Interior designer in Lake Forest, IL
Lake Forest homes often come with a sense of scale that changes the interior design conversation. Generous rooms, deep lots, significant architecture and long views through the property all create opportunities, but they also make disconnected decisions more noticeable. Marshall Erb Design works with Lake Forest homeowners on custom residences, major renovations and fully furnished interiors, bringing architecture, cabinetry, lighting, materials, furniture and art into one coordinated plan from our Chicago studio.
Marshall Erb Design · Residential interior
The best interiors take their cues from the house and the land
Lake Forest is known for residential properties where architecture and landscape are closely linked. A long approach to the house, mature trees, garden views or a room that opens toward the lake can be as important to the experience of an interior as the finishes inside it. We look at those relationships early, because furniture placement, window treatments, lighting and circulation should reinforce the way a home sits on its property rather than ignore it.
The same principle applies to older homes. Lake Forest has a strong preservation culture, and many residences carry architectural details worth understanding before changes are made. We do not approach that as a reason to freeze a house in time. The goal is to identify what gives the property its character, then improve kitchens, baths, storage, room relationships and furnishings so the home works naturally for the people living there now.
Residential work shaped by very different places
Mauka Makai and Historic Aspen sit in completely different climates and architectural contexts, which is precisely why they belong together here. One is open to a tropical landscape and the other had to preserve the presence of an 1880s miner’s cottage while being transformed for contemporary family life. Both show a design process that responds to the property first, then builds a refined interior around the way the clients actually want to live.
Luxury residential interior
Mauka Makai is designed around openness, ease and a strong connection to its setting. Natural textures, generous upholstery and a restrained material palette create rooms that feel sophisticated without becoming formal. The project is a useful example of how luxury can come from proportion, comfort and editing rather than from adding more objects to a room.
Historic full-home renovation
Historic Aspen required a very different kind of discipline. Marshall Erb Design helped transform an 1880s miner’s cottage into a four-bedroom, five-bath home while preserving the scale and character visible from the street. The interior architecture, materials, custom lighting and furnishings were developed for modern family life within a project shaped by preservation requirements, complex construction and a demanding mountain setting.
Full-service interior design for Lake Forest homes
Large residential projects are easier to manage when the interior design scope is considered as one connected system. For Lake Forest clients, that can mean joining a new build before interior plans are fixed, reworking an existing estate without flattening its character, or carrying a furnishing plan through to final installation. The scope changes from home to home, but the objective is consistent: fewer isolated decisions and a more coherent finished result.
New residences and early design coordination
New construction benefits from having the interior designer involved while the architect and builder can still respond to the furniture plan, cabinetry, lighting and daily routines of the household. Marshall Erb Design has participated in substantial North Shore projects at this stage, including a new home on three acres in Lake Forest. Early coordination allows ceiling heights, openings, millwork, electrical locations and finish transitions to be resolved before they become expensive field changes.
Renovating significant and older homes
A major renovation should improve the way the property functions without making the original house feel incidental. We study room sequences, sightlines, architectural details and the parts of the home that carry real value before proposing changes. In a historic or architecturally notable Lake Forest residence, that judgment matters as much as the new materials themselves, particularly when additions or interior alterations need to feel deliberate rather than visually detached from the existing structure.
Kitchens, libraries, dressing rooms and custom cabinetry
Cabinetry often provides the visual structure for the rooms used most intensively. Kitchens, libraries, bars, dressing rooms, baths and utility spaces each require a different balance of storage, proportion and finish. Marshall Erb Design has collaborated on large Lake Forest residential cabinetry projects, and we approach millwork as part of the architecture of the room, not simply as a product selection made after the plan is complete.
Furnishings, art and whole-home installation
Once the architectural decisions are established, furnishings determine how a large home becomes comfortable at a human scale. We plan furniture, rugs, window treatments, decorative lighting, art and accessories room by room while keeping the larger composition in view. Existing collections can be integrated with new pieces, and custom furniture can be commissioned where a specific proportion or function cannot be solved well with something already available.
Marshall Erb · Principal & Lead Interior Designer
Design leadership for complex residential projects
Marshall Erb established his Chicago studio in 1998 after earning a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology. That training shapes how the firm works on substantial residences: the furniture plan is not separated from the room, cabinetry is not separated from circulation, and lighting is not treated as a decorative layer added at the end. Each decision is evaluated for how it affects the rest of the interior.
Lake Forest projects can involve sizable properties, multiple consultants and a level of detail that rewards clear coordination. Marshall Erb Design has worked with architects, builders and cabinetry specialists on residential projects in the area, including new construction and large custom-home collaborations. Our role is to keep the client’s priorities visible while translating them into decisions the broader project team can act on.
That process continues through the quieter decisions that ultimately determine whether a home feels resolved: the depth of a shelf, the height of a lamp, the placement of a painting or the way a pair of rooms relates when both are visible at once. The result should feel layered and personal, but also controlled enough that the architecture and the furnishings read as parts of the same idea. Learn more about our approach to residential design.
What to consider before starting a Lake Forest design project
A productive first conversation does not require a finished brief. What matters is understanding the property, the scale of change you are considering and any decisions already in motion with an architect or builder. The questions below address some of the practical issues that come up most often on larger residential projects.
Do you have experience with residential projects in Lake Forest?
Yes. Marshall Erb Design has documented experience collaborating on substantial residential work in Lake Forest, including new construction on a three-acre property and custom cabinetry collaborations for large homes in the area. That experience is useful because estate-scale projects often require close coordination between the interior designer, architect, builder and specialist fabricators.
When should we bring an interior designer into a new-build project?
Ideally, before the architectural drawings are fully locked. Furniture layouts, kitchen planning, cabinetry, decorative lighting and the way rooms will actually be used can affect windows, doors, ceiling conditions, electrical locations and circulation. Bringing the interior design team in early gives the architect and builder more opportunity to coordinate those decisions before construction advances.
How do you approach a historic or architecturally significant Lake Forest home?
We begin by identifying which architectural features give the house its character and which parts are preventing it from working well for the current owners. The goal is not to reproduce the past or erase it. We look for changes that improve function, comfort and flow while allowing important materials, proportions and details to remain part of the home’s identity.
Can you handle both the architectural details and the furnishings?
Our residential scope can include interior architecture, kitchens and baths, millwork, material selections, lighting, custom furniture, furnishings, rugs, window treatments, art placement and final installation. Keeping those layers connected is especially valuable in a larger home because changes in one area can influence the scale, function or appearance of another.
Where is your studio, and how do Lake Forest projects work from there?
Our studio is in Chicago at 1332 N Halsted St, Suite 100, Chicago, IL 60642. We serve Lake Forest, Hinsdale, Glencoe, Kenilworth, Winnetka and other North Shore communities from that location, with project meetings and site coordination arranged around the needs and stage of the work. When you contact us, sharing the property address, approximate scope and anticipated timing helps us begin with useful context.
Start a conversation about your Lake Forest home
If you are planning a new residence, a substantial renovation or a complete reworking of the interiors in Lake Forest, tell us where the project stands now. Existing drawings, photographs, approximate square footage and your priorities for the home are all useful. From there, we can discuss the appropriate design scope, when our team should become involved and how the project can move forward with a clear point of view.
