”The living room had a seating `pit` in it,” says Kenneth F.A. Walter by way of introduction to this vintage 1970s house in Flossmoor that he redecorated for a young family. Undeterred by this less than charming architectural feature and a host of others equally undesirable, Walter, a partner in Ann Gray Associates, pursued his client`s dream of, in her words,
”understated elegance and a clean-lined look.” How did they do it? ”We started from scratch,” Walter says. ”The owners had never lived here, and the only furnishings they brought with them were two lounge chairs.”
Walter and his client began by endowing the public rooms of the house with a sense of architecture and of grandeur and tradition. They installed a patterned marble floor in the open entrance hall and a marble floor and mantel in the adjoining living room (the infamous pit having already been covered up). They also concealed stucco walls under various illusionistic treatments: in the hall, faux marble painting; in the living room, goatskin-finish papers; in the dining room, lacquered plaster.
”The house had no particular architectural style, so we had to create one,” Walter explains about his approach. ”If we had made everything contemporary, there would have been no warmth.” Walter`s solution, in keeping with the owners` desire to start collecting art and decorative objects, was to mix neoclassical, Oriental and contemporary designs. The living room, for example, features a sofa designed by the New York decorator John Saladino and Regency-style armchairs, a lithograph by the artist Henry Moore and a 17th Century Aubusson tapestry. Antique Korean boxes, a coromandel screen and Imari porcelains are among the Oriental pieces, which, in Walter`s opinion, work very well with contemporary ones. ”They also lend a richness to the room`s all-white palette,” he says.
The owner knew what she wanted in her dining room: drama and lots of it. Dark marble floors and a custom-colored Chinese-red plaster wall covering make the room ”enveloping,” according to Walter. ”We used the same tapestry upholstery fabric to make the curtains that we used on the chairs. The effect is intentionally very theatrical.”
Walter designed the master bedroom to be a ”real haven” for this couple and their five children. ”I wanted it to be tranquil and soft,” the wife says in agreement. Although the scale and decoration of this private space is intimate and comfortable, glamor is not forgotten. Her vanity is is a Chinese- style red lacquer writing cabinet, which she had admired in Architectural Digest. Like many of the newly acquired pieces of furniture and art it makes both the room and the owner feel special.
Resources
Living room: Antique tapestry-Holly Hunt; carved wood swagged urns-Rozmallin; reproduction Japanese altar table-Maguire; wool rug-Rosecore;
armchair, ottoman and chaise- Donghia; upholstery fabric-Clarence House; pair of Regency-style fauteuils-Yale R. Burge, New York; silk on cushions-Clarence House; John Saladino sofa-Lee Jofa; ottoman cloth-Lee Jofa; Giacometti-style coffee table-by William Switzer, Decorator`s Walk; silk Dynasty wall covering- Callard & Osgood.
Master bedroom: Cotton paisley-Turzi, New York; wallcovering-Callard & Osgood; lamps-Chapman; custom chest with hydraulic television lift-designed by Ken Walter; wool Berber carpet-Rosecore; red lacquer table-by Minton-Spidell, Brian Andrew; chinoiserie lacquer writing cabinet, Keller
Collection; blue and white porcelains-George Rettig Antiques; silver-Victoria Peters Antiques; Pagoda armchair-Yale R. Burge; peach chenille fabric-Lee Jofa.
Dining room: Chairs-Donghia; paisley tapestry-Cowtan & Tout; china-Tiffany & Co; antique Korean watercolors-Callard & Osgood.
