang around in. These plaid and floral couches were also the least expensive ones in the store.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I checked out a used furniture store today that I hadn't been to yet & it was like the Holy Grail of 80s-90s plaid & floral print sofas. Its so tempting to buy a couch like this in the year 2026 when most new furniture is flimsy, flat-pack greige junk. Remember when homes felt warm, cozy & lived in?

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

But succeeding in the prefab housing space and driving down costs for consumers remains far from guaranteed, he conceded. "There is zero guarantee of ultimate success," Tiramani told me during the call.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

On the previous SEC investigation into the company, Tiramani said the matter is fully resolved and that Boxabl received extra scrutiny during its Nasdaq listing process given its high valuation and large base of retail (crowdfunding) investors.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

He talked at length about the challenges facing prefab homebuilders — particularly zoning, regulation and transportation issues. He said that Boxabl is looking to get involved at the federal level to simplify regulation using the Commerce Clause.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Prefab home builder Boxabl went public this week. CEO Paolo Tiramani told me the company has manufactured more than 800 units and has roughly 50,000 "expressions of interest" — but major production, financing and regulatory hurdles remain. www.inman.com/2026/07/22/b...

inman.com

Boxabl CEO on going public, push to ‘crush’ housing costs

Boxabl announced this week that it had gone public as it pursues plans to turn homebuilding into a repeatable production process.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

It's pretty wild that vaporwave — a genre inspired by nostalgia — is now old enough that it's already had its own nostalgic revival. Here's a video I made over a decade ago of some of my favorite tracks at the time synced to cool vintage footage of Chicago. youtu.be/nnbRBI0G4o8?...

youtu.be

50+ Hours of Vaporwave, Bonus/100 [LA TRACE GUESTMIX -- Windy City Selects, pt. 1]

YouTube video by ＬＳＴＨＥＴＩＣ

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

At least they're archived and available... unlike Curbed, which Vox Media literally just decided to shut off and kill the entire network's archives without any warning. www.archpaper.com/2026/02/curb...

archpaper.com

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Not gonna lie... I didn't know how much more time it really had.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

I occasionally Google my name just to see what comes up and earlier today found links on the Chicago Tribune site with my byline. I was confused but saw that my old Chicago mag stories were recently migrated over. And then hours later I saw that Chicago mag is being permanently folded into the Trib.

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Sometimes you've got to just go hang out with your dog along the Chicago River

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Me in 25 years: "Dura-Ace 7800 was the pinnacle of bicycle component engineering and machining and we'll never see anything like it made again." "Sure thing, grandpa. Let's get you to bed."

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AJ LaTrace @latrace.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Yes AI is scary and taking all of our jobs, but sometimes it's nice to have someone to nerd out about bike parts with.

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