The Bauhaus manifesto began with a utopian
definition that “the building of the future” is to combine
all the arts in an ideal unit, and it is the spirit of this
tenet that Anderson, who studied design at Southern
Illinois University in the 1970s, holds onto. “A lot of
Bauhaus teachers came to [the Illinois Institute of
Technology] in Chicago and then filtered down to
SIU,” she says. “So there was this incredible program of
comprehensive design there at the time.” Evolving well
beyond the strong geometry and spare details of the
avant-garde, Anderson reincorporates curves, color,
texture and a tactile quality into her own definition of
the “ideal unit.”
Known for her layering—the bringing together and
interplay of all elements in a room—Anderson is adept
at using disparate details to create her own, sweeping
works of art in the whole. And these designs are
anything but sparely modern and utilitarian. Instead,
they are lush, organic and alive with texture. “What
‘layering’ means is that a wall isn’t just painted, but
it’s treated in a certain way, so that it has significance
beyond being the wall,” she says. “And I believe
that rare unique antiques can be integrated into a
comfortable modern lifestyle. Objets d’art should be
used and enjoyed.” A 6,000 square foot vintage space
in downtown Chicago proved the perfect setting for
Anderson to illustrate the multiplicity that has become
her calling card.
With a mandate to create a luxurious residence of
grand-scale living where the owner’s two adult sons
could put their feet up but which also would showcase
extensive collections of Palissy ware, majolica, Peking
glass, Thai silver, Venetian and French blackamoors,
copper molds and perfume bottles, Anderson was
confident she could deliver. The desire for the best
began with the architectural bones and extended all the
way through to the hand-embroidered textiles used for
pillows. “The original structure was just an illogically
organized maze of tiny rooms, with lots of unusable
spaces that one just walked through,” she notes. The
space was renegotiated to include separate master and
guest suites, living and dining rooms, kitchen, library,
office and a glass-enclosed winter garden.
