Inspiration from the Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens, 2015

Not only did I tour a bunch of Frank Lloyd Wright and other historical homes this past weekend, I also went with my mom to see the Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens. The tickets sold for the home tour benefit the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago, and this year they presented the former home of the late John W. Hughes, Jr.

My mom and I are both house looky-loos, and we love John Hughes movies (The Breakfast Club is a favorite for both of us), so I bought tickets for us as a Mother’s Day present. I figured we’d spend the morning touring the house, have lunch and enjoy the day, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from the home itself. I’ve been to a handful of showhouses before and while they’re always beautiful, they can be a bit stuffy and too traditional to pull practical inspiration from. Not the case this time!

Again, photography was not permitted, but I was able to obtain photos to share of the interiors this time (hooray!). This was my favorite room: the butler’s pantry, with its original cabinetry receiving a fresh coat of paint (Farrow & Ball’s ‘Drawing Room Blue’) along with other updates by Wily Designs LLC.

My mom’s favorite space was the living room designed by Alessandra Branca. The designer posted several shots of it on Instagram.

My mom also absolutely loved this girls’ bedroom, designed by Jeannie Balsam. A great layout, a window seat, and patterns upon patterns!

Some of what I took away was simply giving myself permission to be more bold. I find myself pulling back a bit in my house sometimes, deferring to the house’s style and history, but yawn. The showhouse was a multi-million dollar historical home, and they painted original dark wood, wallpapered the heck out of it, remodeled the kitchen and bathrooms, took apart and opened up built-in closets, and on and on. There was respect for the home, but it was also fun. The kind of place you could actually see a family living in and enjoying themselves. I mean, how could you not enjoy the type of house that has a hallway with monkeys all over the place (by Sarah Whit Interior Design)?

And behold, a nursery by Steve + Filip Design, drawing inspiration from The Grand Budapest Hotel. Those diapers. Ha!

There were many other rooms I wish I could share with you, but the Showhouse didn’t have photos available of every space. There was a garden room with a pink settee (be still, my heart!). A master bath and “women’s reprieve” (former closet) with the most amazing antique furniture. A killer redesigned kitchen by Christopher Peacock Home — not too large — that had me wishing for its pair of built-in fridges with a black interiors. My mom and I both walked out of the home feeling inspired, and we had so much fun touring it! I’ll end here with a floor plan. And hey, feel free to put an offer in on the place. It will be available in June, “price upon request”.

Photo credits: JS Eckert Photography, Nicole Balch, Werner Straube Photography, Alessandra Branca, Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens, Janet Mesic-Mackie, Wittefini