Buffalo Grove living room given a ‘vintage’ update

When Jerry and Sarah Stempel remodeled the living room in their Buffalo Grove home, they aimed at what you might call a “vintage” look.

Enter their two-story house tucked away on a cul-de-sac in the Old Farm Village subdivision and you will likely be greeted by the couple’s two dogs, Bailey and Cooper. You will also be struck by the distinctive look of the living room.

Amid the comfortable furnishings, which include a couch, a piano and a big-screen television, are walls lined with shelves, each filled with dozens of bottles of wine tipped on their sides.

The handsome makeover is the work of interior designer Lori Abrams, who fulfilled the need expressed by the Stempels to not only have a central location to display their wine collection, but also one where their family — which includes three children as well as the two dogs — could entertain.

“They love wine. They love to entertain and really wanted to showcase their wine,” Abrams said.

Before Abrams was brought in to lead the remodeling project, the couple’s wine was stored everywhere in the four-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot home.

“Wine bottles were in any kind of cabinets they could find, all over the house,” Abrams said.

What she devised was a system that would allow people the most room to use the space, as well as attractively showcase the collection. For the project, which also involved rebuilding an adjacent staircase, Abrams and the Stempels utilized salvaged wood on beams and countertops.

Sarah Stempel said Abrams found a great craftsman, cabinetmaker Craig Stancy, “who really took all of our suggestions and worked with us.”

The wood used for the majority of the room, including the shelving and cabinetry, is knotty alder. The countertops are made of rustic pine timbers, and the room is wrapped in knotty alder wainscoting.

The accessories in the room are appropriately quirky and fit in with the overall theme, including a lantern filled with wine corks. Along one of the walls is a replica of an antique wine opener, while hanging from the ceiling is a chandelier concocted from an old wine barrel and accented with amber crystals.

The array of bottles on each wall is built around a central design element. On one wall, there is a large-screen television, while on another is an elegant still-life painting of bottles of wine by artist Thomas Arvid, who specializes in wine art. The drawing was discovered in an art gallery in Lake Geneva, and Stempel said she went to Binny’s to find the bottles of wine depicted in Arvid’s drawing.

Thus, the wine itself “became the art in the room.”

The Stempels, who have lived in the home for 21 years, began collecting wine after visiting Sonoma, Calif., on vacations.

The room holds more than 100 bottles of wine, and Sarah is quick to emphasize that they do not collect expensive wine. “There are plenty of bottles here that are 12 bucks. We are not wine snobs in any way, shape or form.”

In addition to the wine racks, the walls were treated with a faux finish that Abrams describes as “Tuscan-inspired.”

“We did Tuscany because they are known for their wine, and Sarah loved the feeling of a wine country (atmosphere),” Abrams said.

Abrams was particularly inspired during a trip to Tuscany, Italy, last year, where she acquired ideas from visits to centuries-old wineries.

Browns and beiges are the dominant colors of the room. The floor is covered by a wool rug, while wormwood beams salvaged from an old barn cover the ceiling to give the room some depth and texture.

Several items were purchased from stores like Restoration Hardware and Z Gallerie, including a mahogany coffee table from the latter that anchors the room and can be used to display books or as a surface for appetizers.

“I personally like to mix things that are easy-to-find, affordable with things that are more custom,” Abrams said.

The room is designed with an eye to the practical, with the shelves where the wine bottles are stored containing grooves that prevent the bottles from falling.

Abrams, who owns Lori Abrams Interior Design in Buffalo Grove, resumed her career recently after taking a break to raise her children. Her experience has included high-end interior design work in New York and Philadelphia.

She has known the Stempels for years and the living room is one of her first projects. Abrams said she and Sarah “go way back.”

“We have two Jakes. Our sons are the same age.”

Sarah has wanted to update her living room for some time.

“This room was just a regular, nothing room. We had the piano and really nothing else. And so, Lori expressed that she wanted to get back in the workforce, and I expressed that I would love to do something to this room that would really utilize it.

“And so, we started to take on this project that has turned out to be beyond fabulous.”

Lest you get the impression the wine provides the dominant function for the room, rest assured it is still primarily a place for the family to curl up comfortably on the couch and watch television or listen to Jerry play the baby grand piano.

“We love it. This is a great room,” Sarah said. “We had a big party for New Year’s Eve. It was a great way to entertain. People loved being able to pick out a bottle of wine.”