Ruffles Are Back and Better Than Ever, According to This Interior Designer

Summer Thornton proves trad is rad in this dreamy grandparents’ home, where ruffles, scalloped edges, and mismatched patterns feel fresh and welcoming.

It’s not easy to define “charm.” It’s one of those ineffable qualities where—as the saying goes—you know it when you see it. Still, most would agree that a charming home is one that delights the eye and is instantly inviting. Never too serious or self-important, it also brims with character and personality. And few would deny that this 1913 cedar-shake house in Winnetka, IL, has all that in spades.

The designer, Chicago-based interior decorator Summer Thornton, says that the owners envisioned a classic house with universal appeal where they could create memories for their children and grandchildren. Thornton had designed the couple’s last home, a Chicago condo they had purchased after their children had grown. “With that apartment, they wanted something edgy suiting their empty nester lifestyle,” she says. This time around, with their grandchildren in mind, the couple sought something softer and more nostalgic. “They wanted it to feel beautiful and welcoming—the ultimate grandma-grandpa house,” she says. “It needed to feel like a warm hug.”

Thornton accordingly turned on the charm, and the house announces its whimsy right at the entrance, where a fanciful ribbon of bright blue paint outlines the cased opening of the foyer. This decorative flourish accentuates the front entry and “adds a certain je ne sais quoi,” says the designer, explaining that she got the idea from photos of artist Cy Twombly’s home and studio in Gaeta, Italy. The sweet scrolled design also introduces the house’s primary palette of blues and whites. A pair of side chairs echo the scroll and can serve as extra seating when all the family is together.

Tip

In the sunroom, Thornton took a detour from the scheme of blue and white in the rest of the house in favor of walls painted Farrow & Ball Pink Ground. “It’s a soft, peachy shade inspired by the glow the room gets in the afternoon,” she says.

Medleys of patterns in the kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms add character and energy. The effect is most pronounced in the dining room, where a delicate marbled wallpaper on the ceiling contrasts with a bold lily motif on the walls. “I like mixing patterns, so the more the merrier for me,” says Thornton, who successfully juxtaposed multiple patterns in the dining room by sticking to shades of blue and varying the scale of the prints. “Despite what you may have heard, there are no limits when it comes to how many prints can be in one room,” she says. “Just keep going until it feels right.”

The house is also an argument in favor of old-school romantic touches like ruffles and curvy edges. While some might be fearful of such frills leaning toward the fuddy-duddy, when employed with confidence, they’re anything but conservative. In the breakfast nook, for instance, the scallop trim on the Roman shades looks fresh, thanks to its graphic blue piping.

Related: Gingham Is a Fashion Favorite This Summer—and It’s Bringing Classic Charm to Homes, Too

The painted wood floor of the kitchen continues the blue-and-white palette and imbues the space with a lighter, more casual feeling than stone or ceramic tiles would have. Because the homeowners wanted to keep an expanse of the floor open, preferring the airy feel, the expanded check pattern adds visual coziness without adding clutter. The smaller scale of the backsplash tile creates a focal point.

The living room furniture is arranged in near-perfect symmetry, with the exception of one lamp and one table. “You always need something to throw off the symmetry,” Thornton says. All the elements center around an unusually large coffee table. “I love a supersize coffee table, because there’s never enough room for all the drinks, food, games, art books, flowers, and other things you want to put there,” the designer says.

Perhaps the most enchanting element of the house is found in the primary bathroom and bedroom, where Thornton used yards of ornamental wood trellis to conjure the breezy ambience of an island pavilion. The latticework in the bathroom covers nearly every surface; light from the window above the bathtub highlights its lines. “The bathroom is very dreamy,” Thornton says. “The trellis makes you feel like you’re outdoors.”

Related: 12 Simple Tricks to Create a Spa-Like Bathroom on a Budget

Mounting crisp white curtains to the ceiling in the bedroom creates a canopy with the illusion of extra height. Thornton upholstered the headboard in the same blue-and-white toile as the wallpaper but used different designs of similar colors for the window curtains, bed coverings, and assorted cushions, so the room feels neither too disjointed nor too monotonous. The valance with oversize wavy edging cuts through all of the patterns with a calming pause. The blue trim on a white painted armoire, opposite the bed, emphasizes the furniture’s interesting lines.

Related: The Paris Grandma Aesthetic Offers Endless Elegance—But Keeps It Cozy

One of the guest bedrooms where the couple’s grandchildren often stay is outfitted with a pair of vintage rattan twin beds. “Bunk beds have become ubiquitous but I still love the classic and nostalgic look of two twin beds side by side,” says Thornton. While many designers might have deemed the headboards too wide to fit in the tight space (they overlap the window), the configuration works thanks to their open lattice design and color, making them light and almost invisible.

Related: 16 Guest Bedroom Ideas for a Welcoming, Restful Space

A guest bathroom features one of the house’s original sinks, which Thornton refurbished by replating its legs and hardware. “I always try to preserve as many original details of an old house as possible,” she says. Thornton happily mixes metals, pairing the nickel sink fittings with brass sconces. “The rule that metals need to match is one I always break,” she says. For the floor, she installed a traditional pattern of octagonal penny tiles to suit the century-old age of the home. “Nostalgia is a big part of this house’s appeal,” Thornton says.

Related: Console Sinks Are Making a Comeback—Here’s How to Style One

In the sunroom, the rattan chair, coffee table, and light fixture convey a relaxed vacation ease. As the room is quite large, the narrow daybed does double duty as both a room divider—separating the office area from the TV hangout zone—and an inviting perch that can be approached from either side. It’s ruffled, skirted trim is repeated on a pink ottoman and a pair of upholstered stools in the lounge area. A pink and ivory striped rug adds warmth to the marble floor.

Related: Rattan vs. Wicker: What’s the Difference?

Styling By: Cate Ragan; Produced by: Monika Biegler Eyers

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