The story of Ron and Betty Menna’s weekend home reads like the architectural version of that old classic, “The Ugly Duckling”: Take one ungainly lakefront cottage on a great piece of property; eliminate the cheesy 1950s styling and blue fiberglass panels; rehab, reconfigure and redecorate; and presto! Ugly Duckling turns into Beautiful Swan.
When the Mennas first laid eyes on their future abode, it was so egregiously awful that, as Ron recalls, “Betty refused to get out of the car to go inside. It looked like a (roadside hotel) in deplorable condition and there was very little to redeem it.”
But there was a good, workable floor plan, plus an incomparable site with federal parklands out one door and Lake Michigan out the other. For all this, plucking a few ugly feathers seemed worthwhile.
“My hobby is basically to make silk purses out of sows’ ears,” says Ron, an interior designer with enough vision to see through the haze of bad taste.
Betty, owner of the Betty M. Inc. showroom in the Merchandise Mart, has witnessed enough of Ron’s “ear-to-purse” transformations (in the city, they have moved, rehabbed and moved again several times) that she was willing to trust his instincts again.
Enter architect Jeffrey Case of Holabird & Root, who has designed plenty of homes on the Michigan/Indiana circuit. “In cases like this, a good layout means good foundations, which saves the client money. We kept the original house’s `footprint,’ saved the roof and some walls, then remade the rest of it to the Mennas’ tastes,” says Case. Now the five-bedroom home feels spacious, contemporary and comfortable, with no hint of its earlier incarnation. In fact, eliminate the lake views and you could easily be in a sophisticated suburban enclave, so un-beachy does it seem.
“Our city home is very traditional, and we wanted some contrast,” says Ron, who designed such custom details as the oak and glass kitchen cabinets; the dining room table; the checkerboard, leather-upholstered ottomans; and the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
Thanks to a growing brood of children and grandkids, versatility is a premium, so fabrics were chosen for maximum durability along with style. And, for flexibility’s sake, there are four areas for dining. Says Betty with a laugh: “This is as comfortable as it gets.”
A palette of soft taupe hues was deliberately chosen for its calming effects. Ron says, “Betty and I work with color all day long and believe me, this feels restful for us.”
Adding visual zingers through artwork and accents keeps the vista lively, with yellow pillows on the sofa for summer, terra cotta added for fall.
The exceptional setting begged for architectural responses, hence the glass walls that seem to bring nature indoors. A screened porch also was added; a swimming pool with fieldstone deck seems to hover above the lake.
Now that the hard work of nurturing the duckling into swanhood is complete, the Mennas are enjoying the fruits of their labor year-round. Does this mean Ron’s searching for the next project?
“Oh, forget that,” he’s quick to say. “This one’s a keeper.”
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RESOURCES
Architect: Jeffrey Case, partner, Holabird & Root, Chicago.
Interior design: Ronald Menna Interior Design, Chicago.
Contractor: Vladimir Ganz, Beverly Shores, Ind.
Kitchen: Cabinets designed by Ron Menna; iron chandelier–Betty M. Inc. showroom, Merchandise Mart; stools–Crate & Barrel catalog; poster–personal collection.
Living room: Leather ottomans–Ron Menna
at Betty M., Mart; sectional sofa and pillows–Betty M.; lamp–Koch & Lowy, Mart; wicker furniture–Pauline Grace, Mart; Italian card table–Keller Collection, Mart; sisal rug–personal collection; track lighting–Juno, Des Plaines.
Porch: Wicker furniture and fabric–Winston Furniture Co., Mart. Poolside furniture–Winston Furniture Co., Mart.
Dining room: Table designed by Ron Menna at Betty M. Inc. showroom, Merchandise Mart; wicker chairs–Pauline Grace showroom, Mart; antique sideboard–Vintage Pine, Chicago.
