Located just over an hour outside of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, a young couple, with their newborn baby and three dogs, found an opportunity to create a bespoke vacation home that silences city life and focuses their attention on a slower way of living. Designing a home with a sense of place was important for this cottage to become the counterpoint to their busy city life.
The project itself is a collection of refined, unassuming objects that get nestled into its landscape. It develops its own dialogue with the context, contrasting the soft river landscape adjacent to it, but with a familiarity that welcomes a sense of peace. The strong presence of these buildings offer a subtle grandeur on the site that gets softened through their organization.
It develops its own dialogue with the context, contrasting the soft river landscape adjacent to it, but with a familiarity that welcomes a sense of peace.
The clients started out with purchasing three lots that later became five, allowing us to develop a campus of three separate buildings; a main house, garage, and guest house. The main house is organized into two distinct wings; one for sleeping and one for living. These wings are connected by the kitchen which serves as the heart of the home and the center of all activity in the house. Offsetting these wings develop a sense of privacy on the property, shielding the private spaces from neighboring buildings while framing views beyond. Additional space for quiet contemplation is found within the detached guest house and studio while the back of the site has an in-ground pool with views directed to the river.
The interior puts the outdoors on display in a serene environment to exist in with museum-like quality.
On the inside, a restrained color palette and minimalist detailing makes for a calming escape from the moment they walk in the home. The interior puts the outdoors on display in a serene environment to exist in with museum-like quality. Vaulted ceilings and exposed steel structure create an unexpected sense of grandeur without overpowering the surrounding landscape. Organizing the interior with carefully curated millwork pieces hide the clutter of everyday life and allows light to permeate through home.
The primary suite utilizes the vaulted ceiling to merge the bedroom and bathroom into one collective space. A fully custom vanity and millwork design is used to define each space, allowing natural light to penetrate the space from above. The bedroom maintains the bright, subdued palette that allows the environment to be on display while the strong contrast of the bathroom shower tile add some interest. This space defines the effortless tranquility that this house offers to its inhabitants. A space of seclusion, of quiet, of living at a slower pace.
Together with our clients we have made a space for connection, a space to be present, a space that allows life to unfold effortlessly. This minimal holiday home will help this growing family counter the chaos of modern life for years to come.
