Less can be more: more demanding, more exacting and more nerve-wracking. The elegantly spare Lincoln Park apartment of Sheryl and Michael Markman, done with the help of Chicago interior designer Nate Berkus to be purposefully minimal, proves the point.
“I have always been a minimalist about everything, be it clothing or furniture, but that doesn’t mean I ascribe to one specific style,” explains Sheryl Markman, owner of 2 By 4, a gift and personal shopping service. What it does mean is that she had to “edit choices down to what I hoped would be the perfect ones,” she says.
Avoiding errors was another goal, because “making mistakes can be far too costly.”
Berkus echoes her concerns, pointing out that making rigorous and realistic choices is critical with this particular design aesthetic. “When there aren’t a lot of elements in a project, you have to make very circumspect choices,” he says. “There has to be a balance between comfort, utility and appearance in every piece.”
Markman also wanted the place “to reflect us, not scream any one brand name associated with minimalism.” To that end, Berkus helped Markman choose new pieces and reuse a few she brought to Chicago from her Dallas home.
In the living room, the baby grand piano and a vintage Harry Bertoia chair were givens; to that they added a brawny yet gracefully proportioned sofa with a high comfort factor; a pair of leggy, subtly reclining easy chairs; two curving walnut stools that double as coffee tables; and an intricate Chinese apothecary chest that is “my husband’s one nod to antiquity,” quips Markman. Together, the pieces radiate warmth and comfort without overwhelming one another.
With its sleek, creamy leather chairs, streamlined walnut table, stainless steel and walnut console cantilevered from the wall, and three architectural pendants used in lieu of chandeliers, the dining room is equally restrained. This allows it “to look larger than it really is,” notes Markman.
Ultimately, for Berkus, “good design has to do with good communication and shared goals,” and that’s what this designer and client had in abundance. According to Berkus, “this made the job challenging aesthetically, but not intellectually. I never had to waste any time explaining why something was right for the project; she instantly understood how everything would fit together and how artistic furniture can be, especially in a minimalist interior.”
Client and designer owe their perfect pairing to chance. Markman had interviewed a few noted Chicago designers when she first moved here six years ago, but was put off by the fussy and overblown projects they showed her. When she noticed Berkus picking out fixtures at a lighting store, she realized they had the same sensibility and asked for his card.
Four years later, she says, “I know what I like, but wouldn’t have been able to put all these elements together as successfully without Nate-without any mistakes and well within budget.”
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Foyer: Pedestal table–Christian Liaigre at Holly Hunt Ltd., Merchandise Mart. Living room: Baby grand piano and Knoll chair by Harry Bertoia–personal collection; Pucci stool–Thomas Job, Mart; Dakota Jackson easy chair–Holly Hunt; 17th Century Chinese apothecary chest–Pagoda Red, Chicago; rug–Peerless Rug Co., Chicago; mirror–City Antiques at Pranich & Associates, Mart. Dining room: Rob Jones sofa–Holly Hunt; table–designed and fabricated by Nate Berkus; B&B Italia dining chairs–Luminaire, Chicago; Floss pendant fixtures–Crest Lighting, Chicago; console–Heltzer Inc., Mart; multimedia work on paper by Francis Stark–CRG, New York.
