By Katie Vaughn | Photography By Ryan McDonald
On the southern shore of Geneva Lake sits one of the oldest private golf clubs in the Midwest. The exclusive Lake Geneva Country Club, founded in 1895, boasts a Prairie-Style clubhouse built in 1915 by prominent architect Robert Closson Spencer, Jr.
But by the 2020s, the clubhouse’s bar, where members often gather for lunch and post-golf drinks, was feeling dated. So Winnetka, Illinois-based interior designer Elizabeth Drake signed on to help envision a new look.
Major tasks on Drake’s to-do list were opening up the cramped space and addressing the acoustics to make the room less “clattery and loud” for diners. The architect replaced several posts with steel beams in the ceiling to create an airier atmosphere and Drake designed and installed a coffered ceiling outfitted with sound abatement materials.
Also important were keeping the room’s beautiful lake views prominent and honoring the building’s history, through touches like the Arts & Crafts-style light pendants above the bar.
“Being a Chicago person, I’m very aware of Prairie architecture,” Drake says. “I also grew up sailing, so nautical style is very familiar to me.”
Nautical elements became a subtle through line of the design, showing up in the watery blue tones of the fireplace tiles, textured wallpaper (Woven Wicker in Blue Merge by Phillip Jeffries), wainscoting (painted Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy) and seat upholstery, as well as in the dark, rich woods of the oval-shaped bar, coffered walls, trophy cases and tables. And historic black and white photos of Lake Geneva adorn the walls in blue-matted frames.
“I wanted it to feel clubby and cozy but still summery,” she says. “I tried to make everything feel fresh but also tie it to the tradition of the club.”
Drake worked with historic architect John Hagenah, Richard Dammier Builders, Hansen Cabinetry and High Rise Chimney on the renovations, which took place while the clubhouse was closed for the winter, from late 2023 to spring 2024. Drake says members are thrilled with the new bar and especially appreciate the way she maximized space while honoring the club’s legacy.
For Drake, who works in both commercial and residential design, creating spaces that welcome visitors with grace and hold them in comfort is a hallmark of her design style.
“I always want to make it about ease of hospitality,” she says.
MORE ABOUT THIS RENOVATION
- Inspired by English chairs from the 1800s, designer Elizabeth Drake had wood chairs and bar stools created for the room. They’re stained black and enhanced with blue upholstery and nailhead trim. Underfoot, mottled black tile adds a sense of age.
- Renovations to the bar were extensive. “Nothing was reused other than the brick in the back of the fireplace,” Drake says.
- Surrounded by custom millwork and shelving to display some of the club’s golf trophies, the blue-tiled fireplace visually anchors the room, says Drake. Tables can be moved and rearranged to accommodate different events in the space.
