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Traditional look returns, inspired by the Abbey

"Downton Abbey" is in its sixth and final season. No more soirees with Lady Mary, invitations to the hunt, or heart-to-hearts with Anna and Bates.

Wouldn't it be grand to re-create the feel of the Abbey in our own suburban homes? Tea in the library or drinks in the drawing room, anyone?

Toms-Price furniture, a local sponsor of the internationally popular show, says this is not as outlandish as it sounds, even if no one but your family would mistake your home for a castle.

" 'Downton Abbey' has inspired a resurgence for people to use traditional furniture in their homes," said Jeanine Zapatka, an interior designer with Toms-Price. "It's had a major impact. You can take an ordinary house and turn it into something extraordinary!"

For example, witness the Lake Bluff house of Dr. Hugh M. Gogins and Sharon Cree. Step inside the rather contemporary exterior and see how your home can achieve a touch of old-fashioned graciousness and elegance.

This house - like many in the suburbs - has one thing that helps create the mood of a castle: The two-story parlor … 'er, great room. Along with the perfect carved limestone fireplace mantel, this contributes to the feeling of grandeur.

Zapatka helped enhance the period feel of the couple's home. It doesn't hurt that Gogins has collected antiques for decades, honing his tastes through the years when he lived in sumptuous apartments inside classic Chicago buildings. And his wife lets him have his way with the decor.

"The mantel was made for a lady in Wilmette, but when she saw it she said 'Get it out of here,' " Gogins said. "It was a very lucky find for us. It's Venetian gothic style. See the Venezia poster we hung above it?"

The furniture in this home is not all English. In fact, visitors see more American, French, Italian and maybe Spanish pieces. But wouldn't that be typical in a castle as the gentry traveled and collected?

Gogins doesn't really have an office in his home. It's more a library with tall antique bookcases, a library-style table supported by carved griffins and a very comfy-looking leather chair beside a floor lamp. This is the New York room, he explains, with the major art being two black-and-white photographs by Life Magazine's Alfred Eisenstaedt, including a shot in the later-demolished Pennsylvania Station of young men leaving for World War II.

Griffins are a common theme in the furniture of the Gogins-Cree house, also carved on the great room sideboard and the dining room table. The dining room is the Chicago room. For example, a picture from a period Harper's Magazine depicts the planned, but never executed, Eiffel Tower at the Columbian Exposition of 1893.

So what's key to getting our own "Downton Abbey" mood?

Look to the fabrics and colors, Zapatka says. "You want warm colors as opposed to grays."

The designer put a lot of time into selecting the decorative pillows for the brown leather couch with Victorian lines. Stickley fabrics include chenille in a rich red inspired by the rug and a smaller one with a more embroidered or tapestry look in red and green. She decided not to add fringe, but that would be appropriate. And any fan desiring fringe on lamp shades should feel free.

Zapatka found an old-fashioned, almost-crewel or embroidered, material for the drapes - a green-beige linen rayon fabric.

The rugs add to the theme, too. "You see reds and greens from the era in the show," she said. "Check out the red sofas in the Abbey's library."

The great room chair with two kinds of leather, including tooling and nailhead trim, came from Toms-Price. Next to it is a brass French floor lamp from the Art Deco period. Zapatka thinks that style works well when someone wants to add the Abbey feel to a home where the furniture is less seriously traditional - what designers call transitional.

"The time frame for the show is moving into the Art Deco era," she said.

She also pointed out a railroad poster with art deco details on the wood and metal frame. But most of the posters in Gogins' collection are framed in ornately carved, Old World looks. Zapatka praises the way the large art works with the cathedral ceiling.

Most visitors would agree the antique chandeliers throughout the home add to the period feel, but Zapatka notes trim around doorways and the crown molding the homeowners added also gives a more traditional, rather than contemporary, look to rooms.

When most of us hear "Stickley," we think of Arts & Crafts-style furniture, which at first blush does not fit our castle theme. However, that simpler and rather contemporary-looking furniture does date to the turn of the century, so pieces were available in the Downton Abbey era. Gogins and Cree chose this style for their master bedroom. The company also makes 18th century furniture appropriate when the Crawleys come for dinner.

And yes, the lord and lady of this manor are Downton Abbey fans. But 8 p.m. Sunday does not bring must-watch television for them.

"We've ordered the DVDs," said Gogins.

  Gogins' home office looks more like a traditional home library. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Interior designer Janine Zapatka helped Dr. Hugh M. Gogins find new furniture and fabrics to mix with his antiques. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  The guest room of the Lake Bluff home continues the "Downton Abbey" theme. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Toms-Price Home Furnishings store in Wheaton has a dinning room vignette designed for people who are "Downton Abbey" fans and want to reproduce that look in their homes. This vignette includes an 18th century style mahogany dining table and sideboard with Chippendale chairs. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Toms-Price Home Furnishings store in Wheaton has a dinning room vignette designed for people who are Downton Abbey fans and want to reproduce that look in their homes. This vignette includes an 18th century style mahogany dining table and sideboard with Chippendale chairs. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Toms-Price Home Furnishings store in Wheaton has a dinning room vignette designed for people who are "Downton Abbey" fans. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Traditional furniture and drapes with a crewel or embroidered look make a dining room fit for visiting gentry in the Lake Bluff home. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  The Arts & Crafts furniture that Stickley is know for seems almost contemporary, but the style originated before the era when the "Downton Abbey" story unfolds. Gogins and Cree chose this for their master bedroom. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Interior designer Jeanine Zapatka of Toms-Price found fabric for decorative pillows that fit the Downton Abbey era. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
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