Relieved of closed facades, the house looks out into its ravine north of Chicago, surrounded by trees and wildlands. It sits into that landscape lanternlike, and yet within, the light is modest, rich in contrast and tone, individual pools of light belonging to each function – whether the display of art, dining or cooking.
The artist’s studio is lit with two lines of simple fluorescent strips, the light bent to the walls by simple metal reflectors. This gives a seamless, glare free and casual wash to the walls, unfussy and unadorned, allowing the art to shine, and the artist to work free from self-shadow. Picture lights illuminate art pieces in corridors providing all the circulation lighting required, rendering circulation corridors clean. At the kitchen island, a simple, slim pendant provides warm downlight and enormous amounts of cool uplight when cleaning and cooking demand it – the intensity moderated by the indirect reflection.
Walls facing glass windows are largely unlit, so as to prevent reflection off the glass and to preserve the view into the evening – long, stretched evenings being a feature of the northern latitude.
All lighting is in 2700K or warmer (except the artist’s studio), and dimmable, to further soften the character of the space. Control is limited to simple dimmers, the small number of sources obviating the need for a control system.
Except decorative light (decorative though purposeful and functional), lighting is concealed into details. The amount of equipment visible being at an absolute minimum. Details are both indirect and toned by reflecting light off the adjacent materials, so the tone of light comes out sympathetic to the building itself.
Ultimately, this home is a quiet, intimate escape from the wider world, a space to experience oneself and perhaps a few friends.
No more needs to be said – this project is minimal in its approach, and so needs little by way of words.
