Wendy Labrum Interiors

The lively originality with which Wendy Labrum mixes provenance and period has made her a much-in-demand interior designer in Chicago. Her distinctive talent is apparent in this living room in a greystone near Wrigley Field designed for a couple with four children. The project’s chief challenge was satisfying the pair’s divergent tastes: She is a lover of antiques and he an aficionado of European mid-century modern design. Labrum succeeded by creating a decor that fuses classical rigor with modern detail. A restrained 18th-century limestone fireplace surround subtly anchors the room, while a custom-designed gray velvet sofa, as elegant as it is invitingly plump, highlights the architectural curve of the expansive bay. Although the rest of the furnishings belong to the mid-century — the twin copper-leather Italian armchairs, the gilt-and-mirror Maison Ramsay coffee table and the pair of custom-made Deco-style X benches — their arrangement couldn’t be more classically formal. Other elements, like a pair of Alberto Giacometti–style bronze candlesticks, from Mass Modern Design, and a Charlotte Perriand Berger stool, add a touch of texture and, with the Serge Mouille floor lamp, further soften the linearity of the decor.