BORN AGAIN
With major customizations courtesy of a female-forward collective of creatives, PROjECT. wraps a comprehensive interior design scope for a “cathedral unit” inside Saint Boniface Church on Chicago’s Near Northwest Side.
The renovation and conversion of Saint Boniface church into luxury residences came close to being an urban legend. The church narrowly escaped the wrecking ball in 2016, and Chicago’s design community has waited with baited breath ever since. Long story short, the project changed hands, COVID happened, and designers came and went (including whispers about Jeanne Gang), until finally interior demolition and restoration work began in 2022 under developer ZSD Corp in collaboration with SPACE Architects + Planners. “After 17 years of advocacy by Landmarks Illinois to save the endangered building from demolition, it’s truly amazing to see this historic church in Noble Square have a new lease on life with all of its ornate exterior details so meticulously preserved,” says PROjECT. Principal + Visionary Aimee Wertepny, who was engaged last year by a repeat client to complete a comprehensive interior design scope for a 3,000-square-foot duplex penthouse (a.k.a. a “cathedral unit”) in the building, including three bedrooms and 2.5 baths. (The building has 18 residential condo units total across the church and a modern addition, many with southern exposures overlooking Eckhart Park.)
For the approach, PROjECT. chose to preserve, integrate and polish up some of the interior historical elements that add character: existing arches, aged subway tiles, and the massive trusses that pierce through the kitchen and main living space — despite how tricky it would make space planning. “We had to dip into our bag of tricks to activate a living and entertaining program that feels effortless and organic,” says Wertepny, who brought on architectural designer Karin Wowk of KWOWK to assist. “PROjECT. has always been about lifting up female talent and giving them an opportunity to shine. Internally, we’ve been an all-female team since the beginning — nearly 20 years,” adds Wertepny. “For this special project, we took that a step further by banding together an assemblage of creative goddesses for special customizations like draperies [Basia Frossard of BF Projects], upholstery [Lili Petrov of Burchell Upholstery], art [including a street-chic doodle on a dresser by Chicago artist Raspy Rivera], and statement lighting. The hero light fixture in the main living space is by Concord, for example, a female-founded, Toronto-based lighting design and manufacturing studio with wicked-cool pieces.” (For the full list of female designers, artisans and business owners who participated in this project, see below.)
Connected by the punctuations of Concord’s 18-foot-long light fixture and a low-profile, tufted Italian sectional by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia that PROjECT. customized to include a bench that doubles as seating for the dining table, the main living and dining spaces flow effortlessly one into the next. “Visually, it’s almost like you can’t tell where one space ends and the other begins, which is really fun for entertaining,” says Wertepny. “Our last project for this couple was super clean and minimal. But for this home — for their new chapter as empty nesters — the clients encouraged us to go bigger and bolder in our selections; to get more playful with patterns and textures.” Speaking of attention-grabbing texture, Wertepny often lets Mother Nature steer the ship. “There’s nothing I love more than searching for big slabs of stone with wild veining and colorways that only the earth can devise,” adds Wertepny. “The Scandinavian quartz for the kitchen countertops and island is a study in swirling, black-and-white contrasts, while the tablet we chose for the custom vanity in the primary bath ombrés from jet black to taupe to cream. When I think of beauty in its rawest form, I think of stones like these.”
In true PROjECT. fashion, particular attention was paid to transitional spaces, which include some conceptually unconventional millwork moves. “Hallways and doorways, portals and passageways… We never overlook an opportunity to level up on continuity and customizations, and the experience of moving from one space into another,” says Wertepny. “We extended the custom kitchen cabinetry to run the entire width of the unit, including up and over the front door so that you walk right through it. And then we added a coordinating coat closet and exposed shelving.” Other examples include a chic, breeze block partition (courtesy of Artistic Tile) that defines an office nook and the activation of a long hallway with original church arches to turn it into a dressing hall that features bronze mirror-clad sliding doors. “You enter into the primary through a portal of exposed, original brick that transitions into a luxe grasscloth wallcovering from Phillip Jeffries,” adds Wertepny. “We backlit the custom velvet headboard and added an eye-catching pendant above the bed — with pony hair tails! — for lighting that amplifies depth and dimension.”
Better still, this spring PROjECT. will be back for a phase two mini project for this property: enclosing the home’s East-and-South-facing deck to turn it into bonus interior space in the form of a loggia-style all-seasons “city viewing” room and adding a step-up roof deck for an outdoor footprint with panoramic city views. “The cherry on top — our full-circle moment — was that Karin and I brought our nieces along for the install,” says Wertepny. “In addition to being excellent workhorses and schleppers, we let their little minds run wild contributing to styling decisions. Let’s just say I have high hopes for tomorrow’s fierce, female creatives!”
Callout Collabs + Sourcing Details
CUSTOM MILLWORK: Dylan Martin Furniture
CUSTOM RUGS: Tai Ping
CUSTOM ART: Raspy Rivera + Beth Kamhi
CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY: Burchell Upholstery using fabrics from Samuel & Sons, Pindler + Pindler, Romo + Pierre Frey
CUSTOM DRAPERIES: BF Projects
WALLCOVERINGS: Phillip Jeffries + MaVoix
TILE: Artistic Tile, Zia Tile + Ann Sacks
LIGHTING FIXTURES: Concord + Katy Skelton
PLUMBING FIXTURES: Brizo + Watermark
GLOBAL GOODS + VINTAGE DECOR: South Loop Loft + Randolph Street Market
