Lake Forest Colonial Lodge

Lake Forest is a well-to-do suburb on Chicago's North Shore -- the kind of place where imported luxury cars line the driveways and landscape service trucks line the streets.

I was expecting to find something grand, but drove up to a little white house instead. Inside was a compact warren of rooms with a consistent American Revolution theme.

You couldn't serve a large meal here, but it sure would be an All-American one.

The next morning, you could enjoy a colonial-style breakfast in the kitchen before heading off for a long day of candlemaking or silversmithing. Who's hungry for fatback and johnnycakes?

The fireplace matches the rug, which matches the sofa, which matches the drapes, which match...

... the wallpaper.

Upstairs it was all real-wood paneling and simple furniture, hand-crafted by proud settlers in a brave new land of freedom and opportunity.

A reminder that electricity was invented in America by Benjamin Franklin.

This tiny TV room is the last one we'll look at. Two things about it caught my eye. The carved wood wall hangings were first. From top to bottom, that's Rodin's "Thinker," a cartoon character named Winky, an eagle, I don't know what, and a crazy-eyed bull. Turns out the owner was a shop teacher, and made wood carvings as a hobby.

The string art was the second thing I noticed. I was surprised to see it here, because I didn't know string art was an early-American craft.

You could smoke some of that strange weed the Indians were so crazy about and stare at this one for hours.

I call this one, "Scissor Sisters."

Purchased: Esquivel, The Genius of Esquivel LP, $1.