Elegant, serene and monochromatic describe the master sitting room designed by Annika Christensen of Midnight Sun in Libertyville.

But those words and even the color scheme - white and platinum - also apply to other rooms in the French country estate that is the 2007 Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens. The Infant Welfare Society of Chicago event will be open through May 20.

“Gustavus III in the 1700s went to France and fell in love with French style and brought it back to Sweden,” said Christensen, explaining how her room fits the home so well.

The three buildings constructed as a summer retreat in 1929 for an heir of the Swift meat-packing family cozy up to the Onwentsia Club.

Christensen melds her Scandinavian antiques - a classic painted white tall clock, a pair of bergere chairs and what is called a bathtub sofa because its wood-trimmed arms curve gently in to form a protective feel - with the very contemporary.

‘Modern touches include an oval lucite coffee table and a Noguchi floor lamp with an angled white paper shade.

The painting that Christensen herself convinced Swedish artist Lennart Hall to sell introduces a square of orange, which the designer repeats with flowers.

The platinum linen wrapping the sofa and chairs is new, too. And the timeless white Flokati shag rug is perfect for a space off the bedroom.

That’s gray grasscloth on the sitting room’s walls. You will also see a lot of grasscloth and fabric on the walls in this home.

White is often used by the 32 designers who decorated the showcase home - sometimes with blues replacing Christensen’s platinum.

“The soft blues and creamy whites in the house are of our time, but they are soothing and fitting to the house,” she said.

Another space where white is prominent is the two-story family room in a new addition.

Aged beams from an Iowa farm still wearing touches of paint are among the details that belie the room’s age.

Frank Ponterio of Lake Forest set a clean, simple tone with David Iatesta’s two-tier chandelier wearing a graceful drape of crystals.

The white upholstered furniture includes the two curvy wingbacks in front of the large carved fireplace.

The white walls are lightly striated or glazed.

More wall treatments

The master bedroom walls are creamy linen, while the ceiling is white with silver Venetian plaster.

In the guest house, the living room by Lyn Kavanagh of Winnetka is painted to look like blue-gray paneling.

In the lower level, Regina Shili Interieurs of Willowbrook broke with the home’s light and soothing theme to paint the walls an almost-black chocolate. She also covered one long wall completely with art - traditional and modern, framed and not.

Lori Lennon of Lake Forest upholstered the walls of the lower-level study with gold fabric. The color is picked up in the geometric design on the rug under the fabulous wood of the Biedermeier sofa.

The second-floor hall displays the design courage of Kristi O’Sullivan of Design Intervention Inc. in Chicago. She striped the walls on one leg of the hall, then switched to a large-pattern silver stencil after turning a corner.

In the coach house, the living room’s walls are hand stenciled in silver and white. Gerri Wiley of Winnetka also chose white sofas for this room.

Stunning chairs

The red leather club chairs in the lower-level tasting room are 1940s French. This room and the bar are by Chicagoan Joe Szymczak for Antiques on Old Plank Road in Westmont.

Monica Pedersen Design of Highland Park uses a strong pattern of blue urns from Lee Jofa on four chairs in the second-floor loft over the family room.

The large fainting bench by Scott Arthur Yerkey, rather than a more staid piece at the foot of the bed, illustrates the drama in the Young Lady’s Bedroom by AHA designs of Chicago. A bold painting by Jean Miotte also explodes any trend toward subtle or serene.

Repeat pattern

Leaves are used frequently in the house. A dramatic example is the silver screen from DesignRed of Chicago in the guest house’s bedroom suite by Gail Plechaty of Real Simple Design in Old Mill Creek.

The homeowners’ chairs in the foyer express the leaf theme in a gold and blue silky fabric. Olafsen Design Group, Ltd of Chicago selected the armchairs, called fauteuils in honor of the French Normandy design of the stone manor house.

What: Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens

When: Through May 20

Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Tickets: $30

Where: Park at Barat College, Westleigh and Sheridan roads, Lake Forest. Free shuttle bus to house.

Special events: Tour with a designer on May 8 or 17, $46.

Benefits: Infant Welfare Society of Chicago

source : www.dailyherald.com

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