Houzz Tour: Victorian Vibes Return to a Chicago Graystone
A designer restores period details in a fresh way while infusing the 1900 home with the homeowners’ styles
This beautiful Chicago graystone, built in 1900, underwent a renovation in the late 1980s that ripped out almost all of its charming historic features. The new homeowners hired interior designer Rebekah Zaveloff to restore period details, while also infusing the home with their own style. “He leaned more industrial, while she was into vintage modern,” Zaveloff says. The designer combined the two preferences while adding back period features, including walls, cased openings between rooms and era-appropriate flooring and moldings.
Before: The 1980s renovation had opened up the floor plan, adding many elements that didn’t go with the home’s architecture. For example, the staircase mixed curved and straight railings, X shapes, squares, rectangles and globes. “There was a lot going on,” Zaveloff says. The existing floors were maple.
Seen here is the front parlor, which was fully opened to the middle parlor in the 1980s renovation.
Seen here is the front parlor, which was fully opened to the middle parlor in the 1980s renovation.
After: Zaveoff’s renovation made the house look as if it has its original bones but has been thoughtfully renovated over the decades — and also as if the prior renovation never happened.
She redesigned the staircase with black metal railings that bring in industrial style and white oak that matches new white oak floors throughout the house. “The handrail has a very modern nosing detail with no overhang,” Zaveloff says. “This is the most modern element in the house. The other moldings throughout the house look like they are original to it.” She used a classic black-and-white tile for the foyer floor, which is not only more practical for wet shoes but also suits the home’s period.
Zaveloff added cased openings back into the home to create delineation between rooms and restore the feeling of the home’s original architecture. You can see one of these openings cased with trim in this photo of the foyer where it connects with the front parlor. “I also love a cased opening because it provides a great spot to transition to another flooring or paint color,” Zaveloff says.
Browse lighting in the Houzz Shop
She redesigned the staircase with black metal railings that bring in industrial style and white oak that matches new white oak floors throughout the house. “The handrail has a very modern nosing detail with no overhang,” Zaveloff says. “This is the most modern element in the house. The other moldings throughout the house look like they are original to it.” She used a classic black-and-white tile for the foyer floor, which is not only more practical for wet shoes but also suits the home’s period.
Zaveloff added cased openings back into the home to create delineation between rooms and restore the feeling of the home’s original architecture. You can see one of these openings cased with trim in this photo of the foyer where it connects with the front parlor. “I also love a cased opening because it provides a great spot to transition to another flooring or paint color,” Zaveloff says.
Browse lighting in the Houzz Shop
One of the homeowners is a musician, so Zaveloff set up the front parlor as a music room. The custom console for the record player and custom guitar were made by Dan Strack. Portraits of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, by artist Jon Langford, hang above it.
Zaveloff’s clients were drawn to black and white, and she repeated the combination throughout the home. “When we saw this black-and-white Moroccan rug, we all knew it was perfect,” she says.
Zaveloff’s clients were drawn to black and white, and she repeated the combination throughout the home. “When we saw this black-and-white Moroccan rug, we all knew it was perfect,” she says.
Before: In the middle parlor, the original fireplace surround had been ripped out and built-ins added.
After: Zaveloff took the fireplace back to its roots with a new Absolute Black granite surround. Two leather chairs form a cozy seating area and the concrete table adds an industrial touch. The vintage Turkish Oushak rug and kilim pillows add warmth.
Shop for an accent table
Shop for an accent table
The designer created two seating areas in the room. The sofa faces a TV wall. She closed in the opening to the kitchen with another cased opening.
Zaveloff avoided can lights whenever possible, using chandeliers and pendants instead. This rattan light fixture is one of her favorite pieces. “I love this piece — it’s functional art,” she says. “It’s sculptural, like a mobile, and I’m so glad my clients were willing to take chances like this.”
Zaveloff avoided can lights whenever possible, using chandeliers and pendants instead. This rattan light fixture is one of her favorite pieces. “I love this piece — it’s functional art,” she says. “It’s sculptural, like a mobile, and I’m so glad my clients were willing to take chances like this.”
In the corner of the TV seating area, Zaveloff placed a classic Barcelona chair, a nod to the iconic work of Mies van der Rohe in Chicago. To the left is a small powder room. Zaveloff added a pocket door to save the space that a door’s swing would have taken up.
Before: The powder room’s contemporary look didn’t suit the homeowners’ style.
After: Because the powder room is behind a closed door, Zaveloff had the freedom to branch off from the home’s Victorian style. She added a graphic punch with the geometric David Hicks wallpaper, and she anchored the space with wainscoting in a handmade charcoal tile.
Find a local tile professional
Find a local tile professional
Before: The kitchen and dining room were in one open space, something Zaveloff maintained in the renovation.
After: The layout worked well for the homeowners and made good sense. Zaveloff also kept the existing tin tile ceiling because it worked well with the vintage industrial scheme.
Tiling the kitchen walls all the way to the ceiling enhanced the vintage industrial look of the room. “We gave it kind of a restaurant kitchen look,” the designer says. “The historic brick tile lent an industrial look and brought an exterior element inside.”
The perimeter countertops are black quartzite. Zaveloff made a few tweaks to the layout like providing more counter space next to the wall ovens. Installing a microwave drawer was another efficient use of space.
The perimeter countertops are black quartzite. Zaveloff made a few tweaks to the layout like providing more counter space next to the wall ovens. Installing a microwave drawer was another efficient use of space.
A new custom hood in black metal and stainless steel makes a bold industrial statement. So do the large pendant lights over the island.
This is the view from the middle parlor into the kitchen. An Ijen Blue quartzite waterfall countertop on the island creates a lovely view.
There was a pantry closet on the right, which Zaveloff replaced with built-in pantry cabinets. The powder room is behind them. “This slate blue color looks green, gray or blue depending on the light,” the designer says.
Cabinet color: Templeton Gray, Benjamin Moore
Cabinet color: Templeton Gray, Benjamin Moore
The geometric lines of the artwork, table base and rug work beautifully together. Furniture can help modernize a home within period architecture.
Before: At the top of the stairs, the prior renovation had added a lot of storage. But Zaveloff knew this was a missed opportunity for additional living space.
After: “I knew we could make this a nice little spot to read and place a desk. I knew we could turn it into a nice place to go,” Zaveloff says. She created a comfortable reading area with a big leather chair and ottoman. The vintage storage piece and metal pendant light add industrial style.
These are the existing double doors that open to the primary bedroom. The landing space also serves as a lobby of sorts.
These are the existing double doors that open to the primary bedroom. The landing space also serves as a lobby of sorts.
Before: The prior renovation gave the primary bedroom’s fireplace a contemporary makeover.
After: “This room is so modern, warm and serene now,” Zaveloff says. She placed two cozy swivel chairs in the bay window area and softened the windows with Belgian linen drapes. A mix of earthy colors and natural fiber textiles make the bedroom inviting. Reading sconces save surface space on the wood nightstands and can be swung overhead when reading in bed.
The designer gave the fireplace surround a complete makeover with a stone hearth and stacked ceramic tiles with a matte finish. “This was another spot where we brought in an exterior-looking element. They recall cinder block,” Zaveloff says.
The designer gave the fireplace surround a complete makeover with a stone hearth and stacked ceramic tiles with a matte finish. “This was another spot where we brought in an exterior-looking element. They recall cinder block,” Zaveloff says.
The primary bedroom is large and can accommodate pieces like this large and cushy velvet chair.
Before: The large drop-in tub took up a lot of space in the primary bathroom, and the ceiling above it didn’t make any sense.
After: This photo doesn’t line up with the previous one, but there’s a peek of the new, normal ceiling in the mirror. Zaveloff went more modern in here, using black hexagonal tiles on the floor and a white 3D geometric tile on the walls. She used the same black quartzite she used in the kitchen on the countertop. “The finish on the faucets is Brizo’s Luxe Steel and it is so gorgeous,” she says.
The wood vanity adds warmth, while sconces flanking the mirrors add in the vintage industrial style the couple like. “These lights reminded me of something you might see in a 1920s train station,” Zaveloff says.
The wood vanity adds warmth, while sconces flanking the mirrors add in the vintage industrial style the couple like. “These lights reminded me of something you might see in a 1920s train station,” Zaveloff says.
Before: The existing guest bathroom didn’t suit the homeowners’ style, either.
After: “We had ordered a sample of Benjamin Moore’s Chrome Green paint on a cabinet door and knew we wanted to use it somewhere in the house,” Zaveloff says. The guest bath was just the spot. Another black-and-white patterned tile adds a classic touch on the floor. “This pinwheel pattern is really graphic,” Zaveloff says.
She repeated the use of the Luxe Steel faucet finish in here, mixing in satin nickel on the hardware, polished nickel on the lights and black on the mirror frames. She used a classic 6-by-6-inch square ceramic tile for the backsplash.
She repeated the use of the Luxe Steel faucet finish in here, mixing in satin nickel on the hardware, polished nickel on the lights and black on the mirror frames. She used a classic 6-by-6-inch square ceramic tile for the backsplash.
Going with a gridded black steel shower surround was a no-brainer. “This is very industrial and you see windows like this all over Chicago,” Zaveloff says. Note that these are not true divided panes — the interior of the shower is smooth to make cleaning easier.
The shower tile is large-format Carrara marble and the floor tile is black penny rounds.
More on Houzz
Tour more homes
Hire a local design pro
Shop for your home
The shower tile is large-format Carrara marble and the floor tile is black penny rounds.
More on Houzz
Tour more homes
Hire a local design pro
Shop for your home
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Chicago
Size: 3,700 square feet (344 square meters); three bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Interior designer: Rebekah Zaveloff of KitchenLab Interiors
The stately home in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood had wonderful bay windows in the front parlor and in the primary bedroom above it.
Find an interior designer on Houzz