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| This is a nice, generous but not
too large family house on a quiet block in central Oak Park. It was
designed by E.E. Roberts, an Arts & Crafts architect who built most of
the houses in Oak Park, it seems, as they can be found on almost every
block. They are characterized by solid construction, generous use of
moldings and other woodwork, and an overall friendly and welcoming
feeling. This house is no exception. My clients had a fairly
good collection of antiques to begin with, but as the project moved along,
an interest in mixing in some English Arts & Crafts pieces started to
take hold, and so there are early Gustav Stickley pieces intermingled with
Morris & Co tables and fabrics. The whole, I think works well. |
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| This is a view of the fireplace end of the
living room. Fireplaces are a problematic thing sometimes.
One's general inclination is to focus a room around the fireplace, kind of
like a ski lodge lobby, but the reality is that most people only make a
handful of fires a season, and for the rest of the year it is a dark hole
that no one wants to look at. My client suggested that we orient the
room in the opposite direction, towards the larger end of the space, and
make the fireplace end a more intimate spot for two or at most three
people to sit quietly and talk, read or relax. This was the key
concept to the rest of the room, frankly, and while I did not think of it
myself, I have used it often since. The little loveseat came as is,
with a Morris fabric already on it, straight from Crate & Barrel a
couple of years ago. Unfortunately, they have since discontinued it. |
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| These are two views of the large
dining room, which I believe was once a smaller room with a breakfast room
or some other space at one end. The furniture is a mix of early
antiques by Gustav Stickley and a reproduction director's table by Hile
Studio. The lighting fixtures are designs by Harvey Ellis, who
worked for Stickley for a brief time, and the candlesticks are by Robert
Jarvie. The concept in this room was to keep the tones of the wood
fairly close, and the walls a warm white, so that the color of the food,
and guests, would provide the sparkle, along with some well-placed
candles. The rug on the floor is a copy of a William Morris pattern
called Black Tree. |
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| The house had not been badly
altered over the years by the time my clients bought it, and so it still
retains a lot of original period detailing, like these leaded glass
windows above the window seat on the stair landing. The glass is
opaque, which blocks the view of the house next door, another Roberts
design. On the right is the stairway to the third floor, which we
recently converted from servants' rooms into a master suite. For
those of you who know what that chair is, how cool is that! |
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| These are before and after views
of the master bedroom. Tucked up under the eaves, the space has a
wonderful feeling to it, something between a playroom and an artist's garret.
The angles of the roofline create interesting geometries, and the
sand-textured paint we used on the walls and ceiling soften the feeling of
the room while also capturing interesting effects of light as the day
progresses. A large window bench with storage underneath is a
pleasant place for a nap or reading a book. The small armchair is a
rare and delicate original by CFA Voysey. Morris fabrics are used
throughout, and the rug is a Morris design, Rounton
Grange. |
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