Original Thought - Buckingham Interiors + Design by Julia

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original thought
classic elements mix with contemporary furnishings and accents when
a c o n v e n t i o n a l t u d o r i s r e i m a g i n e d f o r p r e s e n t - d a y.
w r i t t e n b y lisa sk o ln ik
p h o t o g r a p h y b y e ric ha usm a n
interior design Julia Buckingham Edelmann, Buckingham Interiors + Design
architecture Sergio Estenssoro, SGE & Associates, Inc.
home builder Leo Birov and Steven Aisen, Heritage Luxury Builders
bedrooms 7
bathrooms 8
square feet 12,000
A play on lavender in the living room puts
the hue on sumptuous fabrics by Dedar
and Glant Textiles on Gregorius | Pineo’s
Paxton wing chairs and Christian Liaigre’s
Mousson sofa, both from Holly Hunt. Bradley
Hughes’ Lucille fixture in platinum is a sleek
counterpoint to the intricately coffered ceiling.
T
here’s a lot to like about a brand-new home done right,
which was the case when Sarah Nolan saw a majestic
gabled Tudor going up while she was house-hunting
in Winnetka. “I was taken with its spacious layout,
thoughtful details and the caliber of construction,” she recalls. Despite
all the pros, one thing kept Sarah from buying the luxury home on the
spot: “I was really looking for something more contemporary rather
than traditional,” she explains. Two months later, when nothing had
moved her as much as the Tudor, Sarah came up with a solution to the
conundrum: Julia Buckingham Edelmann. “I needed a designer who could
make the classic interiors seem fresh and modern, and I found Julia.
It was obvious that she was cut out for the job,” she says.
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Designer Julia Buckingham Edelmann’s
mix-master skills are evident in the dining
room, where a primitive sculpture from
Thistle that she found at the Chicago
Botanic Garden’s Antiques & Garden Fair
is complemented by draperies made of
Brochier’s Macao, a zebra-inspired jacquard.
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In quick order, Nolan bought the house—with the agreement from
builders Leo Birov and Steven Aisen that changes could be made
to whatever wasn’t completed, including tilework, fixtures and
finishes, lighting and the staircase—and hired Edelmann. With
70 percent of the structure already up, the designer came into the
project at full speed. “We had to have a strategy and move quickly,”
Edelmann explains. Adds Sarah: “I was leaving for the summer and
needed a hands-on designer who could work as a team with the
builder. Julia and her team jumped on board and kept the project
on schedule to have the home complete in a short turnaround time
without stopping the builders’ forward progress.”
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The contemporary metal-and-stone Bianca
table works well with the intricate Rocco chairs
in the dining room, both from Bradley Hughes. A
custom Darby chandelier from Marjorie Skouras
Design in Hollywood, California, offers secondary
contrast while a vibrant diptych by artist Lori Hyland
comes from Timothy Yarger Fine Art in Beverly Hills.
A chandelier made of repurposed architectural
elements from the designer’s showroom adds
whimsy to the first-floor study, while a creamy burlap
wallcovering by Anna Wolfson lightens the tone of
the space. For mood control, Edelmann interjected a
quirky wingback chair from Alexis Vintiques Design
upholstered in Suzani Blue Bliss from Donghia.
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Client and designer reasoned that some of the traditional elements
should stay in place to preserve the architectural integrity of the house,
but some would need to be subdued. They then took their cues from the
The family room is right off the grand foyer,
so Edelmann used Bradley Hughes’ extra-tall
Giselle chairs to generate a physical buffer
zone. They make a major statement thanks to
their height and Mokum’s bold Zahra Indigo
from Holly Hunt on their exterior.
completed exterior, which was already a new-world take on the old-world
Tudor. “We updated it by replacing the customary half-timbers with
limestone trim and giving some of the brickwork a herringbone pattern,”
explains the project’s architect, Sergio Estenssoro. Edelmann followed the
architect’s lead with immediate changes to give the house’s time-honored
features a more stylish yet streamlined demeanor. “I redesigned the grand
staircase, chose a lighter stain for the home’s wide-plank floors and changed
tiling, fixtures, lighting and millwork wherever we could,” she explains.
A brilliant mix-master, Edelmann is likely to pair spare dining tables
with glitzy chairs, crown sedate rooms with bejeweled lighting, and
forge enchanting tableaux from quirky artifacts and found objects—all
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to great effect. And this house was no exception. Sleek new balusters,
handrails and newel posts of Edelmann’s own design diminish the
foyer’s baroque aesthetic and give it a more modern vibe. To temper
the visual impact of the exquisitely wrought millwork, here and
elsewhere in the house, Edelmann painted it in Benjamin Moore’s
icy Chantilly Lace, which she considers “the perfect trim color.”
Farrow & Ball’s Elephant’s Breath, a warm taupe, gives the rooms
unity and a neutral foundation, which is punctuated with tactical
hits of vibrant blues and purples. “A few particular finishes were a
departure from what we usually do, but we always learn from our
projects,” Aisen says. “Julia figured out all these ways to customize the
work and together we figured out how to implement many of them.”
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An antique French table from The Grey House
Antiques in Tucson, purchased via the designer’s
showroom, goes from formal to fun in the
second-floor office with a vintage hide rug from
the Brimfield Antique Show underfoot and
custom chairs by Edelmann. A photomontage
from Todd Murphy adds a feminine vibe.
When homeowner Sarah Nolan’s
daughter saw a hanging bed in
a magazine, Edelmann found a
way to make it happen with
hidden blocks, industrial chains
and a custom piece of her own
design. A mix of elements,
including light pendants from
Anthropologie, creates interest.