EMPTY NESTERS
PREVIOUS RESIDENCE: Four-bedroom-plus suburban spread on the edge of a golf course.
WHAT THE CURRENT HOME HAD TO HAVE: Fewer rooms, city location and an outside deck or patio.
Life is less complicated in this sleek Gold Coast penthouse duplex. All the burdens that go with a large suburban spread–back-breaking upkeep, constant security worries and a nerve-racking commuteare now moot issues for the residence’s owners. Fewer responsibilities and a change of scene aren’t the only factors that have made a difference in their lives.
“Everything was so typical,” says the wife, describing their last home, “especially the decor.” But now the chintz and prints she once favored have given way to a far leaner look, based on the architecture of the apartment. And it has had an invigorating effect on the couple, who have yet to reach the peak of middle age.
“We’re young and living this way because we want to enjoy life,” says the wife.
“Living this way” is a pared-down ethic that has actually improved their quality of life. They’ve traded sweeping square-footage for efficiently used space; a profusion of conventional furnishings for a smaller ensemble of remarkable pieces; a deck with a pool for one with a hot tub and a view, and most important, spacious bedrooms for small spare rooms “so the kids won’t come and stay for too long.” Yet their new lifestyle evolved as the apartment took shape, surprising them.
Fortunately, they had plenty of time to get used to it. It took them three years to find the right place, because they wanted a sizable outside space. The vintage apartment they finally bought had potential, but was laden with flaws and “looked like a bomb had hit it,” says the wife. So they worked with interior designer Janet Schirn for another two years to address the design issues, which included obtrusive structural columns, low ceilings, an awkwardly situated flue, insufficient natural light and sloping floors.
Carving out an elegant aerie with a view was no small task, but Schirn began by insisting on higher ceilings (they jumped from 8 to 14 feet) and turning the apartment’s east exterior wall from brick to glass. It necessitated extending the wall a few feet to cover a stairwell, but “suddenly the space had light, a view and height,” says Schirn.
Not to mention refinement, which provoked the change in the couple’s style. The space had become “so strong, simple and pure that it needed a contemporary design resolution,” says Schirn.
So out went their cozy and homey aesthetic, replaced by a sleek sensibility that seems solidly contemporary. But like the space, it’s actually an intricate fusion of solutions, for Schirn deftly adapted elements from Deco styling. The spaces and structural components are clad in a “machine-age” monochromatic color scheme that blends a variety of textures and surfaces, while most of the upholstered pieces were custom-made to resemble the sleek designs of Jean-Michel Frank. Thanks to the strategy, dramatic ingredients such as a vintage Jules Leleu coffee table or a novel glass-encased hearth shine.
And so do the owners, for they never anticipated embracing simplicity. But, says the wife, it’s proven to be “the perfect style for this period of our lives.”
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RESOURCES:
SIMPLY THE BEST
Pp. 50-56: Interior design–Janet Schirn Design Group.
Pg. 50: Dining room: Dining chairs by Dakota Jackson–Holly Hunt Ltd., Merchandise Mart; dining table–designed and fabricated by Janet Schirn Design; steel and etched glass railing–fabricated by Janet Benes, Chicago.
Detail of living room: Cheetah print Paris chair–Cyrna International, Merchandise Mart, covered in cheetah print velvet by Scalamandre, Merchandise Mart.
Pg. 52: Living room: Upholstered sofas, wall units, and console–designed and fabricated by Janet Schirn Design Group; Jules Leleu coffee table–Jean Karajian Gallery, New York; Steuben bowl and Lalique figure–Janet Schirn Design Group; shelves–designed by Janet Schirn Design Group, fabricated by Glenview Cabinets, Glenview.
Pg. 54: Living room detail: (top photo) cabinet–Interior Crafts, Merchandise Mart.
Kitchen: (middle photo) Designed by Janet Schirn Design Group; cabinets–fabricated by Noveau Design, Merchandise Mart.
Powder room (bottom photo): Designed by Janet Schirn Design Group; custom mirror frame–Frederic Frame Studio; Aamsco light fixtures–Superior Lighting.
Pg. 56: Detail of living room: Upholstered sofas and ottoman–designed and fabricated by Janet Schirn Design Group.
