The Bold & The Beautiful

A Georgian-style estate swaps fussy formality for rich colors, plentiful patterns, and functionality reflective of family life.

- Elizabeth Kiefer

CONSTRUCTED IN the early 2000s, this estate in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, Illinois, is a beacon of classical Georgian architecture.

So when the current inhabitants, a couple with four young children, approached designer Sarah Vaile about updating the interiors, the brief was bold: Take a property of grand proportion—12,000 square feet—and turn it into an unfussy abode in harmony with its traditionalist underpinnings.

“The driving force of our design plan was to bridge the ‘formal’ part of the house with the everyday part so it all felt usable,” Vaile says. “The clients didn’t want anything too precious, but they also wanted fun flourishes.”