Out with the Old, In with the New

Glencoe has been home for the past 9 years, since moving here from Lake Forest (8 years), Chicago (5 years), and Boston (4 years). Before that, far away Winnetka is where my mother brought me home from the hospital when I was born.  I am a single mother of 3 children (Phoebe, the youngest, is pictured above, and all three crazies, William, Phoebe and Spencer, are pictured below.)  I have gone through major life changes in the past few years and learned that home is where my children are.  When they are not with me, I do not feel home.  (I know - major bumps in the road when they leave the nest!)   

As an Interior designer, home has always meant a potential project. All the homes I have lived in have gone through major transformations.  I love to take a sow's ear and turn it into a silk purse! My latest residential adventure has afforded a major shift.  I have sold my "married," traditional, 1931 French Normandy home and moved into my "divorced," mid-century modern, Keck + Keck ranch.

out with the OLD

in with the NEW

As I embark on some major updating in the new house, I long for the day I can take all my favorite furnishings and place them in my freshly painted home.  

For the time being, a good portion of my furnishings are sitting in boxes or on end in the basement. 

As a practical/financial matter, I will be utilizing most of my old furnishings - traditional and modern in flavor - in my "new" modern house.  The pictures above and below show some of the furnishings in my old house. 

Can you picture the furnishings above in the rooms below?

Quite a challenge!

If I had to pinpoint a design philosophy I follow in my practice and in my life, I would say, treasures that are old/antique/traditional, juxtaposed with new/modern/contemporary make all pieces seem fresh and surprising.  One really notices and appreciates a modern piece set into a traditional setting. The opposite is also true.  An antique in a modern setting is refreshing.  (At least that is what I hope, as I install my old furnishings in the new house!)

In spite of the work ahead of me, over the past several years, I have learned that home is not necessarily what you "do" (as in, renovate - renovate - decorate).  It is rather where you truly live with loved ones.  

For decades, my family has been vacationing in the Rocky Mountains, at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado.  

Here is a picture of my grandparents circa 1962 in one of the cabins we stay in.

My sister and I donated the renovation of one of the cabins on the grounds. Now we are able to use it whenever we would like.  Almost every summer, we participate in a HUGE family reunion of sorts.  Approximately 60 extended family members gather together to visit, hike and tell stories for a week in August.  

Our cabin is extremely simple.  We can't change anything, thus there is nothing to "do" to it.  When there, we simply enjoy each other's company. Every time we arrive in the gravel driveway after a 17 hour drive, I feel at "home."

Interior of the cabins - very chic, no?

Here is the view from our cabin porch (after an afternoon sprinkle).

Here is a picture of my children and me on a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Here is an awful picture of me - as my children say - "chill-axing" in the cabin.   The reason I am sharing this unflattering picture is that one would never see me this relaxed at home.  There is always too much to "do" at home.

If this blog is still around when my house is "done," (are they ever done?) I will post the "after" pictures.

Until then, I wish you all "Peace and Love" in your homes!

p.s.  Can't wait to see the House Walk!