Project Details
Interior Designer: Meredith Lussen, Meredith Lussen Interiors
Studio Location: Winnetka, IL
Design Aims: I’m a maximalist, but with a slightly restrained approach. My motto is “more is more and less is a bore.” This house from 1992 had a great footprint that I could infuse with a vintage home aesthetic.
I wanted this home to feel fresh and young for my family, but also for it to look good in 10 years. I spent time living in Paris and you’ll see European touches throughout. The most important thing was for it to feel timeless.
From the Designer | When we bought this house, it had great bones but had some 1990s elements. We didn’t change the footprint much, but we touched a lot, such as the millwork and architectural details.
In the kitchen, I wanted a French bistro vibe. We used porcelain countertops with dramatic veining from Absolute Stone of Illinois, accented with warm walnut cabinetry by Neumann Custom Woodworking. A navy BlueStar range and custom hood nod to Paris, while the connecting sunroom serves as a light-filled dining and sitting area.
Our family room is where life happens. It’s a tricky space, so I anchored it with CR Laine sofas, a grand piano and a vintage Brown Jordan game table, over which I hung a painting by Amanda Talley. I didn’t want another busy painting above the sofa, so this vintage panel I found on 1stDibs was perfect.
There is an old-world feeling to the dining room with its Lewis & Wood wallpaper from London, and the Parisian-inspired vintage mirror. I knew right when we bought the house that I wanted an antique-mirrored wall in my dining room.
We’d turned the original living room into my husband’s study, leaving the previous owner’s office free to do something fun. There’s nothing better than a hotel bar, so we recreated that vibe, coating the walls in a Fine Paints of Europe lacquer color matched to Benjamin Moore’s Essex Green.
I had a lot of fun with the mudroom, its powder room and my office. I used gray and white porcelain from Daltile for a checkerboard floor and tied the pinks and blues together in those spaces. When I saw the Thibaut wallcovering that I used in the powder room, I knew I had to have it. I also had a lot of fun with the formal powder room off the entry using the Christian Lacroix Maison wallpaper. It’s so wild.
The primary suite had a 1990s setup with a giant Jacuzzi tub. We reimagined the bedroom using a Thibaut grasscloth and chairs upholstered in a Thibaut fabric that matches the chinoiserie wallpaper in the hall. For the bathroom, I went back to the French bistro feel with Perrin & Row polished nickel fixtures and Statuary Marble counters.
This home ushered me into my next era — it’s a little more sophisticated than my previous style. But it still feels homey. The biggest compliment people pay me when they visit is that they can tell a family lives here.
Photography by Heather Talbert.
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