House of the Four Winds
Lake Forest
Designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw and constructed in 1908 for Hugh McBirney, the house has an unusually linear design that is reinforced and enhanced by the formal gardens designed by Shaw and Rose Standish Nichols. It is an outstanding and unique example of Shaw’s Arts and Crafts houses, but “more importantly an exceptional example of the explorations by early 20th century Chicago architects of the relationship of interior spaces of a house to its gardens. Here the main rooms of the house form a linear sequence of living room, sun room, covered outdoor porch and defined garden ‘rooms.’” Over the course of more than 30 years, Bill and Lynn Redfield have painstakingly restored the house which had deteriorated significantly over time. They also restored the gardens, which contained structures that were long buried and lost to the sight of man. The Redfields have consistently and repeatedly opened their house and gardens to community organizations for edification and enlightenment.