This Modern Tudor Emerged From a Massive Fire

A young family in Winnetka, Illinois, decided to rebuild after a fire destroyed their new home.

December 16, 2020

By: Meredith Rosenberg

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Photo By: Werner Straube

Tudor Rising

The timing couldn't have been worse: 37 days after a young family of five moved into this Tudor-style house in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, a toaster oven fire burned it down. Luckily, the family dog saved everyone after climbing three floors. Afterward, instead of moving, the family embraced the chance to completely modernize and personalize the rebuild. They hired Morgante Wilson Architects for the project, and yes, a brand-new fire suppression system ranked high on the list of priorities.

First Impressions

The new-and-improved home now sprawls across 8,076 square feet on four levels, encompassing five bedrooms, seven baths, plus the basement and attic.

"The homeowners fell in love with this pair of gilded mirrors that were perfect for the spacious symmetrical entry," says Katawna Tyler, interior design principal at Morgante Wilson Architects, who goes by K.

Center Stage

"The expanded U-shaped kitchen is the heart of the home," says K., sharing how it's one of the family's favorite parts of the rebuild. K. explains how the owners wanted a classic black-and-white kitchen, but they also wanted to keep it light and airy. This was achieved by opening the wall between the kitchen and stairs, thereby flooding the room with light from a two-story wall of windows in the family room. K. also highlights the kitchen island: "It's designed to feel like a piece of furniture, with cerused oak and a marble top accented with metal cross bracing," she says.

Fresh Start

The grand arches seen in the foyer also divide the kitchen and this breakfast room. In addition to all the windows, there are four skylights in the barrel-vaulted ceiling to ensure loads of light. The scallop-backed banquette is custom, and upholstered in a glazed canvas of gray-blue eggplant. The final touch is this zinc and walnut table that perfectly blends with the room.

All Weather

This four-season room is a new addition that's located off of the breakfast room, since having a better view of the backyard was a family goal for the new design. (Not pictured: the pool that can be spied from the corner window.) K. points out that this room is capped by a four-sided cupola, and its glassed-in walls extend to the beadboard ceiling. Since Chicago is prone to lake-effect cold come winter, radiant heat floors also ensure the room is truly useful in all four seasons.

Tudor 2.0

In a nod to the millwork traditionally found in Tudor homes, the team added picture molding, ceiling beams and wainscoting panels in the dining room, K. says. They modernized the feel with white paint. The elegant, elongated windows designed to add height and light add another modern Tudor touch.

Wallpaper Goals

K. says the hand-painted Gracie wallpaper that's set into the dining room's picture molding, best seen here, accentuates the architecture and detailing.

Bonus Bar

"The renovation allowed the team to capture bonus wall space that was the perfect location for a built-in dry bar," says K. This is rounded out with custom millwork, mirrored arabesque tile and hidden storage.

Blue Velvet

The formal living room is just across from the dining room, and the owners' favorite color is reflected in the matching velvet Chesterfield sofas. Oval X-back Barbara Barry slipper chairs complement the scene.

Showtime

The baby grand piano is the other star attraction in the living room, and K. explains how the setup is designed for impromptu seating around it.

Special Meaning

Behind the piano are built-in shelves lined with Maya Romanoff Ajiro inlaid wood wallpaper; but what's really special is that the shelves hold personal mementos salvaged from the fire.

Cathedral Heights

To maximize light in the family room, the designers opted for an open framework around structural posts on one side of the room. K. adds that this also highlights the room's tall ceilings.

Beam Me Up

K. shares that the owners wanted exposed ceiling beams in the family room, but a lack of space complicated matters. Instead, the team designed a cathedral ceiling such that the beams appear original to the house.

Dramatic Flair

This new powder room replaced part of a former side entrance. The addition boasts a dramatic floor-to-ceiling mirror, marble pedestal vanity and Moroccan teardrop light fixture.

Basement Retreat

"The basement hang-out room was designed for the husband’s various hobbies," including Friday night jam sessions with his band, K. says. This area also displays an impressive collections of tickets, albums and guitars.

Fun and Games

Ping-Pong is another favorite hobby. Additionally, K. notes how the basement’s original brick walls were sandblasted and restored, and serve as a backdrop for beer can, licence plate and poster collections.

Stair Master

"A two-story glass wall floods the new grand stairway with light from the west," K. says.

Treehouse Effect

Upstairs, the design team reconfigured the west side bedrooms into a large master suite. Light is emphasized here too, along with wooded backyard views. In fact, corner windows were added to create a treehouse effect.

Simply Charming

The owners opted for simple white cabinetry in this dreamy master bath. But K. relates how they added interest via glass panels with floral geometrics on the linen cabinet. This cabinet also creates a clear division between the his-and-her vanities. The team also used grey-and-white statuary marble for the countertops and the custom tile rug inlay.

Soothing Oasis

Generating more bathroom envy, K. shares that the bathtub is a neoclassic freestanding rectangular tub from Hydrology. It's situated to maximize the outdoor view.

Room to Grow

In the backyard, "A raised blue-stone and limestone-clad patio gives separation between the outdoor eating space and new pool area," K. says. From this view, also note the multiple dormers on the top level. K. says these "not only make the attic space usable, but also create intimate, playful spaces for the family’s four kids."