About Us

Pariscope Design was inevitable, the culmination of Madeline’s flourishing 25-year career. Through Pariscope Design, she is now able to provide a full palette of services, integrating her broad range of skills, years of experience and study, and natural talents in the fields of construction, design, and home decoration.

In the ten years she spent as sole purchasing agent for her Pariscope store, Madeline’s eye for quality and uniqueness was quickened to a ravenlike precision. To compete against hundreds of dealers at French markets and fairs, with only seconds to choose among thousands of items seen by flashlight in the brisk, pre-dawn air, took stamina and sometimes grim resolve but, most importantly, a love of the quest for great things that make a room extraordinary.

From her years in construction and hands-on architectural training, Madeline brings to her work a deep appreciation not only of the economies of design but of the inestimable contributions of people in the trades. Her ability to design in ways that “make building sense”, as it is called in the trades, has earned her the respect and loyalty of suppliers and craftsmen upon whose ingenuity and cooperation all successful projects depend.

New Location
Come see our metamorphosis of 610 S. First St. (Rte. 31) in Geneva, Illinois and you'll understand what we mean about "making something out of nothing". Last February, we transformed this 1950s derelict structure into our new design studio, in keeping with our new focus on architectural design.

>> View our new location

About Madeline
Madeline began her career in the home building business. As a general contractor for 15 years, she specialized in the design and construction of custom homes throughout the greater Chicagoland area. Working directly with architects, subcontractors, craftspeople and building material manufacturers, she acquired a breadth of knowledge and pragmatism uncommon among design professionals.

In 1995, Madeline moved boldly into the world of retail, establishing Pariscope, “the Francophile’s dream store” according to House Beautiful. As the store’s sole buyer, she traveled through France as often as six times a year, to such competitive venues as the Paris flea market and the antique fair of Montpelier, in search of the exceptional in vintage furnishings and home accessories.

Madeline’s innovative approach to design received inspiration from the French, whom she found quite daring, freely indulging their personal tastes while honoring their rich traditions. Their defiance of convention is a trait which she also admires in great American designers, whose work she has studied assiduously, including Dorothy Draper, Elsie de Wolfe, Rose Cumming, Frances Elkins, Madeleine Castaing, William Pahlmann, and David Hicks.

Long recognized for her talents in design and interior decoration, Madeline was one of 20 designers chosen nationwide to participate in the House Beautiful 2004 Makeover Showcase. Her work has been prominently featured in such publications as House Beautiful, Victoria, Chicago Business, The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine’s “Best Shops of Chicago”. In addition, her life story has been the subject of a House & Gardens Television presentation.

Introducing The Ellen Gale Memorial Library of Interior Design and Architecture – a Work in Progress
I have always turned for inspiration to designers of the past, so regularly in fact that, over the course of my career, I managed to
accumulate a vast library of vintage design books and magazines. In part, this was a rescue operation, as so many of these precious reference materials, dating back to the 1910s, were in very fragile condition. Hence, the founding of our e-library to preserve these early records of our profession and ultimately make them available to design schools, public libraries, and our website visitors. Do you have any old decorating magazines that you'd like to donate to the cause?