AUSTERE LIVING WAS NOT
WHAT THE OWNERS OF AN
AVANT-GARDE STRUCTURE
HAD IN MIND WHEN THEY
PURCHASED THEIR NEW HOME.
INSTEAD, FLASHES OF COLOR,
BOLD ARTWORK AND A DARING
MIX OF DETAILS TO WARM UP
THE ONCE-SPARTAN SETTING
text: lisa vincenti photography: nathan kirkman
Acquiring a steel, concrete and glass
residence that stands as a beacon of International Style
would be a welcome homecoming for any die-hard
modernist. Yet confronted by a dwelling that expressed
a fiercely progressive disposition, but alas nestled within
an idyllic landscape, one traditional-minded couple
decided to toss convention to the wind. They were
willing to acclimatize themselves to this architectural
paragon, but the residence would also have make way
for them. Cold and sterile it could not be. Instead, the
couple turned to noted Chicago interior designer Janet
Schirn, who skillfully warmed up space through inviting
colors and daring juxtapositions that gracefully hang
upon well-groomed contemporary lines.
“The first project we worked on together used primarily
traditional ingredients with modern interspersed; it
was very eclectic and discriminating,” Schirn recalls,
of her relationship with the client. “This one was a
radically different approach and she was willing to take
more chances and be more adventurous.”
Despite needing to alter the home to suit their needs,
the clients took pains to keep those changes true to
architect George Fred Keck’s original intent. Built in the
mid-1930s, this North Shore home marked a turning
point for Keck, who later went into practice with his
brother William and the work of the two became
known as that of the Keck brothers. The white stucco
house—commissioned by a wealthy client following
Chicago’s Century of Progress World’s Fair in the early
1930s—at the time was structurally and stylistically
advanced. Using techniques then only being applied
to commercial buildings, such as its steel frame, the
