STYLE AND SUBSTANCE

Homes are like people. Some are overly formal; others are totally laid back. Some are as unruly as a teenage boy; others are as prim as the proverbial schoolmarm. And it’s not so much a question of style, but of attitude. A house done to the nines can be as welcoming as an easy-going pad outfitted with bean bag chairs and IKEA BILLY bookcases.

When homeowners are secure in their sense of home, everyone who walks in through the front door will know it. When elevating her Tudor-style residence in Glencoe, Jennifer Brown turned to an old friend from her New York days, Manhattan- based interior designer Lisa Frantz. The two had met years ago when they were beauty editors, Brown at ELLE and Frantz at Cosmopolitan. Frantz then went to work as a production designer in film and television. “Directors, producers, and actors started asking for my help on their own homes,” recalls Frantz, “so the transition 16 years ago to running my own interior design firm seemed like a natural next step.”

Brown and her husband bought their house at the height of COVID and were eager for their family of four to move in and take advantage of all the space it offered during that too-close-for-comfort time. So, Frantz’s first step was to tackle the basement and landscape the backyard. Those projects included a screening room, gym, large family room with a game area and a bar, a guest bedroom with a full bath, and the installation of a swimming pool. She then went on to design the first and second stories of the house, addressing everything from the foyer to the primary bedroom. “Since this client is a close friend with a high-level design IQ, we collaborated on every detail in this home,” says Frantz. “All the furniture was thoughtfully chosen, as were fabrics, trims, and hardware. Everything had to be absolutely beautiful and unique, but comfort and functionality were also equally important.”

Built in 2001, the house lacked significant interior architectural details, a situation Frantz was quick to correct. “We really wanted it to feel like one of the older homes that have lined the North Shore for the past century,” she says. “To give it that gravitas, we created a dramatic transition from the foyer into the private areas of the house and added custom millwork in many of the rooms. In the dining room, we designed built-in china cabinets that appear as if they have been in the home for decades.”

A keen eye for color, form, and texture pervades the home with the dining room exemplifying Frantz’s mastery of these elements. The room’s walls are lacquered in a beautiful Tiffany Blue, and the ceiling sparkles with a silver leaf treatment executed by Chicago’s Simes Studios. “The goal of the dining room was to make it feel like a jewel box, a real showstopper as you enter the home,” relates Brown. “It needed to be beautiful, but not precious, special enough for formal dinner parties, but a place for the family to gather for casual meals, as well.”

Utterly keyed to good times is the game room. Once used for storage, Frantz transformed the space by bringing in a game table with chairs upholstered in a clubby Osborne & Little fabric and installing a custom built-in equipped with a wet bar, dishwasher, fridge, and microwave. “Another room that was very fun to design is the salon,” shares Frantz, “a room for entertaining on both an intimate and a grand scale.” The paper-backed black silk wallcovering from James Hare is a wonderful backdrop for a constantly expanding art collection while a mix of furnishings—including a charming slipper chair and an antique British tea cart turned bar cart—contribute to the warmly convivial feel of the room.

Upstairs and down, the house now exudes a special grace, an expressive delight in beautiful things. But on the flip side, from that easygoing game room to an enviable mudroom spun of white oak and stone flooring, it’s clear this is a home to be lived in. And lived in fully.

For more information, visit lisafrantzinteriors.com.