Thoroughbred style

Laura Pedian's personal style is glamorous, opulent, 18th century French.

So are you surprised that the designer lives in a barn?

"I'm living my passion," she said. "This was my dream -- to live in the barn with the horses.

"I've always loved the horses and always wanted to be around them. They are magical. They give me peace and serenity."

Pedian lives in what she calls "the largest stall," and while the horses don't have it any better than she does, the decorating is actually more finished in their digs than hers.

Horses walking to their stalls from the outdoor paddocks or the huge indoor arena pass between a green and gold 18th-century French tapestry and a large Kashan Persian rug from the 1920s -- and beneath a crystal chandelier.

"They should live like I live. They're my family," she said.

The horse people -- mostly women -- who board 17 pets in the Barrington Hills barn can relax with their children in a viewing room complete with a kitchenette and Ralph Lauren decor.

Here they'll find pictures on the wall and other accessories, unlike the great room in Pedian's home where the artist has yet to complete the painting she envisions for the room's white walls.

She did install a gold-washed silver frame around one of the most important features in the room -- a window that opens into the stall where her own horse, Roletto, lives.

The huge Hanoverian thoroughbred sticks his head into Pedian's home almost at will because he can shove the bars aside with his nose.

"We watch television together," she said of Roletto, who is more than 16 hands tall. He practices dressage, which is considered horse ballet or gymnastics.

The great room features a dining room table of Pedian's own design with a marble top and cast-aluminum base sporting cherubs.

"I call the table, which can also be made as a kitchen island and that I have as a desk in my office, Louix XVI meets Laura Pedian," she said.

A dormer floods sun or moonlight over open beams, a chandelier of Czech crystal is almost her trademark, and the champagne-colored velvet sectional is decorated with silk ribbon welt.

"I'm a chandelier freak," she said. "They are opulent and glimmer and glisten at night. They're art actually. They add so much drama."

But she hasn't finished the kitchen, installed window coverings or purchased a flat-screen television yet.

Yes, there's a window over the sink. It opens into the 82-by-224-foot arena where boarders can ride their horses.

On the weekends, Pedian takes care of the barn, mucking, sweeping and cleaning. Her single employee helps during the week.

"I get up a couple times a night to check on the horses," she said. "I tuck them in with a carrot and apple every night."

Pedian, who grew up in the Barrington area, built her barn three years ago on land she named Uulke Farm after a horse who died. And she recently opened an interior design studio in downtown Barrington, along with one in Chicago.

"I like an eclectic mix of things. Interesting objects, pieces of furniture, warmth and charm and great interest. I love having big art around. "

Her parents, Haig and Agnes Pedian, live nearby. About three years ago, the Pedians sold a longtime Chicago rug company that bore their name.

"When I was growing up we talked about design and colors at the dinner table," she said.

Her clients include many restaurants in the city and one in Arlington Heights called Teddy's Just Good Food.

"I can't tell you what the horses do to my heart," says the resident of the largest stall. "I can't wait to just hug them and kiss them."