An eclectic Eastern art collection adds life to this 19th-century Georgian home in Chicago

Twenty one years after Betsy Nathan bought her first piece of Chinese antique furniture in a Beijing market, while there studying Mandarin, the collector and dealer of Asian furnishings and artefacts has finally found the perfect home for her own collection of Far Eastern treasures, albeit in an unlikely Westernised setting – a sprawling Georgian house nestled amid the dense trees of a wooded ravine in the heart of suburban Chicago.

‘Over the years I have saved all these amazing objects that really mean something to me, and I’ve been waiting for a house that I knew we weren’t going to leave, a family home where I could incorporate them. With this wonderful property I was ready to do that,’ says Betsy, who founded her showroom and gallery Pagoda Red in Chicago, in 1987. Since then, it’s become an international business and word has spread to the Middle East, with customers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia purchasing Asian antiques and art for their homes and projects.

‘The house was very traditional of its time, which wasn’t very conducive to a family living today, but we made it work,’ recalls Betsy. ‘Retrospectively, it was a good thing that we understood the house before we started reconfiguring it, as we knew what we liked, what we wanted and didn’t want.’ 

The kitchen also features a collectable table with a rich heritage. ‘We love our kitchen, it really is the heart of our home, so it was important that it worked well and was efficient,’ explains Betsy. ‘I love the way it is designed. de Giulio is very masterful at what they do and their designer Kathy was fantastic. She helped convert a 19th-century calligraphy table that I’ve had for years and absolutely love into the kitchen’s central island.’

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