Airy Modernism Finds a Home in a Victorian Dwelling

A room of one’s own was vital to Virginia Woolf to pursue her passion to write. In the same vein, “a home of our own” was vital to Patrizio Fradiani and his partner.

In their case, that meant creating a home that “reflects an image of who we both are, our life together and our interest in architecture and art,” he explains.

Architecture and art form the foundation of Fradiani’s professional life as well as his private life. An Italian transplant with an architecture degree from La Sapienza University in Rome, he works as an associate at Jonathan Splitt Architects, teaches at Chicago’s Harrington Institute of Design and produces his own body of mixed-media artworks. His partner, a Chicago psychotherapist, shares his interest in the arts. The two met while Fradiani was studying at the School of the Art Institute for a semester, and they moved in together four years ago.

The only problem with the arrangement was that his partner owned the place. So two years later, they decided “to celebrate our commitment by buying a home together,” Fradiani says. Given their passions, they knew from the start that they would renovate it to suit them.

Both men wanted to live in open, airy, light-filled spaces that would reflect their interest and attraction to the sort of clean-lined contemporary design that is born of Modernism.

They also wanted a structure with historical value that they could modernize. A large kitchen was mandatory because they both like to cook and entertain, as was a private guest suite for a constant stream of visitors. Room for Fradiani to work at home was also a necessity. And their love for simplicity and austerity prompted their resolve to eventually fill the place with elegant yet minimal furnishings.

Their first consideration was what to buy. “A loft seemed like the logical choice, since we could carve the space up as we desired,” Fradiani said. But all the places they found were unsuitably large or small. Then a bike ride around their North Side neighborhood turned up a clapboard Victorian built in the farmhouse style in 1883, and they bid on it that day.

“We realized that Modernism is a style that is so progressive that we could apply it to this house and still maintain its architectural integrity,” Fradiani said. While they didn’t want to obliterate the structural features of the home, they had no intention of undertaking a period restoration.

“We wanted to respect the old and incorporate the new, and for us that meant refining and reconfiguring the interior space,” he said.

To do this, Fradiani employed innovative architectural detailing, such as translucent glass panels used as pocket doors and floating glass shelves. Coupled with sleek contemporary furnishings, these devices worked wonders on the double parlors and dining room that constituted the front rooms of the first floor of the house, and lent the spaces a Modernist aesthetic.

But the kitchen needed to be totally reconfigured, and was transformed from three small rooms into one large, open space that is outfitted with streamlined yet sumptuous new fittings from Italy.

The two other floors called for total gut jobs. More light was a requisite on the second story, which was a warren of five small rooms, so Fradiani reconfigured it into a master suite with an airy bedroom and bathroom, a second bedroom and bathroom, and a study.

He used solid panels with walnut veneers and the same translucent glass panels used on the first floor as room dividers and doors throughout the space. In almost every instance, the various sliding panels of wood and glass run from floor to ceiling, which gives the rooms the illusion of more height.

By filling the house with well-chosen contemporary furnishings that are understated and comfortable, they have given the place a demeanor that makes it as relevant and nurturing for the 21st century as it was when it was built as a simple farmhouse in the 1880s.