This Historic Chicago Home Receives A Fresh And Fun Update

The brighter the better” is the maxim by which the owners of this Lakeview residence live. “We are high energy,” the wife says of her family of five. “We love lots of light and color. We want our home to be a positive, happy place and feel that through the architecture and design.” 

But this 1901 Prairie-style dwelling hardly fit that bill when they purchased it. In fact, “we looked at designs to tear it down and start from scratch,” the husband recalls. “But we ultimately decided that we didn’t want to land a spaceship in the middle of this old neighborhood, so we said, ‘Let’s remodel it.’ ”

For architect Chip von Weise, the historical house and its unusually large site presented an opportunity to create an expanded dwelling that artfully marries past and present. “We like the dialog between old and new; it adds variety and character to a home,” he says of his firm’s philosophy. “We want people to be a bit surprised as they move from room to room.”

When von Weise considered the residence’s street-facing volume, which holds formal living and dining rooms on the original first floor and bedrooms in the second-floor addition, he “wanted the architecture to be reflective of an older home; to have those quirks and characteristics that say, ‘This has been here a really long time,’ ” he explains. But even from the foyer—where guests are greeted by a traditional staircase, plaster walls and elegant millwork—there is a peek into the new rear addition, offering hints of the contemporary design to come: cool gray porcelain tile floors, a two-story wall of built-in cabinets painted a joyful green, and a glass-walled back staircase. 

Although the owners wanted the charm of a rambling old home, they also craved the contemporary convenience of moving effortlessly between indoor and outdoor living spaces. The trouble was that the abode’s first floor sits several feet above grade, resulting in an awkward step down between the kitchen and adjacent terrace. To create a seamless transition, von Weise and a construction team led by general contractor Alex Fraser devised a platform topped with the same flooring used indoors. Now, the architect says, “You can open a glass wall between the dining room and the screened porch, between the screened porch and the kitchen, and between the kitchen and newly raised terrace, and you’re walking on the same plane all the way through.” To emphasize this relationship between the interior and exterior, landscape architects Claire and Ryan Kettelkamp planted green roofs atop the garage, screened porch and back stairwell—“which are all visible from inside the house,” Claire notes—and installed quaking aspen trees outside said staircase’s floor-to-ceiling windows. 

Following von Weise’s narrative of history meeting modernity, interior designer Travis Clifton filled the front of the house with furnishings befitting its past: a grand piano, elegant velvet sofa and classic dining table. The screened porch, which functions as a bridge between old and new square footage, is outfitted with transitional wicker furniture that prepares the eye for the clean-lined pieces in the kitchen and family room beyond.

But rules are meant to be broken, so when the formal living room seemed to call for an unexpected chandelier, Clifton answered with a shimmering cluster of tropical brass leaves. In the dining room, a bold floral wallpaper gives tradition another twist. “We intentionally created different color families in each area,” the designer says of her eye-catching palettes. “The kitchen’s green dining chairs became the backdrop for the family room; the primary bedroom has quieter shades of black, white and cream with a hint of minty green; and in the garage studio we went much deeper, painting the walls and ceiling a dark loden green.” 

When decorating the latter, which serves as an office by day and moody lounge by night, Clifton led with texture, upholstering antique seats in ribbed velvet and shaggy wool, updating an antique wooden bar with a coat of lacquer, and framing the floor-to-ceiling windows with heavy linen draperies. Above a brass-trimmed coffee table, she hung a midcentury-style chandelier. “I think what comes through is that these clients are very open,” the designer says of the lively mix. “They’re a spirited couple, and now their home reflects the joyfulness they feel in life.”