For many city dwellers, a weekend getaway means escaping to the country, perhaps to a cottage that embraces the simple life. Jon and Missy Butcher travel in the other direction, from their suburban St. Charles home to their River North penthouse.
Like a visit to a spa, time spent at the penthouse is designed to refresh. “When people come into our home, they feel they’ve entered another world,” says Jon. Guests are lulled by sounds of a waterfall, soothing music and an aroma like fresh pines.
And just beyond the glass-walled corridor of the 14th-floor condo, there are pines, as well as large boulders and a pond with a waterfall, all part of an extraordinary Japanese garden on a terrace equal to the 3,000-square-foot interior.
The natural setting offsets the modern concrete and steel and glass of the Contemporaine, as their building is known, which was designed by Ralph Johnson, principal and design director of Perkins + Will.
Every aspect of the Butcher home is minimal, in harmony with the architecture. “If you’re surrounded by disorganization, clutter and chaos, you will be chaotic,” says Jon.
The Butchers wanted “beauty, tranquility and sensuality.”
To that end, they enlisted designer Richar of richar interiors in Chicago, who furnished the living spaces within the couple’s comfort zone–modern, with a strong influence of the Zen aesthetic of Paris-based designer Christian Liaigre. It’s not unlike the ambience of their exurban home, where they’ve lived for 17 years and whose interiors Richar also designed. A palette of caramel and chocolate–with occasional accents of cinnabar, pale rift-sawn oak for built-ins and espresso-stained floors–delivers a calm cohesiveness that extends beyond the excellent floor plan.
“The finishes really make the space,” says Richar, who emphasized organic materials. Walls are clad in bamboo, grass cloth or suede. Fabrics are lush–chenille, suede and silk.
“But the story is the Japanese garden and the view,” says Jon. Even more remarkable is how the garden came together. The site was challenging: how to install water features, boulders and vegetation, balancing weight considerations; how to transport mature trees; how to maintain it all.
Jon turned to Hoichi Kurisu, a specialist in Japanese gardens based in Portland, Ore, who designed the couple’s sprawling St. Charles garden. His landscape design firm, Kurisu International, provided the plant material, stones, pond and waterfalls.
Twelve-foot-tall pines trained for 35 years were shipped from the Portland nursery and lifted by crane to their beds, which are radiant-heated to protect them in the winter. Serviceberries, blue spruce, Japanese maples and azaleas fill out the rest of the shrubs, with some seasonal bulbs such as irises. All are watered with a built-in irrigation system that conforms with the building’s roof drainage.
The pond, actually an inches-shallow pool, looks deeper because of the inky river stones that line its metal base. A large catchment membrane beneath the garden allows water to recirculate.
Because of the drama outside, inside, “Everything else is dialed down,” says Jon.
By taking down some interior walls and moving back from the windows, the dynamic of the space was changed. The result is a more loft-like interior with 100 feet of an uninterrupted vista. “Even without the terrace,” says Richar, “there’s a fabulous city panorama.”
The serenity is augmented by a smart-house automation system. “First, there’s music,” says Jon. “We can go from tranquil to sensual at the touch of a button. Second, there’s the sound of water. There’s aromatherapy to set a mood, say from pine cone to musky. There’s lighting, another hugely important element. All the seating areas are lit by an amber light.
“At the touch of one button, the house can be completely transformed. You hit sleep and the doors lock, the security is on, the lights turn off, the waterfall turns off, the shades come down–the whole home goes to sleep. Another button wakes up the home: shades up, the coffee maker starts, music on. We tell the house how we want it to behave.”
They spent hundreds of hours compiling music playlists. “It’s background music,” says Jon, “like massage music–flutes, Asian sounds . . . a kind of soundtrack for our lives. We don’t really listen to it, just feel it.
“The sounds of water are important–waterfalls outside and in. Being surrounded by living things. The whole concept of a Japanese garden, an art form in itself. The fireplace provides a sense of warmth and comfort. Candles. A steam shower,” which he says is therapeutic.
“We’re purposely creating an environment to defuse the stress of modern life,” says Jon.
The casual vibe is carried out by the clothes they wear here: jeans, sweats and pajamas. The couple, parents of four children ranging in age from 2 to 20, use their urban retreat for unwinding, dining out, enjoying the city. “The only think we cook is breakfast,” Jon says
“It’s our special romantic getaway,” adds Missy. “To have a garden like this in the middle of the city–we just love it.”
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Zen and now
Interior design: Richar, Richar Interiors, Chicago.
Landscape architecture: Hoichi Kurisu, Kurisu International, Portland, Ore. Lighting: Bruce Yarnell, Yarnell Associates, Kansas City, Mo.
Home automation: Media Tech, Naperville.
Garden/terrace: Peninsula dining table and Peninsula crossbar cocktail–Sutherland Teak, Donald Sutherland, Merchandise Mart, Chicago; Hularo chairs and Hularo woven fabric–Henry Hall Designs, San Francisco; reeded sofa–Sutherland Teak, Donald Sutherland, Mart; sofa fabric, chair and pillow fabrics–Perennials, Donald Sutherland, Mart.
Living room: Christian Liaigre sofas, table, suede chairs–Holly Hunt Ltd., Merchandise Mart, Chicago; sofa, pillow fabric–Glant Textiles Corp., Mart; Rose Tarlow throw–Melrose House, Mart; bronze stools and end tables–Koch-Smith Furniture, Chicago; lamps with rust leather bases–Manifesto, Chicago; custom rug–Hokanson, through Richar, Chicago; Christian Liaigre suede chair upholstery–Hunt Leather Co., Holly Hunt Ltd., Mart; sheer linen curtains by Pollack, Mart, fabrication, Zirlin Interiors, Chicago; millwork– designed by Richar, fabricated by NuTrend Cabinet, Elk Grove Village.
(Resources, Page 49.)
