When Leonard and Jeanne Weislow decided it was time to move and redecorate for the next, “more adult,” stage of their lives together-with children and grandchildren as occasional rather than frequent visitors-they pulled out all the stops.
“This was our chance at last to have a very sophisticated, cosmopolitan look, a really adult apartment, and not worry about children,” Jeanne Weislow says.
They selected a three-bedroom sky-high condominium in one of the city’s glamorous Near North buildings, one that offered marvelous nighttime vistas of other buildings.
With advice from designer Pearl Shless of Riverwoods, whom the couple met through two of Jeanne’s sons, they gained a setting that melds contrasting textures, colors, furnishings and art in an urbane way and keeps exterior views a permanent part of the backdrop.
Dark oak floorboards were stained ebony. The hallway and main living spaces were papered and painted a rich cinnabar, a Chinese red color the owners enjoyed in the bedroom of their former home.
They wrapped their library womblike in a black-ribbed paper and went the opposite direction in their bedroom, covering walls in a handpainted silk that mixes pale sand and blue-gray hues.
Throughout the 2,750-square-foot unit, the designer interspersed the varied artworks and objects the Weislows had collected as a couple and before they married 18 years ago. Finding spots for all the pieces and presenting them in a fresh way proved a challenge.
“My clients weren’t interested in starting from scratch, though there were definitely pieces that we knew we’d use, others that were maybe’s and some that couldn’t be used if we were to fit everything in and also add some new pieces,” she says.
Shless inventoried the contents of the couple’s previous home, helped the couple list priorities and drew layouts of possible room arrangements. “Mixing the various periods and some of the larger pieces was definitely difficult,” Schless says.
Among the survivors and new collectibles are Wassily Kandinsky and Andy Warhol lithographs, a Pablo Picasso tile, African sculptures (some arranged amid leafy junglelike groupings), Louis Sullivan balustrades from the Chicago Stock Exchange that were recycled into cabinet door fronts, handles from ceremonial swords and wire sculptures by Joseph Berlini .
One of the most prized pieces, however, may be a large painting by Ellen Lanyon from the now shuttered Mister Kelly’s on Rush Street. For more than a decade, Jeanne Weislow and her late husband, George Marienthal, owned and operated Mister Kelly’s, one of the city’s premier nightclubs in the 1960s and early ’70s, along with the also now closed London House.
The painting features a female singer with vague impressions of an audience, orchestra and portraits of Weislow, her late husband and a late brother-in-law. It is showcased in the couple’s library, along with many of their African sculptures.
The Warhols, part of two separate series, were installed in the red foyer for impact. One series focuses on famous entertainers, including the Marx brothers and George Gershwin; the other on men dressing as women.
The once-separate living and dining rooms were combined to create one 45-foot-long space that works well for large groups. An unusual apartment grand piano, lacquered black, forms a strong focal point and divider between the spaces while a commissioned Tom Scarff neon wall sculpture draws the eye toward the dining room’s end.
Clever steps were taken to create views from room to room and to the outdoors, and to bring in both artificial and natural light. Because the kitchen was on an interior corridor, Shless wanted to provide occasional views out to the dining area. She had Scarff design a second two-part sculpture that can hide the pass-through at times but that can also be pushed apart to reveal dining table views.
Rooms are artificially brightened with a mix of bulbs that highlight the artwork, plants, furniture and the rooms’ perimeters. Shless selected vertical blinds made of a material that cuts down on the sun’s rays and heat but doesn’t block the outdoor views that are important to the owners.
“We see fantastic sunsets. Sometimes you can’t tell where the sky stops and our living room begins because of our red walls,” Jeanne says. “At night, it’s often like living in a theater, surrounded by the outlines of so many wonderful buildings.”
This time, however, she doesn’t have to worry about bookings, cancellations and critics’ reviews.
Resources:
Living room: Sofa-Pearl Interiors; piano chair-Callard & Osgood; rug-Jorian Rug Co.; custom cabinetry-Pearl Interiors, crafted by Parenti & Raffaeli Woodworking, Mt. Prospect; custom wallpaper-through Area International.
Dining room: Granite for buffet-Pearl Interiors, Contempo Marble & Granite Inc.; table-Pearl Interiors, Parenti & Raffaeli; chairs-Betty M.; fabric-Kravet Fabrics In.
Library: Wallpaper-Area International; bronze fixtures-Christopher Lloyd, from Callard & Osgood Ltd.
Entry: Light table: Holly Hunt.
