Today, the treatment of the interior wall is graceful and delicate, but it didn't start that way. The wall housed the backside of the living room fireplace and was laden with soffits, turns, and asymmetrical doors. To unify its obstructive elements, a hand-painted mural of trees covers the wall. Reflected in the windows and the views to the outside, the gray-blue scene adds interest without overwhelming any other component of the room. "I wanted the focus to be outside," says Liz. "The mural adds to the feeling of being enveloped in a lush garden."

Lake Forest Showhouse
Lake Forest, Illinois

There's light for the sake of necessity, and light for creating a pleasing aesthetic. Both came into play for interior designer Annika Christensen, born and raised in Sweden, where winter months afford only a small window of opportunity for sunlight. In the showhouse's master sitting room, she drew on her heritage to secure a palette that calms and promotes restful activity.

Unified by a large flokati rug are a Swedish antique sofa and chairs, all upholstered with blue-and-white seersucker, a modern variation on the ticking stripe that is often used in Swedish design. An organically shaped lamp and two occasional tables add a hint of a contemporary edge. The paper-shade lamp suggests movement, and a clear Lucite coffee table and a little round steel table from the 1960s enhance the room's airy ambience. Window treatments are fabricated from an ivory linen-and-silk-blend sheer that is adorned with light-reflecting glass beads.

Photography: Edmund Barr
Produced by Hilary Rose  

Interior designer Annika Christensen.

Design: Annika Christensen, Midnight Sun Ltd., Swedish Antiques and Interior Design, 110 W. Lake St., Libertyville, IL 60048; 847/362-5240,
midnightsunantiques.com.

Sources:
Master sitting room -- Sofa (antique, Swedish Gustavian-style); clock (antique, Bornhom); painting over console table; Flokati rug; sconces (1930s Swedish Gustavian-style); wire table (vintage Warren Platner): Midnight Sun Antiques, 847/362-5240.
Sofa fabric and fabric on wing chairs (“Liaigre Linen’’/Goudron Pluie #10000/01 by Great Plains); fabric on console table
(“Weathered’’/Bleached #1204/01 by Great Plains): Holly Hunt, 312/661-1900, hollyhunt.com, trade only.
Ticking stripe on wing chairs (“Seaton Stripe’’/Salt & Pepper #1161/06); trim on console table (“La Scala’’/Patina #1120/04): Classic Cloth by Dessin Fournir, 785/434-2777, dessinfournir.com, trade only.
Wing chairs (antique, Swedish bergères): Midnight Sun Ltd., 847/362-5240, midnightsunantiques.com.
Wall treatment (grass cloth #RK3835L11): Area International, 312/644-0595, trade only.
Swivel armchair (“March’’ #7625-27): Hickory Chair, 828/324-1801, hickorychair.com.
Swivel-chair fabric and pillows on sofa (“Maravilla’’/Pewter #4006/01): Summer Hill Ltd., 415/355-1300, summerhill.com, trade only.
Floor lamp (Akari Floor Lamp by Isamu Noguchi): Design Within Reach, 800/944-2233, dwr.com, and noguchi.org.
Coffee table (“Lucy Lucite Table’’): Todd Hase Furniture Inc., 312/644-9755.
Valance fabric (#NC1015-003): Nancy Corzine, 212/223-8340, trade only.
Valance trim (“Glass Beaded Fringe’’/Platinum #T-30391-106): Kravet, 888/457-2838, kravet.com, trade only.

In front of the fireplace surround sit a pair of slipper chairs covered in silver silk velvet. A tufted ottoman in a gray micro-fiber fabric is handy to both chairs.