This historic home and coach house in a landmark district on Astor Street was built in the late 1800’s. Originally designed as an 11,000sf single family residence, the home
was divided into nine apartments in the 1960’s and had fallen into disrepair. The new owners purchased the property with a vision to convert the building back to single
family residence for their young family.
The design concept was to restore the limestone exterior to its original state and reconstruct the interior into a home with an open floor plan and modern amenities for entertaining and family living, incorporating vintage details from the original property whenever possible. Program requirements included five bedrooms, all new bathrooms, contemporary kitchen, salon, library, billiards room with bar, home office, cinema, playroom, garage with stacking car lifts, and outdoor gardens with all new landscaping.
The home is unified by a grand staircase which is flooded with natural light from a glass laylight roof. The first level includes a formal entry with rich wood and marble finishes,
a walnut-paneled billiards room with custom bar, a play room, and a separate family entry with mudroom. A formal living and dining room with adjoining intimate salon are located on the second level; an addition at the rear of the home includes a custom deGiulio kitchen and family room. The third level master suite includes a marble bathroom, dressing room, library, and office. The fourth level includes the family bedrooms and a guest suite with a terrace and views of Lake Michigan. The lower level houses a custom cinema. Sustainable elements are seamlessly integrated throughout and include renewable materials, high-efficiency mechanicals and thermal envelope, restored original mahogany windows with new high-performance low-E glass, and a green roof.
This photo has 3 questions
angotti5 wrote:
How do you construct a laylight - I'm looking for details of how to construct a laylight and the tunnel it needs for the light? I have an off set dormer above a set of stairs similar to your photo and would like to direct natural light down to the space below by using a laylight. Thanks you. »
dSPACE Studio Ltd In this project, there is a modern skylight installed approx. 3'-0" directly above the laylight that is fully waterproofed and flashed into the roofing system. The laylight refers to the decorative layer of glass that filters the light from the skylight into the stairway. In our case, we installed a product called electric glass that can be switched between frosted and clear. If you are borrowing light from a dormer, you'll want to make sure that the walls between the dormer and the laylight are painted bright white to maximize the light that is reflected into your space, and you might not get a perfectly even distribution of light across the surface of your laylight (though installing frosted glass in the laylight will help). Hope this helps, thank you for your question and good luck with your project.
dSPACE Studio's portfolio of work can been seen at www.dspacestudio.com
dSPACE Studio Ltd The newell posts were originally an oak species, painted and we had them sanded and re-painted during the restoration process. The paint used on the newell posts and balusters was Benjamin Moore, vanilla milkshake in a semi-gloss. Good Luck with your project!
dSPACE Studio's portfolio of work can been seen at www.dspacestudio.com
What are the main floors in this house? - I am in the process of building a home and am looking for a similar design feel to this one (which by the way is amazing!!) I have been struggling with the first floor material. I like white marble with some grey tones, but have been told to stay clear of that b/c it will make the house feel cold, not to mention it won't hold up to my there young children. dark stained wood was recommended, however the lot is surround by huge live oak trees, not allowing much natural light in and i don't want to make the house feel too dark. what are your suggestions...many many thanks! »
dSPACE Studio Ltd A great way to determine material selections is looking at example projects on the web and in magazines. When you see an image that inspires you - save it. You will quickly see what you like because the images will start to have similarities. The floors in the project Calacatta marble and oak. Best of luck with your project.
dSPACE Studio's portfolio of work can been seen at www.dspacestudio.com