Kaufman Segal Design reunites with a long-time multigenerational client to gorgeously transform a vanilla spec home into a vibrant, art-filled family abode.
Custom backsplash tile by The Fine Line, Precision large pendant lights by Visual Comfort and island cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball’s striking Hague Blue make the kitchen pop. Photographed by Ryan McDonald.
The Client
The client relationship has been around even longer than Kaufman Segal Design, with KSD co-founder Tom Segal taking on the design of the family home in Oak Brook all the way back in ’92. Multiple projects together later, the daughter (who had worked with co-founder David Kaufman on her Old Town townhouse prior to getting married) approached the award-winning firm to handle the renovation of her own family’s Lakeview home.
Hammerton Studio’s Gem Modern Branch 8-Light chandelier and a Jaipur Living rug in Chaos Theory print draw the eye in the living room.
The Priority
Having purchased the home in 2012, the daughter and her husband—now with two children in elementary school—held o on doing any updates until contacting KSD in 2020. Top priority? A new design that would reflect their own personal style; make a comfortable home for the children to enjoy and grow up in; and eliminate the home’s open floor plan to create defined areas for kids and adults, facilitate entertaining and provide display space for the couple’s extensive art collection.
Visual Comfort’s Strada medium oval chandelier hangs chicly over the custom table by Old Biscayne Designs and custom chairs by Pauline Grace in the dining room, which also features the client’s own artwork and Vinyl Stingray wallcovering by Phillip Jeffries purchased through Holly Hunt.
The Challenge
According to project lead and KSD co-founder David Kaufman, who teamed up on the project with senior designer Lindsay Angyus, the main strategic conundrums that the firm grappled with were how to create a sense of formal entry into the home; how to add a mudroom (which the family desperately needed to contain all the gear the kids had accumulated over the years) at a secondary entrance, and how to build out the home to create space for the household’s growing art collection. “As with a lot of renovations,” says Kaufman, “we came across of lot of existing conditions and had to make a lot of design detail changes onsite.”
An art niche in the dining room features the mesmerizing sculpture “Open Heart Angel” by Jason Griego.
In the primary bedroom, the vanity area beckons with a chair by Hickory Chair Furniture Co. upholstered in Joseph Noble vinyl and Myla sconces by Visual Comfort.
The Detail
“The primary bedroom suite was a total transformation,” enthuses Kaufman. “We were able to take a huge open space that had no personality and not a lot of functionality and turn it into a luxurious suite where our clients could relax and get away from their very hectic work and family schedules. At one of our first meetings, she said her favorite way to unwind was to have a glass of wine and watch Bravo—so we put in a paneled wine fridge in the built-ins in the bedroom and designed a deep lounging settee to go at the end of the bed and designed the picture molding details around the size of the TV. Then we went a step beyond and added a built-in TV above the tub, and designed the niche to be able to accommodate her tallest wine glass. It’s those minute details that make a design totally custom to each particular client.”
Phillip Jeffries’ Maldives Weave in Fauna covers the ceiling of the primary bedroom, which also features a custom settee by Kaufman Segal Design upholstered in Kravet’s Clarke & Clarke fabric in Louis Autumn; artwork by Peter Illig (peterillig.com); and a jarred marble side table by Palacek.
The Outcome
“I think it’s hard for the clients to believe it’s the same house once they step inside,” sums up Kaufman. “Both of their aesthetics and personalities are re ected throughout the house and there is a real sense of joy in being surrounded by and inhabit a space that echoes the family as a whole."
The inviting lower-level wet bar features a handsome Bison Brick tile backsplash by The Fine Line and cabinets painted in Benjamin Moore’s Knoxville Grey.
DESIGN DETAILS
TYPE
Single-family home
LOCATION
Lakeview
CONTRACTOR
Pro-Core Builders, Inc.
INTERIOR DESIGN
Kaufman Segal Design
MILLWORK
Arbor Mills
RESOURCES
ARTERIORS
Family room fireplace screen
BERNHARDT
Settee in living room
THE FINE LINE
Various tile
HAMMERTON STUDIO
Living room chandelier
JAIPUR LIVING
Rugs in living room and primary bedroom
KRAVET
Family room sectional and various fabrics
OLD BISCAYNE DESIGNS
Custom dining room table
PHILLIP JEFFRIES
Wallpaper in primary bedroom
STONELUX DESIGN
Custom fireplace fabrication
VISUAL COMFORT
Various lighting