Award

Netsch Residence Wins Interior Design Best of Year Award

The Netsch Residence Renovation received an award in the Residential Transformation category of the 2019 Interior Design Best of Year Awards. The house, one of two category winners, was designed by former SOM partner Walter Netsch as his private residence and is located in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. Nearly 50 years after its construction, we partnered with the current owners to return it to its original design. Inside the 2-story, 3,500-square-foot home, Netsch’s field theory—a versatile, geometric process for generating structures in which the combination of right angle and diagonal patterns drive the design—is on display in an Escher-like layout. 

The renovation added new appliances and cabinetry to a well-worn kitchen, with a continuous 40-foot walnut counter and shelf installed to recall the original linear service bar. New counters and lighting, as well as a concealed water closet, refresh the existing half bathroom, while new tile work and counters do the same in the existing master bathroom. To reconcile the open concept with the need for privacy, concealed sliding doors were designed and installed at the bath and master bedroom area.