On paper, an ultramodern condo on the Gold Coast would seem ideal for empty nesters moving to Chicago after years in Indianapolis. Once they gave it a try though, the couple realized they missed single-family living. “We have a dog, my husband likes to garden and we yearned for our own space at street level,” the wife says, explaining why they started looking at houses. “We weren’t planning to build, as we knew it would be a lengthy process, but couldn’t find anything we loved in the area we wanted.” Instead, they ended up securing a double lot in Lincoln Park and creating a from-scratch abode tailored to their tastes.
“This wasn’t our first rodeo,” the wife says of constructing their new home. But the couple had never built in Chicago, so they didn’t have a deep bench of professionals to call upon. Thanks to their real estate agent and other helpful friends, they assembled a team to bring to life the subtly modern residence they desired. For architect Jean Dufresne, who has since launched a new firm, the double lot offered an unusual opportunity for Chicago. “We could push and pull volumes,” he says, “with broader shoulders at the front for street presence and thinning out toward the back for added exterior space.”
Home Details:
Architecture:
Jean Dufresne, Space Architects + Planners
Interior Design:
Amy Kartheiser, Amy Kartheiser Design and Natasha VanScoyoc, X Design Collective
Home Builder:
William Bigane, Bigane Construction
Landscape Architecture:
Tiffany Evans, Barker Evans
Dufresne’s approach created a variety of planes on the façade, which allowed a mix of textures in a “soft, clean palette,” he notes. As a nod to the city’s architectural history, he used limestone on the front of the first floor and an Italian terra-cotta tile that emulates a brick pattern on the second. Dark metal punctuates the front of the house and appears more prominently on its sides. The result, Dufresne says, is “timeless, not boastful.” Similarly, landscape designer Tiffany Evans, who also devised a rooftop vegetable garden for the husband, kept the plant palette “simple and tailored to have a variety of green hues and textures,” she explains.
Inside, the structure slowly reveals itself. The front door opens to a central core that allows visitors to go either right or left without unveiling the entire house all at once. “The idea was to maintain some privacy so you’re not exposing the main living space to everyone who comes in,” Dufresne explains. On one side is the dwelling’s focal point—a dramatic central stair that rises Escher-like with treads that almost seem to float. Nearby, a window with frosted glass channels allows in sunlight during the day while offering a degree of opacity and privacy at night. General contractor William Bigane calls the stair installation the biggest challenge on the project. “We built it from top to bottom,” he says, noting it took six months to complete.
The interiors are the result of a talented pair who gave the clients the elegant comfort they desired. Early on, Dufresne worked with designer Natasha VanScoyoc on the exterior materials as well as the space planning. “Their love of entertaining and having family over really drove the design of the first floor,” she explains. “It was important to have each space flow seamlessly into one another, which created a very special open concept.” To that end, the guests can easily circulate around the great room, fluidly moving from living space to dining area with a wine room in between for easy access to the couple’s collection (rather than tucked away in the basement) and the expansive kitchen nearby.
The clients’ mini labradoodle, Louie, lies on the foyer’s Exquisite Surfaces porcelain tile flooring. A Luis Gispert photograph rests against a Phillip Jeffries-covered wall, and a Lisa Kristine photograph hangs in the stairwell.
Just as Dufresne and VanScoyoc combined their talents, so did VanScoyoc and designer Amy Kartheiser. Both worked on the home’s hard finishes, notably on the choices for the living room fireplace in a mix of marbles. Kartheiser also selected furnishings—and, with the exception of the living room’s rust velvet lounge chairs and blue mohair sectional, most are in a range of neutrals. Creamy shades abound on the leather dining chairs, oak dining table, dimensional wallcoverings and plush carpets. For Kartheiser, whose portfolio leans more colorful, there’s a lesson to be learned: “Homes can be just as gorgeous in a neutral palette, but texture makes them stand out,” she notes.
While the project was complex both inside and out, the seamlessness of the resulting residence underscores the power of a team in step with one another and engaged, savvy clients. “Years of residing in multiple locations made them aware of what they needed and how they lived, and they were very collaborative,” Dufresne says. “It was quite a wonderful experience.”
Dufresne and designer Natasha VanScoyoc collaborated on the wine room, accessible from both the dining and living areas. In the latter, a sofa in an Opuzen mohair and a coffee table in a Holly Hunt faux leather rest on a Lee Jofa rug.
Tour The Home
An Orior lounge chair in a Holly Hunt velvet chosen by designer Amy Kartheiser pops against sand-colored marble fireplace tile and a bench clad in boldly veined leathered marble, both from Artistic Tile. The wood sconce is by Allied Maker.
The clients’ mini labradoodle, Louie, lies on the foyer’s Exquisite Surfaces porcelain tile flooring. A Luis Gispert photograph rests against a Phillip Jeffries-covered wall, and a Lisa Kristine photograph hangs in the stairwell.
Dufresne and designer Natasha VanScoyoc collaborated on the wine room, accessible from both the dining and living areas. In the latter, a sofa in an Opuzen mohair and a coffee table in a Holly Hunt faux leather rest on a Lee Jofa rug.
Brian Calvin’s Pinch surveys the dining area, furnished with an oak table by Urban Craft Custom Upholstery, leather Cassina chairs and a wool-and-silk Kravet rug. Casting a glow from above is an Apparatus fixture. The wallcovering is a textured fabric by Carlisle & Co. for Holly Hunt.
White oak cabinetry by Change Design defines the kitchen. Design Within Reach counter stools pull up to the island, topped with quartzite from Terrazzo & Marble Supply Companies and lit by linear Juniper pendants. The ovens and cooktop are Wolf; the faucet is Dornbracht.
A clean, comfortable aesthetic extends to the primary bedroom, which is tucked away from the street. Holly Hunt mohair covers the Urban Craft Custom Upholstery-fabricated bed, while a flexible Astro Lighting wall light from Lightology offers an unobtrusive source of illumination.
Although the primary bath’s palette is neutral, the materials feature texture and subtle pattern, including the porcelain tile from Artistic Tile behind the Blu Bathworks tub. Dolomite floors and glass shower tile from Virginia Tile lend depth and dimension.
In keeping with the palette of the neighborhood, architect Jean Dufresne chose limestone and an Italian terra-cotta tile for the façade. Landscape designer Tiffany Evans’ plantings emphasize texture.