Sweet Home,Chicago
For a more intimate look this home’s tile curations throughout its 6 bathrooms + mudroom, read the Ann Sacks Project Profile publication, linked HERE.
This project was a 4,600 sq. ft. semi-custom new build for a family of four relocating from Chicago to its North Shore suburbs, just blocks from one of Lake Michigan’s beaches on the most idyllic cobblestone, tree-lined street. By the time our clients came on board, the architectural plans had already been established, and we were brought in to shape everything from exterior finish selections and cabinetry layouts to stone, paint, materiality, and reflective ceiling plans. While the bones were being built, the soul of the home was being defined within.
Leaving behind their historic 100-year-old Chicago row home, our clients were driven to ensure their new build never felt sterile, spec-grade, or overly polished. They wanted warmth, charm, personality, and a home that felt layered and collected over time; a hallpass for us to buck ‘trends’ and deliver something truly unique. The project’s direction began with one wallpaper sample; the only thing our client felt strongly attached to during the early stages of the process. That 12x12” sample grew to clad the powder room walls and quietly became the project’s north star.
The ‘pocket square’ bathroom evolved into a dramatic jewel box drenched in chocolate high-gloss paint, layered with living brass fixtures, natural quartzite stone, and wrapped in the iconic wallpaper that informed much of the home’s direction, and certainly challenged us to level-up for each of the home’s 5 remaining bathrooms.
From the beginning, we approached the project with the intention of challenging what a “new build” should feel like, layering materials and finishes that added warmth, texture, charm, and soul. What stays with us most, however, is the trust placed in us throughout the process; the late-night paint conversations, excitement over remnant slab finds, and the moments where our client later admitted her favourite details were the ones she never would have chosen herself. She trusted implicitly that we’d deliver their dream home.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion for potential clients but consider this: the best designs come from projects designers are given the most autonomy with. This build exemplified that, and then some; it was an obsessive, heart-filled journey and a collective investment by our clients and us, showing how deeply personal a home can feel when thoughtfully curated, drenched in colour, and textured with soul.
Photography by Ryan McDonald