The last time we toured interiors from Kate Marker we noted her historical and beautiful home in Illinois (not far from me!) hit the market. We are treated to even more design details from that 1926 home inside her new book. THE LOVE OF HOME Kate Marker Interiors for Beauty, Balance, and Belonging (Gibbs Smith, 2024) is family-centered and mindful in its focus on the intersections of home design and the ways we connect. More than that, it aims to help you arrive at a look that’s just right for YOU.
The Love of Home: KATE MARKER
Within Kate Marker’s THE LOVE OF HOME: Interiors for Beauty, Balance, and Belonging (Gibbs Smith, 2024), home is imagined from a heart-forward perspective. How does a home’s design shape the ways its inhabitants gather and connect? Whether early morning coffee or dinners with friends, with a Midwestern sensibility, Kate Marker envisions bespoke spaces that merge tradition with modern comforts.
With an emphasis on optimal comfort, the approach to efficient family-centered design is ever thoughtfully considered. The book seeks to help us articulate a vision for our homes and a plan to capture the moods we choose.
Quote from Kate Marker
“My hope is that you will grow in confidence about your own good instincts to create a home that you truly love and that loves you back.” – Kate Marker
Since home is truly about togetherness, Marker covers:
Beauty…because we need it to live fuller, meaningful lives.
Balance…because the magic underpinning design excellence always depends upon it.
Belonging…because there’s nothing quite like creating a unique backdrop for life together.
If you admire freshly warm modern takes on traditional style that feel timeless and fluid enough to evolve with you, you’ll be inspired.
You’ll also find design help should you be seeking ideas for airy, bright, mostly neutral and natural color stories attuned with nature.
I love Marker’s sensible, Midwestern, earthy aesthetic and her no-nonsense writing voice. She isn’t creating showoffy formal spaces where any of us would feel afraid to plop down. Warm woods, soothing natural colors, understated casual charm, and HEART permeate the interiors instead. Since I live in the heartland, I am biased for sure, but there’s a unique heart-fullness and grounded humility flowing here.
Here are some peeks at a recent project in a home not far from ours:
Tour Kate Marker’s Former Barrington, IL Home
Psst. It wasn’t your average historic home that Kate redesigned and then sold. Walls are cement and 17″ deep!
This designer is not afraid to be spare…don’t we love that ’round these parts?
PHOTOS, below: @morrison_home_team and @thedawnmckennagroup; Interior Design: @katemarkerinteriors; Architect: Patrick Fortelka
Covered with stucco, I love the understated façade with light grey trim around windows and unfussy landscaping that feels so appropriate for a country house.
Not that it lacks drama!
The saltwater pool and patio areas are impressive and party-ready. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a host of realistic ideas inspired by this Midwest fantasy.
Kate’s White Paint Color for Walls
Isn’t white paint just white paint? For corn’s sake, no. Consult my archives, kittens! Here’s the color on these walls:
It always helps to have a place to start as far as sampling white paint, and why not start with a designer pick?
You could also try samples of Benjamin Moore Simply White and White Dove since they are also trustworthy favorites of this designer.
And if you love what you’re seeing in terms of furniture, textiles, and art, you’re in luck.
They hail from Kate Marker Home where you’re bound to find a treasure or ten.
I shopped KMH when a friend set up a wedding registry there.
A fantasy item in the space? Those original built-ins in the family room! And don’t you love how Kate painted the crown moldings a contrasting color?
Unique Light Fixtures in Kate Marker’s Mansion
Kate went bold baby bold with her lighting in this home renovation.
I recognize several of the lights as Hudson Valley Lighting fixtures.
Is it important to spend extra on high end lighting?
A mix is what works for me. Once you live with quality-made (or artisan handmade!) fixtures, you’ll appreciate what all the fuss is about.
With the dramatic range in costs for lighting, it can be confusing as to .
I’m so crazy about the beautiful lighting I scored for our current home that I will probably take it with me if ever we sell!
Use Statement Tile in a Special Spot
We American decorators tend to get stuck in certain design-ruts such as the idea that we must choose one backsplash tile for a kitchen.
This gorgeous handmade terracotta tile designed by Kate with The Fine Line Chicago is proof that you can use a lovely pattern in a section of the kitchen but not everywhere.
BTW. If you love this tile pattern but you have no use for tile, it is also available as fabric! Kate’s Leo textile and more tile and wallpaper goodness can be found here.
Try the Deep Green in Kate Marker’s Kitchen
If you have been admiring the gorgeous green color in this home’s kitchen…
Say hello to Benjamin Moore Dark Olive:
It is a deep dark bold green that feels rich and lively.
Two of our bathrooms here at the Georgian were painted this color when we took ownership, and it had a rich, sophisticated look that was perfect with travertine tones in those spaces.
Of course I had to paint over those walls in a warm peachy beige to stay on course with the rest of my design plans, but I hold deep respect for this hue!
It feels so European inspired, yes? See more ideas for dark green HERE. Even if you aren’t blessed with beautiful cabinetry…maybe that is a blessing in disguise since you won’t feel bad about giving them some love with paint!
Add a Variety of Shapes to Your Space
I recall Kate Marker commenting on her math whiz background, and the best designers understand a little somethin’ somethin’ about geometry.
Notice the oval table and round pendant above in the breakfast nook. With all of the straight lines from the windows and bluestone tile, it’s pleasing to the eye to see curves. Even the chairs have gently curved arms and tops.
Even simpler small moves like baskets and bowls can introduce a round shape to a room.
This cocktail table above has a curvy whimsical detail (along with that playful ceiling fixture) that also breaks up the monotony of the inevitable squares and rectangles.
A round mirror and round sconces in a powder room (above) soften a space with a rugged stone sink and rustic plaster walls.
Embrace a Simpler Aesthetic Style
BTW. Are you trying to guess at the architectural style of this 1920s home when it was built way back when?
The style of this home is Arts and Crafts. Familiar with this architecture and aesthetic movement?
It advocated for the handmade and the use of traditional techniques, celebrating the craftsmanship of artisans. Arts & Crafts embraced beautiful and functional objects that were both aesthetically pleasing and well-crafted.
Simplicity, honesty in materials, and a rejection of excessive ornamentation were core tenets of the movement. So if these spaces feel rather spare and minimal, it is certainly in keeping with the original ideals.
Furniture, textiles, ceramics, and architecture often featured clean lines, natural materials, and a focus on functionality.
By the 1920s when this home was under construction, the Arts and Crafts movement had already made a significant impact on American design and culture.
It had influenced various aspects of daily life, including home furnishings, architecture, and decorative arts.
But you know how tastes tend to shift like a pendulum!
Art Deco with its opulence and glamour was on its heels.
Incorporate Craftsmanship, Simplicity & Natural Materials into Your Design Schemes
Whereas most of us won’t occupy a multi-million dollar Arts & Crafts mansion, that doesn’t mean the values of this design movement and architectural style cannot be practiced.
Think: handmade, handcrafted, bespoke, natural materials, and design elements that are not mass-produced.
It is becoming increasingly more difficult to live up to the ideals of Arts & Crafts, yet even baby steps (make it yourself!) make a difference.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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