This Queen Anne home in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago was originally built in 1885, but then fell prey to a “modern” remodel several decades later. “Someone did a gut rehab in the ’60s and just desecrated everything,” says architect and interior designer Dane Rausch.

Much of the home’s more ornate details, like the elaborate woodwork and inlaid floors, were removed or covered up. Then there were additional head-scratching decisions, such as the installation of a spiral staircase that rose through all three floors of the residence, sacrificing a second-floor bedroom in its path.

Before: The Exterior

After: The Exterior

The new owners, a couple with three children, asked Rausch of Inhabit Interiors and architecture firm Booth Hansen to dispatch the 1960s revisions and update the home for modern family life. The remodel wasn’t a restoration, says Rausch, as “there just wasn’t enough left there to do that.”

Instead, the team saved as much as they could, and then juxtaposed original details, like stained-glass windows and fireplaces, with contemporary treatments. “The idea was that anything we brought in or added to the home, we would make it contemporary,” says Rausch.

Before: Foyer

After: Foyer

Modern treatments, such as decorative woodwork with thinner profiles, are balanced with the home’s remaining historic elements, such as the rich jewel tones of the stained-glass windows and the myriad original fireplaces. Red oak floors laid in diagonal strips were swapped out for rift-sawn white oak floors in a herringbone pattern. Crisp white paint on the walls, ceiling, and woodwork unifies old and new to create a textured backdrop for the modern furnishings.

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

With three children, the parents asked for sight lines between rooms, so the team fostered layered views wherever possible. “Because of the beautiful features, like the fireplaces and stained glass windows, we created axial relationships,” says Rausch. “So, any room that you're in, you’re looking through another room at something—a fireplace, a stained-glass window, maybe a chandelier.”

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Before: Kitchen and Dining Room

After: Kitchen and Dining Room

In the renovation, solid wood swing doors were repurposed as pocket doors, and keyhole paneling found in the basement was relocated to the first-floor den. For the many fireplaces, if they were in a spot that didn’t work in the new plan, and even if not functional, they were preserved and installed elsewhere in the house.

Before: Breakfast Room

After: Breakfast Room

Before: Den

After: Den

Before: Kid’s Bedroom

After: Kid’s Bedroom

Before: Kid’s Bathroom

After: Kid’s Bathroom

After: Third-Floor Playroom

Not everything from the 1960s remodel was erased. “The ’60s renovation had some really fun stuff,” says Rausch. “In the attic, they cut round holes through the roof and they have these awesome bubble skylights. Of course, we had to keep some of that craziness.”

More Before & After:

A Designer Mixes Asian and American Influences in Her Family’s San Francisco Kitchen

A Thorough Renovation Primes a Portland Home for Aging in Place

A Vibrant Remodel Tunes Up an Australian Bungalow for a Family and Their Pets

Project Credits:

Architecture: Booth Hansen

Builder: Contemporary Concepts

Interior Design: Inhabit Interiors (@inhabit.interiors)

Cabinetry: Plain & Fancy

Dining Table: Drake Woodworking