Chicago-area architect Celeste Robbins wasn’t in the market for a weekend getaway, but it was love at first sight when she laid eyes on a low-slung 1956 residence designed by architect Winston Elting overlooking Lake Michigan. “A client had contacted me about doing some work on the residence, but in the end they decided not to purchase it,” recalls Robbins. “It was a completely spontaneous decision to put in an offer, but I love the mid-20th-century vocabulary and the two-acre site is fabulous.”
In fact, Robbins’s first house was also a mid-20th-century design, and that, she says, has inspired her professional work, which she has documented in a new monograph out this month. “That home had wood paneling and floor-to-ceiling glass as well, so it feels like a full-circle moment to get back to what I loved about that place. I tend to work on larger projects for clients, but the aesthetic is similar, with flat roofs and a connection to the outdoors. What I like about this particular house is its simplicity. It’s just a rectangle with intimate courtyards carved out of it.” Read more here
