decorating ideas from a green showhouse designers

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By Krissa r

Photog raPhy By Werner

Produced By hil

a glamorous chicago

area home is elegant

and ethereal With

shimmer and shinesilverpolish .


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Right: The Ditomassos worked with an art adviser

recommended by Kara Mann to enhance their collection

o contemporary artwork. A photograph titled Unknown

Land by Ori Gersht rests on the mantel in the dining room.

Below: Painted in white, a cabinet that houses Amys collection

o porcelain is embellished with mullions and fnials.

Amy Ditomasso collects many objects, but her frst

love is her collection o Nymphenburg German

porcelain that is entirely handcratedrom the raw

materials used to produce it to the ornamentation that

is hand-painted and customized or each client. Amy

displays her collection throughout her entire home

including the dining room, right, where fgurines are

perched in cage-like structures built especially or

them. Amys dinnerware pattern is rom the Flowers

o Lie collection; it eatures an amethyst-colored moti

on white porcelain. The pattern almost resembles

tattoos, says Amy. I like the idea o mixing a beautiul

material with design that is a little dangerous.

NympheNburg porcelaiN

90 march 2010 .


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It was important to Amy or the home to have many layers

so it would evoke the amilys per sonality, and highly reective

suraces do that, says Mann. The way they distribute light is

diferent than light rom an ordinary at surace, so we imple-

mented metallics as much as possible, she says.

In the high-style living room, the painted rames o match-

ing settees in ront o the replace are embellished with silver

lea. Puddling on the oor, the silk drapery panels and Roman

shades ofer the slightest hint o sheen.The design o the dining room, where Amy and John host

holidays or their extended amilies, was triggered by a hand-

painted wallpaper that Amy discovered in a magazine. Mann

used that wallpaper and introduced a tone-on-tone, smoky lilac

scheme. A silk rug in a textured damask pattern anchors the

dining ensemble o klismos chairs with lavender-colored silk

cushions and armchairs upholstered in a putty linen. Pleated

draperies studded with silver nailheads and a vintage mirrored

chandelier add jewelry-like moments to the ormal room. The

replace was given regal status with a silver-lea surround.

Although the amily room is where the young Ditomasso

amily spends the majority o its time, Amys vision or the

design remained sophisticated and grown-up. Centered on the

stone replace, urnishings such as the soa, a pair o ar mchairs,

and a barrel chair with clean lines reveal modern adaptations

o traditional design. A round glass table with a contemporary

wood base adds airy relie among the grouping o solid-coloredupholstered pieces. I walk past that room at least 20 times a

day, says Amy. It makes me happy to see everything so beau-

tiully put together.

The adjoining kitchen adheres to the neutral palette but

orgoes smoky shades or a striking yet quiet contrast o rich

wood tones and warm white accents. The stately stone pedes-

tal base o the breakast table balances the impact o the wood

rerigerator and island.

Throughout the house, texture gives solid-colored abrics interest and warmth. Left

around the pedestal table are covered in a putty-colored cotton-and-linen-weave a

Below: Drapery panels made in an open-linen weave beautiully flter light in the a

Bottom: In the kitchen, bar stools with cream-colored backs and seats are a como

or the Ditomasso children to do art projects. nBerkus, the amily cat.

92 march 2010 .


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The master bedroom is a dreamy haven o ease and se renity,

but its architecture ofers some challenges. With its pitched

ceiling, the large space required creative solutions so the room

would appear lled but uncluttered. Instead o hanging the

curtain rod directly above the window casing in the seating

area, it was elevated three eet higher to extend the drapery

panels so they would break up the expanse o wall space rom

the window tops to the ceiling. Above the headboard, a wall

sculpture o butteries cut rom soda cans was installed. Thelarge grouping adds volume to the wall without too much het

that would compete with the mohair-covered bed.

I have a special spot in my heart or this place that will

be our orever home, Amy says. It is such a sense o pride

to have your design dreams realized every day. We didnt pay

attention to practicality, we just wanted a be autiul environment

that our amily can appreciate. +

Interior designer: Kara Mann For more information, see sources on page 126

Opposite: A crystal-and-wood chandelier drits elegantly above a

seating arrangement that includes a French chaise, a moderne chair

with a silver rame, and a lacquered Asian-inspired coee table.

Top: The buttery wall sculpture by Paul Villinski is ramed nicely by

pairs o shagreen-like bedside tables, silver-lea mirrors, and

rock-crystal lamps. Above: The Ditomasso residence in Lake Forest.

i v s st n t f ts tt w

fov o. homeoWner amy ditoma

94 march 2010 .

decorating ideas from a green showhouse designers

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