Glam Fam

By Lisa Arnett
April 2025 View more Featured

Posh meets practical in this custom Naperville home for a busy brood.

When a Naperville couple was ready to embark on the multiyear process of designing and building a forever home for their family, they knew they would need an experienced team. “We wanted a local builder with a proven track record in Naperville—someone who truly understands the city and the intricacies of working within its guidelines,” the homeowner says. “As this was our first custom home, we needed a builder who could guide us with expertise, giving us a sense of control and endless possibilities, while also streamlining the decision-making process to keep it manageable.” They chose Naperville-based Charleston Building & Development and to round out their team also hired Wheaton-based Derrick Architecture and Chicago-based interior design firm Studio Gild.

The home’s French-inspired exterior has a stately, regal look with stone arches framing the entry and Juliet balconies on the second-floor windows. As for the interior, the family was seeking a certain vibe. “We wanted Studio Gild to help us make the house feel luxurious, with laid-back elegance that is timeless, comfortable, welcoming, and represents our life,” the homeowner says. “The house feels exactly this way, only it’s even better than we ever imagined.”

The design phase took place during the pandemic and was heavily influenced by the ethos of the time to equip your home with everything needed to hunker down. “You literally don’t have to leave this house,” says Jennie Bishop, principal at Studio Gild. “The lower level has a golf simulator and a basketball court and a bar and a big, comfy TV area. And the pool and patio are just incredible.” The flip side is that these areas now work just as well for entertaining.

Though the overall look is undoubtedly luxe, practicality and durability were key every step of the way, from finishes to furniture. “They have two young kids and two dogs and are extremely active people, so they needed to be able to live and grow in the house and still keep that active lifestyle,” says Adam Van Someren, president of Charleston’s residential division.

Focal Points

Just inside the foyer, a shallow inset houses a custom leather bench by Studio Gild, sconces by Apparatus, and abstract art pieces by Seattle artist Jaq Chartier from Dolby Chadwick Gallery in San Francisco.

The homeowners’ favorite item in the entire home is the chandelier by Mexico-based maker Casamidy hanging in the two-story entryway. “It has an iron frame and it’s made from hand-cut tin in silver and gold leaf, made in San Miguel,” Bishop says. “It’s a featherweight monster.” A fluffy carpet by Mehraban Rugs, a woven wall hanging by Lauren Williams, and a table by Jayson Home make this hallway space feel like a room in its own right.

Dining in Style

Every surface in this formal dining room got a heavy dose of glamour. “The ceiling and walls are wallpapered, the cabinetry is high-gloss lacquer with a little metallic bead of paint, and there’s antique mirror behind with an area for display,” Bishop says. “And then we have a chandelier that’s the size of a small European car.” Truthfully, this purple Murano glass creation is a three-foot cube, but its impact exceeds its measurements. “We knew this would be the showstopper in the room,” she says.

Defying the stereotype that formal dining rooms often sit unused, this room was designed with heavy traffic in mind. “This room is a thoroughfare; it has two entries…so kids and dogs are running around and they’re going to hit the corners [of the walls], so this is why we decided to keep the more delicate decorative wallpaper on the ceiling, because nobody can mess it up,” Bishop says. The dining room table was custom-built by Studio Gild, the rug is by Paragon, and the chairs are by CB2 and Bernhardt, both reupholstered in eye-catching fabrics.

Soft Surroundings

Called the “hearth room” in honor of the two-sided fireplace, this is the homeowners’ very favorite space in the whole house. “[It] embodies every aspect of our aesthetic. It’s soft and comfortable; it’s inviting yet elegant,” the homeowner says. As for the color scheme, “we chose this Kelly Wearstler wallpaper and pulled the color from that and saturated the whole room,” Bishop says. “We layered in the window treatments and carried those out into the great room for continuity.” For lighting, she selected a silk-covered pendant lamp from StudioTwentySeven.

Though the rug looks made for this room, there’s a serendipitous story behind it. “[Years ago], I had gone to Morocco and bought a ridiculous amount of rugs,” Bishop says.

With its plush texture and shades of cream, blush, wine, and tan, it ended up being the perfect finishing touch for this room. “It’s so cozy, you can just lay on the floor,” she says.
Studio Gild created several custom furniture pieces, including the curved sofa nestled along a wall of windows and a pair of faux-fur lounge chairs. “They are basically a chair and a half, so an adult can fit with a child and read, or you can curl up or sit sideways on them,” Bishop says. The fireplace wall features Zellige tile, matching stone on the mantel and doorways, and a colorful equine painting by artist Gino Hollander.

Elegantly Indestructible

“It made sense to anchor the space with one dedicated island/table that mirrors the working island,” Bishop says of the kitchen. The homeowners made cabinetry, countertop, and flooring selections with Charleston’s design team, and Bishop incorporated complementary finishing touches, such as caramel leather counter stools and light fixtures with cranberry shades from Urban Electric, which tie into the color scheme of the neighboring hearth room. “This is a beautiful and truly indestructible space,” Bishop says. “The leather can be wiped down, and the stone literally cannot be crushed with a tractor.”

A sleek but family-friendly sitting area shares an open concept with the kitchen. “These turquoise velvet couches are actually made of an outdoor-grade mohair. Nobody can mess it up; it’s solution-dyed acrylic, and you can 409 the heck out of it,” Bishop says. “We kept the coffee table soft so the kids, if they want, can lay on it and watch TV. There’s a tray to keep things contained, but that can be moved.

Behind the Bar

A bar in the basement isn’t out of the ordinary, but this hidden banquette behind the bar certainly is. “The bar stretches across the whole back of the room, and we had this nook behind it that was slightly awkward and we thought: What do we do with it? We just decided to create a little jewel-box moment,” Bishop says. “We found a vintage light to swag for some pubby attitude, and a table to play checkers or cards or set your drink on.” When Bishop presented the homeowners with several bold color choices for the banquette, they chose this shade of marigold, and she added textured pillows and a floral stool with long fringe. During a party, I would be hiding here,” she says.

A Cozy Bonus

This whimsically wallpapered bonus room has the potential to multitask. “It’s a place for the kids to do homework and lounge and where [one of the homeowners] could have a proper desk and someplace to go and be quiet,” Bishop says. “They can also move chairs out of the way and put up twin beds when they have family sleepovers, and then it becomes the bunk room.” The sectional is by Bernhardt, chairs by CB2, rug by Lulu and Georgia, wallpaper by Lee Jofa, and lighting fixture by France & Son.

Bath, Bath, Beyond

In the primary bath, a vanity with micro-fluted cabinet fronts gets a dose of glitz from a polished nickel frame and spherical pulls. The rest of the room is light and bright, with a freestanding soaking tub and floor tile laid in a herringbone pattern.

For the homeowners’ bedroom, Bishop designed a channeled headboard in chocolate-hued velvet that extends beyond the bed, from wall to wall. The bedside table, with its legs and handles resembling knotty twigs, was crafted by Casamidy, the same Mexican-based maker of the entryway chandelier.

Pool Party

Situated between the kitchen and patio, the covered porch (pictured on the cover, and in the background, above) has floor-to-ceiling retractable walls. On the cover: A custom sofa swing from Lowcountry Swing Beds hangs from the wood-paneled ceiling, hovering just above the slate flooring. The outdoor area rug is by Philip Stein Design Collective, the coffee table is by RS Barcelona from Casa Design Group, and the lounge chairs are from Design Within Reach.

To complement the navy blue tile-trimmed pool and spa, Bishop wanted to select chic, sturdy patio furniture. “It has to be durable for Illinois winters, and we chose stripes and textures that feel fresh but still read as classic,” she says. She brought in an aluminum sectional and chaise lounges by RH, chairs by Design Within Reach, and an umbrella by Tucci to surround the rectangular fire pit.

Above It All

Wallpaper This Way

Jennie Bishop of Studio Gild leaned on one of her favorite decor tricks—wallpapering the ceiling—to liven up this lower-level hallway. “We became obsessed with wallpaper during this project and we were always saying, ‘What can we wallpaper?’ ” she says. “There isn’t much furniture in this area, just a standup piano. So we decided to go with stripes on the walls, juxtaposed with a crazy marbled feathery wallpaper on the ceiling.” The wallpaper is by Scalamandre (walls) and Rule of Three Studio (ceiling), and the ceiling light fixture is from Roll & Hill.

Photos: Jacqueline Marque