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WRITTEN BY U SA SKOLNIK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL ROBINSON
The challenge for the design team, which also included general contrac-
tor Paul Saydaks of Service Construction of Illinois in Lake Forest and
landscape architect Rene Grassman Heynss ens of Hcynssens +Grassman
in Park City, was to strip, simplify and refashion the property into a
sleek and fresh-faced residence that could accommoda te the home-
owners' already significant stash of artworks and furnishings and fulfill
their modernist desires.
T H E COUP LE WAS AFTER A STREAMLII" ED CONTEMP O RARY
WITH WID E-OPEK SPAC ES, LO TS O F LIGHT, LARGE WALLS
FO R ART AN ORIEl"T ATIOl-> T O T HE O UTDOORS THAT
SPOKE TO THEIR LIF ESTYLE G ROWiNG UP SO UT H
AFRI CA. What th ey found was a seemingly never-ending parade of
archetypal 1960s colonials, which they were loath to consider. But, says
the wife, after spending more than a year looking at everything on the
market, ' we got desperate and agreed to see one."
INTERIOR DESIGN Janet stutt er Shif f, stut ter Shif f oesfcn Associates
HOMI BUILDER Paul Service Construction of Ill i nois. Inc.
LANDSCAPII: ARCHITECTURE Rene nevnssens.
Hevns sens +
BIDROOMS 5 BATHAOOMS 8 SQUAAE FEET 6,000
Ironically,the elaborate Lannon stone facade of the traditional home-
complete with louvered shut ters, Doric columns and a cedar shake
roof-belied an interior that was "amazing, with bright open spaces
and great bones, We knew we could clean it up and make it work,"says
interior designer Janet Blutter Shiff, principal of Blutter Shiff Design
Associates in Chicago.
112 L UXE I NTE llIQ R$ +D ESI GN
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, .
. ~ . ..

REO LIGHT DISTRICT

Contemporary balU$lers giYe the flamboyant
staireue a more s treamlined persona lity: a
touch of grandMlr and glamour was added wi th
a mej astic vermilion Murano chandetief"lound by
the homeowners on a trip to Italy. A pal e frosty
bl ue carpet from tIM Pnnce Street Coll ection at
JMis h climbs up I"'. steps.
CONTINUf:D FRO t.! PAGE 2 12
The ho me', asse ts included spacious light-filledrooms; highceilings; a.
graceful open layout that left plenty of expansive art-friendly walls
intact; fIoor-to-eeiling windows lining the entire bark side; and dense
foliageshi elding its lot from a hightraffU: street. But every square inch
of the bouse and its yard was laden with overwrought decorative
detals. Anywhere we muld take something off. we did. It was like
using a giant eraser to delete everything.- says Shiff, who wiped away
all the finicky traditional trappings.
LUXE I NTER IORS + DES ION 21S I
WHITE NOISE
Christ jan Uajgre's long, lanky
Courri l!r dining table, his equally
lean Velin ben ches i1nd chillrs,
aoo Artemide's logieo SlJ!;jlensioo
lighting fildunl anchor !l'lespadous
::lining area. They gel a slimulating
hit 01colol"and rontenllrom Cuban
art ist Carlos Allonzo's abslract 011
SWiln LJk.., boughl at eacucn by
t h e h o m ~ _
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lUJ.E It; TE RI OIl S .. DES.' "
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H IGH LI GHTS
In the breakfa5t area, red-hot Sala dining
chairs by ligne Roset and Dutch artist
Cecile van HanJa's dramalic painti ng,
BlJilrli"9 by Nigh! , br ing wit and WrY'"
to Michae l Heua er's sta r k yet elegant
hand-rubbed sta inless steel dining tallte.
CONTINUO FROM PAGE 215
Inside, the team fearlessly eliminated extraneous moldings , brawny
beams , fussy hardware, elaborate wood paneling, ornately milled doors
and built-in cabinetry, and gave the kitchen and bathrooms makeoven
to match the couple's dean-lined aesthetic. Even the balusters on the
grand staircase were replaced with simpler versions to give it a newly
minimal demeanor.
Outside, they boldly removed shutters and columns, hidgutters, traded
orna te woodfront doors for stainless steel, sheathed the craggy stone
facade in velvety stucco andswapped out rustic shjagles for austere
galvanized steel.
l UU I S T E ~ I O ~ S . OES lllJi
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CONTINUEO FROM PAGE 2\'
Then the couple got even more daring. "They wan ted honed concrete
floors, but the oak boards they were replacing weren' t thick enough to
provide the depth we needed to pour them; notes Saydaks. Instead, he
suggested terrazzo with gray granite chips and gray epoxy to achieve
the monochromatic effect the clien ts desired. "But it was still too shiny
for them, so we had It refinished and buffed three times to make it as
matte as possible; saysShiff.
To change the home's once traditional street-side appeara.nce from
straight and tall to low and lithe, Beynssens widened the front walk;
added a stucco retaining wallto create a terrace that echoesthe roofli ne
an d emphasizes the home's width; and planted the lawnwith triangles
of blue oat grass and chedcerboard cubes of aisply cUpped boxwood.
We us ed conventional ma te rials in a very contemporary way;
LA YE RE D LOOK
Arugged concrete hearth In the llblllry waS
pClu,..din lar-rs urolil it reached its desired
height. Awoodand-g:ass table and
labric.all'd by BLutler Shill Associates
echoes lhe chocolat y hue 01the moha ir-and-
leather-trimmed sofa and CM;r'),lound at lhe
Bright Group in ChlcagCl; a WOVen sisa l rug
lrom Wat$(lnSmilhlies benealh.
LUXE 221
LUXE INTERIORS .. DES IGN 2Z
.-
BLU e: RINSE
ASr.aidero kitchen Ill. eoo.;pteadmired ifl5;>irnd
tI'1e oorvy beld btu. ClIbi:'lels in I he master bath,
whidl __ round al Dw gner Kitdlens & B3ths.
A ba<;k- paint otd, sandblast ed gla ss countert<>p
from Konst e' Oesi gn in Niles compliments their
high-gLo" ~ e e n . The pol ished-chromlJ-ancl-
wf1il...l.ather ccueter stool. is byCoco.
CONTI NUED FR O,", PAGE 221
The couple's three children are grown, but the home is still ground zero
for family and friends as they enter tain frequently. using the outdoors
as muchas possible. Tothat end theyhad Heynssens redo the backyard.
replacinga small pool with a much larger one and addinga state-of-the-
art outdoorkitchen and Ilrepit. "We kept all the elements long and lean
to underscore the property', new aesthetic direction; she explains.
As a finishing flourtsh, the couple asked Heynssens to designa foun
tain for the pool and had a local mosaic artist they admire embellish
it with a colorful si te-spedfic Installation. Today, the wife notes, "it's
practical and pretty,-Just like the home they forgedthrough a process
of elimination.
I N DEX SPAR E CHANG E j
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