An empty-nest couple on Chicago's North Shore fell for an early 1900s brick estate by Howard Van Doren Shaw, set on a lush, one-acre ravine-front lot in Highland Park's historic district. With their kids grown, they wanted a place to gather everyone back home. They took on a full renovation and rear addition, giving the historic house a modern life without letting go of what made it special.

The interiors layer texture over a quiet, tonal palette, where the richness comes from materials rather than color. Grasscloth and grand millwork, velvet and linen, iron and brass all build depth into rooms that stay calm and pale. Darker, heavier notes are worked in throughout, grounding all that lightness against the home's original character. 

A century-old house, brought fully into the present, and exactly the home they wanted next.

Architecture by Morgante Wilson Architects. Interior design by Elizabeth Krueger Design. Landscape by Scott Byron & Co. Cabinetry by O'Brien Harris. Photography by Mike Schwartz.