Design Profile: Chez Loren

Design Profile Chez Loren
Chef Peter Loren sweeps open his condo's front door and enthusiastically greets a visitor, "Welcome to Chez Loren."

Instantly, you forget you're in a bland, suburban condominium complex and feel as though you've entered a hot, new restaurant, a feeling reinforced by a giant sign in the foyer that reads CHEZ LOREN and a chandelier made from a wok.

Yes, a commercial-grade steel wok with punched out holes to allow the light to stream down in a celestial fashion.

Inside the condominium, red, lime and cobalt-colored eye candy is everywhere, along with more restaurant references, such as a snazzy bar and a cozy, upholstered booth for four.

Clearly, we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

But this is Loren's 2,200-square-foot West Bloomfield Township home, his retreat from a hectic job as the executive chef/culinary director for Nino Salvaggio International Market, which has four locations, including the newest 52,000-square-foot Clinton Township store.

"This condo used to be a vanilla box with beige walls and carpet," says Loren, whose culinary career includes stints at Tribute, Forte, Opus One, London Chop House and the Money Tree.

"I moved here in 1994, but it wasn't until 9/11 that I decided to do something about it. I was stuck in a rut where everything had to match."