This pre-war apartment overlooking Lake Michigan was in beautiful condition, boasting restored vintage arched doorways, barrel ceilings and thick moldings, as well as spectacular light from east and south exposures and a rambling floor plan. The master bath and kitchen needed attention, and the overall goal was to freshen and modernize the apartment while enhancing the elegant architecture.

The primary bath was original — dingy and very small. We borrowed space from an adjacent closet to expand the bathroom, and reinvented it with unlacquered brass fixtures from Waterworks, an antique Louis-Philippe mirror, and encaustic cement tiles extending seamlessly into the new walk-in shower to visually extend the room. Pale silver grasscloth paper, a dramatic ebonized wingback bed and a row of natural linen relaxed roman shades give coherence to the primary suite.

The kitchen had been recently renovated but the layout was awkward, with no eating space and a high counter that visually cut the room down the middle. Rust-striped wallpaper evoked menswear more than culinary expression, and beige counters felt dark in one of the few parts of the apartment with little natural light. We kept the existing appliances and perimeter cabinets to cut costs, but stripped the wallpaper and replaced the tiered island with a lower, larger worktop using dark millwork and sparkling, durable white quartz counters. A new custom banquette with leather and wool upholstery and a Saarinen pedestal table made a cozy spot for breakfast and homework. We added hand-forged bronze cabinet hardware, a gleaming brass gooseneck faucet, oversized pendant lights, a bold terra cotta tiled backsplash, and a vintage Swedish glass-front cabinet for displaying favorite cookbooks and serving pieces.

To maximize functionality of a small former maid’s room, we tucked a queen sized murphy bed into a wall of paneled bookshelves, allowing the space to be used as both office and guest room.

In the large bedroom shared by two sisters, a wallpaper mural and a pair of romantic canopy daybeds provide a magical backdrop. The small attached bathroom was kept largely original, with reglazed cast iron tub and subway tile, then updated with new light fixtures, marble penny floor tiles, and small batch wallpaper in jubilant coral and gold.