Sweet Success
November 1, 2007
The top floor, originally designed as a home gym, became a media room when Foley suggested that one hour of exercise a day should not determine the function of the space that has the best views of downtown Chicago. The gym was relocated to the lowest level, and the media room received a terrace for taking in the sweeping views of the city skyline.
Despite landscaped terraces on every level, the owners recently asked Andy Otting, with local landscape architecture firm Scott Byron & Co., to design a meditation, yoga and lounging terrace with a steel pergola and one wall of frosted glass panels atop the garage. The result is an open yet secluded hideaway that has become a favorite "room" in the house.
The home’s generous scale—7,200 square feet spread throughout four levels—has provided an additional benefit. Because the men work together during the day, they wanted separate spaces to retreat to at times. Grinspoon prefers the kitchen; Foley the library. Their two yellow labs, Sufa and Shemesh, have the run of the house, "except for the living room sofa," Grinspoon adds with a laugh.
Though the candy company closed its doors early this year and
the train no longer passes by, the home’s charm has endured. "I enjoy puttering
around and looking at the house every morning," Grinspoon says. And Foley feels
the same: "We know how lucky we are, which is why we give back. Everything’s
about balance."
Kaufman Segal Design, 312.649.0680, www.kaufmansegal.com
Scott
Byron & Co., 847.689.0266, www.scottbyron.com
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