Over 45 Interior and Landscape Designers to Transform Pembroke Lodge for the 20th Anniversary Production of  the Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens with Honorary Chair Mary McDonald 

 The 20th anniversary production of the Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens will showcase the transformation of almost 50 interior and exterior spaces, each with its own designer. World renowned Los Angeles-based interior designer Mary McDonald has been named as the showhouse’s Honorary Chair and will be the keynote speaker at a luncheon on April 28, 2025. Dara Caponigro, Chief Creative Officer of F. Schumacher & Co., and Editor-in-Chief of design magazine FREDERIC, will serve as the moderator and sign advance copies of her new book Glorious Gardens: Private Edens of the World's Leading Interior Designers, to be released in May 2025. 

Pembroke Lodge is a limestone Georgian-style Lake Forest home, designed in 1895 by Henry Ives Cobb—the architect of Union Club of Chicago, Chicago Athletic Association Building, Chicago Varnish Company Building (a National Landmark of Historic Places and a Chicago Landmark), Newberry Library and several pre-1900 buildings at Lake Forest College and the University of Chicago. Pembroke Lodge is one of the earliest estates developed along Lake Forest’s Green Bay Road. Originally built on nearly 40 acres with landscape architecture by Frederick Law Olmsted, the home was designed to take advantage of sunsets over the prairie landscape. Pembroke Lodge was built for real estate and zinc mining entrepreneur David Benton Jones and remained in the family for 67 years. After David’s death, his daughter, philanthropist Gwethalyn Jones, sold over 31 acres to School District 67, where the City of Lake Forest’s Deer Path Middle School now resides. In 1935, the 30-room estate saw the addition of a tennis court with a warming hut and a pool house and pool designed by David Adler with interiors revised by both Adler and his sister, famed interior designer Frances Elkins. 

For the 2025 Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens, 38 interior designers, along with several top landscapers, have been selected to reimagine the 15,000-square-foot mansion and its 3.5 acres. The list with space assignments includes: Cynthia McCullough Interiors (Foyer), Joey Leicht Design (Salon), Birkman Interiors (Office), Randy Heller Design and Michael Del Piero Good Design (Veranda), Kipling House Interiors (Library), Rebel House Design (Reception Room), Lauren Collander Interiors (First Floor Hall & Stairwell), Sarah Dippold Design (Second Floor Hall & Stairwell), North Shore Nest (English Resting Room), White Couch Design (Mahjong Room), Kaylan Kane Design (Rotunda), Studio W (Primary Bedroom & Sitting Room), Forward Fruit (Dressing Room), Inspired Closets (Primary Bedroom Closet), Theresa Hansen Interiors (Little Girl’s Playroom & Bathroom), Robbins Architecture (Girls Bedroom & Bathroom), Anthony Michael Interiors (Men’s Lounge), Unpatterned Interior Design (Sitting Room), Mason & Brass (Kitchenette), Aarti Shah Interiors (Guest Bedroom & Bathroom), R Titus Designs (Back Stairwell), Emily Sturgess Design (Ladies Office), Katy Evans Design (Double Powder Rooms), Maggie Getz Studio (Dining Room), NCM Interiors (Breakfast Room), Decleene Creative (Scullery), Ablaze Design Group (Kitchen & Primary Bathroom), Jen Marie Interiors (Mudroom), Suzanne Sykes Interiors (Laundry Room), Sarah Jacquelyn Interiors (Pantry), Lori Lennon & Assoc. (Wine Bar), Amy Kartheiser Design (Garden Room), Courtney Petit Design (Pool Lounge), Mandarine Home (Pool Pavilion), Meghan Jay Design (Pool Dressing Rooms), and Ash Street Interiors (Tennis Hut).

Several top landscape design companies have also been chosen, including JMR Landscaping, Rosborough Partners, Chalet Landscape, Gemini Landscaping, Mariani Landscape, Schmechtig Landscapes, North Shore Turf, and Wright Landscaping.

Calendar of Events:

Friday, April 25 - Opening Night Benefit Party, tickets priced at $325 per person, food and beverage by jdR Companies.

Saturday, April 26 - Opening Day,  tickets to visit the house between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. are priced at $50 per person and include a detailed keepsake program book that aids with self guided tours of interiors and property. The showhouse will remain open six days a week, Tuesdays through Sundays, through May 25, 2025.

Monday, April 28 - Honorary Chair Lunch featuring keynote speaker Mary McDonald and moderator Dara Caponigro; tickets priced at $160 per person feature signature bites, sandwiches and salads from SPACE 519’s The Lunchroom, an advance copy of Glorious Gardens: Private Edens of the World's Leading Interior Designers, and admission to tour the showhouse.

Glorious Gardens: Private Edens of the World’s Leading Interior Designers, from FREDERIC and Monacelli, invites readers into the enchanting outdoor spaces that serve as personal retreats and wellsprings of inspiration for famed designers including Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Katie Ridder, Charlotte Moss, Todd Nickey, Mark D. Sikes, Bunny Williams, Stephen Sills, Thomas O’Brien, and many more. Glorious Gardens will appeal to interiors and garden enthusiasts alike, and will transform the reader’s perception of what a garden can be.

Mary McDonald is an award-winning, internationally-published Los Angeles-based interior designer. She starred in Bravo TV’s “Million Dollar Decorators” and "Property Envy" series and is consistently ranked as one of House Beautiful’s “Top 100 Designers.” McDonald is the author of Interiors: The Allure of Style from Rizzoli and has been honored as one of the top 25 designers by Veranda Magazine. Her licensed product lines include an acclaimed fabric collection for Schumacher, lighting for Robert Abbey, rugs for Schumacher sister company PFM, and furniture for Chaddock Home. She is currently working on her second book.

The Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens will be open to visitors Tuesday through Sunday, April 26 through May 25, 2025. The 2025 Showhouse will mark the board’s 20th production. Through a commitment to creativity, quality, and professionalism, the volunteer-run Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens has become widely recognized as one of the top showhouses in the country. Proceeds from the home benefit The Infant Welfare Society of Chicago. Founded in 1911, the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago provides community-based health care to underserved Chicago area families through its Logan Square (Chicago) clinic. For up-to-date event information and to purchase tickets visit www.lakeforestshowhouse.com. 

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