A Contemporary Chicago Home Emanates Cozy, Historic Charm

Over time, well-loved homes become like characters in a novel. Each room turns a fresh page, revealing the personality quirks and precious memories imprinted by its occupants. New construction on the other hand, however beautiful, risks feeling blank, unmarked with any idiosyncrasies. 

For a Chicago couple planning to build a family house from scratch on a rare double lot in the tree-lined North Center neighborhood, it was important that this not be the case for their new residence. Their life was far too buoyant and colorful, overflowing with live piano music, bountiful dinners, and three children running indoors and out. 

Interior designers Steve Somogyi and Filip Malyszko understood the family’s wants intimately. Since meeting as neighbors in the same loft building 15 years ago, “they’ve become our longest-standing clients,” Malyszko says. As their fourth project together, this latest abode needed to transcend its new construction and “feel like it had been collected over time,” Somogyi adds. “We wanted to make sure that the house was representative of this young, happy family.”

The designers found a like-minded partner in architect Garrett Harabedian, who understands that just because something is new doesn’t mean it can’t have soul. “We’re setting a stage for a story,” Harabedian muses, “creating a place where people live out their lives.” Joined by builder Steven Cordero and landscape architect Phil Rosborough, the team focused on inscribing warmth into every corner.

Harabedian situated the dwelling toward the north side of the property, exposing the interior to abundant southern sunlight and giving Rosborough enough room to carve out ample stretches of grass for the children to play. The home itself has a “traditional form with a crisp, modern sensibility,” the architect says, pointing to the sloped gabled roofline, dormer windows, brick chimneys and cement board siding. 

Personal touches abound upon walking through the front door, where a hand-fabricated stained glass address bar by Drehobl Art Glass Co.—a century-old local workshop—marks the threshold. The generous foyer and elongated hallway introduce many of the materials and hues that mark the vocabulary of the abode: knotted white oak floors, colorful runners and wood planks stained to recall silvered barnwood on the ceiling. “And instead of painting the trim a conventional crisp white, we chose an almond color, which gives the home a more historic, aged appearance,” Malyszko says. 

Eschewing fussy formalities, the layout branches off into spaces built for the family’s specific lifestyle. “It was really important that they have rooms they would actually use,” Somogyi explains. There’s a dedicated music room wrapped in an acoustic-softening wallcovering where the family gathers around the piano. The husband’s office doubles as a listening lounge, featuring custom built-in shelving for his expansive vinyl record collection. In the basement, the team abandoned plans for a conventional rumpus room in favor of a small skate park for the kids. The great room serves as the entertaining hub, where guests can casually circulate through the combined kitchen, dining and living areas while enjoying food and conversation.

Each space is grounded with solid, substantial furniture made for sharing, from the living room’s deep-seated sectional to the dining table long enough to accommodate any surprise visitors who may appear. Layers of natural textiles, as seen in the vintage wool rugs, linen drapery and plush upholstery, swaddle the home in comfort. 

An eclectic mix of patterns and artisanal materials tie everything together. See the many hand-painted and hand-glazed tiles lining the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry. The abundance of botanical wallpaper, from the mudroom’s climbing vines to the powder room’s blooming florals, nods to the wife’s enduring love of nature. The designers also incorporated heritage plaid fabrics for a cozy nostalgia. These diverse patterns live side by side, as “we didn’t want it to feel so color coordinated or prescribed,” Malyszko says. “We were big on the prints and colors being like second cousins rather than brother and sister.” The palette in turn feels rich but lived-in: sage greens, denim blues and earthy ochre yellows.

All together, the home feels like a fully fleshed-out protagonist. And for the designers, there is no greater pleasure than helping clients chronicle their lives. “It’s about their personal connections and their connection with their cherished items,” says Somogyi of their driving inspiration. “We wanted to tell their story in their environment.”