The vista is a wooded ravine that brings a hint of untamed nature right to the backdoor of this Highland Park home. Designed in a Nantucket style by architect Jeff Harting of Deerfield-based FGH Architects, the stone and shingle residence makes the most of its bucolic setting, with plenty of windows and a commodious sunroom that bring the outdoors in.
“It was something of a balancing act to create a shingle-style house with more glazing than a shingle-style house would typically have,” relates Harting. “But it’s a balancing act that worked out well. For example, we clad the first-floor exterior in natural stone, which gave more weight to the base of the house and allowed us to install oversized windows in the living and dining rooms.”
Not only does the extensive fenestration open the house to the environment, but the rooms are orchestrated in such a way as to lead one’s attention through the interior to the landscape beyond. From the front door, the eye travels down the center hall to the family room and out a bay window to the tree-studded ravine in the distance. But as Harting notes, that central axis is no loft-like cavern or single-perspective alleyway. “We took that view and focused it, using wide, cased, arched openings.”
In addition to making sure the outdoors impacted the indoors, the residents specified a mudroom, good-sized bedrooms for their three children, and a floor plan that tended toward the contemporary without clashing with the home’s traditional detailing. “In our previous house, the kitchen was separate from the family room, and I could never see the kids,” explains the homeowner. “Here, the family room is open to the kitchen, which is open to the sunroom.” And, to achieve a pleasing decorative scheme, the couple turned to interior designer Stephanie Wohlner of Highland Park. “I wanted livable, durable fabrics so I wouldn’t have to say to the kids, ‘Get your feet off that! Don’t put that there!’ says the homeowner. “And soothing colors.”
One thing she wasn’t big on was window treatments. “We’re very much into natural light and having things bright, and in all our previous houses, I never did window treatments, except in the bedrooms. I always felt they interfered with the idea of the outside coming in.” Nonetheless, Wohlner did convince her client to dress some windows this time around with simple silk curtains. A lack of layering and the absence of busy patterns keep these uncomplicated treatments from overpowering the windows.
In fact, Wohlner’s whole approach to the project is characterized by a straightforward restraint, a pleasing reasonableness informed by artful touches that invest the home with a clearly elevated design sense. “A house like this, with a center hall, living room to the left, dining room to the right, makes me feel very comfortable,” says Wohlner. “You immediately get where you are. And, with these dark wood floors throughout, the consistent color palette of green and blue, you get a very solid, very peaceful feeling. Then you can throw in a zany fabric or unexpected shape or texture.”
With a fireplace, crown molding, and built-in bookcases, the living room is a solidly traditional room. But Wohlner sent it a tad off-center by framing the hearth with mid-century style tiles. “It was a bit of a challenge selling that tile,” she recalls. “I could have used a more typical brick or stone, but I like surprises and wanted to bring in something that was texturally interesting and modern.” Laughing, the homeowner says, “Stephanie always said, ‘Trust me.’ That tile was a case where I thought, ‘Huh?’ Looking at an individual piece of it, I couldn’t see how it would work. I think that happens. You’re looking at one thing at a time and can’t always see how things will work together. But Stephanie always saw the flow of things.”
To accompany the room’s soberly-lined seating, Wohlner selected a metal-framed coffee table topped with a slab of weathered wood. Here, as elsewhere in the home, she specified durable fabric. “It’s a linen velvet that develops a patina over time,” notes Wohlner. “The more you hang out on it, the better it gets. And the family dog loves to lie on the sofa and look out the window.”
A fan of bedrooms that transcend functionality to become engaging retreats, Wohlner didn’t hold back, outfitting the master suite bed with plenty of pillows. “Too often, people ignore the bed,” she suggests. “They don’t want to be bothered taking the pillows off and on. But, for most of the day and into the evening, the bed is made. And I think it’s an important room. It’s where your marriage is, it’s where the other person in your life is, and it should be a place you want to go. I spend a lot of time in mine.”
Of course, with fine weather making an appearance, this family will be spending a lot of time outdoors. The parents will begin their days with coffee on the deck adjacent to the master suite, and come evening, the whole family will gather on the patio off the family room for supper as the sun sets. And on those days when Mother Nature is changeable, they’ll follow her mood from inside, looking out as planned. —Thomas Connors
Photography by Tony Soluri
Sourcebook
Designer
Stephanie Wohlner Design
1442 Waverly Road in Highland Park
847-432-8735
swohlnerdesign.com
SunRoom
Sofa: Donghia Merbau sofa with natural rattan & tobacco finish
Seat/back cushion fabric: Donghia Wishbone
Chair: Donghia Merbau club chair
Ottoman: Donghia Merbau ottoman
Coffee table: Donghia Laurel cocktail table
All available at Merchandise Mart in Chicago, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, 800-677-6278, donghia.com
Living room
Sofa fabric: Great Plains Terra Dolce/Olive, Holly Hunt, Merchandise Mart
Pillow: Clarence House Tiziano/Pino,
Merchandise Mart
Blue chair fabric: “Lido/Mallard,” Rose Tarlow Melrose House, available at Holly Hunt, Merchandise Mart
Pillow on blue chair: Manuel Canovas, available at Cowtan & Tout, Merchandise Mart
Pillow on tan chair: Beacon Hill, Merchandise Mart
Coffee table: Formations Tavolino wood & iron coffee table, Merchandise Mart
Sconces: Arthur sconce, Holly Hunt,
Merchandise Mart
Drapes: Larsen silk denim in pale olive, available at Coutan & Tout, Merchandise Mart
Banding: Jim Thompson, available at Holly Hunt, Merchandise Mart
Master bedroom
Headboard fabric: Donghia Cobble Hill, Merchandise Mart
Bed pillow: Muriel Brandolini Fabrics, Holland & Sherry, Merchandise Mart
Neck pillow: Calvin Klein, Merchandise Mart
Side tables: Michael Gary Paris side table and zebra table, 3712 N. Broadway,
Chicago, 773-935-2198, michaelgaryfurniture.com
Benches: Niedermauer, Merchandise Mart
Bench fabric: Mokum Rajasthan,
Merchandise Mart
Chair: A. Rudin, Merchandise Mart
Pillow: Liaigre Brocatelle/Chrome, Holly Hunt, Merchandise Mart
Bed sconces: Hinson, hinsonlighting.com
Chandelier: Dessin Fournir “Mallory” ceiling fixture, dessinfournir.com
Floor lamps: Circa studio adjustable floor lamp, circalighting.com
Drapes: Beacon Hill, Soulful/Glacier, Merchandise Mart
Master Bathroom
Chair fabric: Brentano, Penang/Mist,
brentanofabrics.com
Chandelier: Dessin Fournir, LeMarr ceiling fixture, dessinfournir.com
Sconces: Dessin Fournir, Allston sconce, dessinfournir.com
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