Jason Heyward: Inside the Baseball Player’s Urban Family Oasis
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Technology has made buying nearly everything for your home, sight unseen, a breeze: a new couch for your living room, wallpaper for your entryway, even customized fragrances. But contemplating purchasing a home without setting foot inside? That remains a little more rare.
But for newly signed San Diego Padres outfielder Jason Heyward and his wife, Vedrana, there was little opportunity to inspect places in person during their hunt: It was mid-2020, and COVID had essentially put an end to traditional real estate open houses. Moreover, while the couple was looking for a space in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, they were riding out lockdown outside of the city, making visits into town quite difficult. Luckily, smartphones and a trusted family assistant came to the rescue. “She called and said, ‘These finishes are it! This neighborhood, this area, it’s beautiful,’” Jason recalls.
And indeed, the new-build brownstone in one of the city’s toniest enclaves did live up to expectations—mostly. While as a new property, the guts of the house—plumbing, electric, heating—were in top shape, the interiors felt fairly traditional: dark finishes and flooring abounded. The overall effect was far more somber than what the couple envisioned for their future family.
But the powers of technology—this time social media—swooped in once again. Vedrana stumbled upon interior design firm Michael Del Piero Good Design via Instagram and immediately fell in love with Del Piero’s ability to reframe small or dark spaces as airy, bright, and peaceful. “She also uses a lot of natural elements, like light wood and brass fixtures…. I really liked that about her work,” Vedrana says. And so, with similar confidence as they had with the real estate transaction, the Heywards signed on Del Piero and her team without ever meeting in person.
From there, the designer (along with a crew that included contractors Tiptop Builders, Sutkus Painting, and doors and panels from Andrew Stansell Design) spent about a year and a half renovating the home to better align with the couple’s aesthetic sensibility: lighter flooring, brighter walls, and reconfiguring the bathrooms and kitchen to be especially user-friendly. While most of the changes were cosmetic, the primary bath, with its addition of a wet room, was the trickiest part of the project. “From what it was to where we took it was really a challenge for the contractors,” Del Piero says. The result, however, is an expansive space that can accommodate both Jason—“He’s a really tall guy!” Del Piero laughs—as well as a vanity area for Vedrana to use before bed.
A sense of expansion is evident in nearly every space of the finished brownstone. The effect was achieved not so much by moving walls (although there was a little of that), but a carefully curated color palette of soft butters, vanillas, and creams complemented by similarly toned, textured textiles like cashmeres and wools. But the collaboration between Del Piero and the Heywards is perhaps best exemplified by what the couple refers to as their prayer room, a lounge that often serves as a wind-down space for their two boys at the end of the night. “My main inspiration for that room was pulling from my Muslim roots,” Vedrana says. “It’s very Middle Eastern in there, we have beautiful art of old mosques and you can sit on the floor.” Del Piero brought in cozy textiles like an alpaca fur rug from Oscar Isberian, custom modular seating in a variety of neutral fabrics, and sheer, breezy drapes from Mark Alexander, all of which convey serenity and comfort.
A similar theme is also found in the primary suite, which encompasses the aforementioned bathroom, plus a bedroom, home office, and oversized closet. “It’s very spa-like in there,” says Vedrana of the space, which is a study in creams. One of the most striking corners is the office, which is surrounded by windows on three walls, plus a subtly pyramidal ceiling to add a sense of towering space. To counteract all the rectilinear angles (and for nighttime privacy), Del Piero added Mark Alexander fabric drapes, as well as an eye-catching bespoke Carine Boxy rug in sheepskin and cowhide.
Custom pieces, both in furniture and art, are another hallmark of the project. Bespoke elements range from the Carson Maddox Studios bathroom mirror to the couple’s upholstered bed frame, and even one of the most notable artworks in the home. “I love nude female art. But when I saw this painting, I was like, ‘How am I going to sell this to Jason?’” Vedrana says of the old-world-inspired Seth Fite piece that was the original inspiration for what now hangs in the abode’s foyer. The solution? Fite crafted a new painting, this time with the model now loosely draped with a piece of fabric.
Like in so much of this home, choices like these were a true collaboration. “Design is a dialogue,” Del Piero says. “It’s a conversation between the art, the furnishings, the architecture, and the clients’ desires.” And as it turns out, you don’t necessarily need to be in the same place at the same time to communicate through the language of color, shape, and style.
Ashley Teresa1/8Jason Heyward and his family poses at one of the home’s oversized windows.
Art: © 2025 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York2/8Vedrana loves to cook and needed the plates to be easily accessible, hence the change to open shelving. “I want all of our dishware to kind of be art, as well,” she says. The actual art on the shelves are Picasso linocuts sourced through 1stDibs.
3/8“I love our dining room table so much,” says Vedrana of the custom walnut piece by Flores Antique Restoration. The light fixture made of glass, beech, and metal by Jerome Pereira, is one of Del Piero’s favorite pieces in the house.
Art: Celeste Greene4/8The primary bedroom was meant to evoke a spa-like state, with linens from Bedside Manor, a quilt by Parachute, and sofa by Kelly Wearstler. The art is a commissioned piece by Celeste Greene.
5/8The primary bedroom closet was created by knocking out a small bedroom and combining it with the existing space. “I wanted to see all of our clothes,” Vedrana says. “I wanted it to be like a store—everything hanging, but also simple and clean.”
6/8The primary bathroom was the most difficult part of the year-and-a-half-long renovation. But the result is a tranquil space for the couple to relax after hours. Here, we see the custom white oak vanity with an Artistic Tile countertop, and above a Carlo Scarpa smoked Murano glass chandelier.
7/8Another view of the bathroom shows Vedrana’s vanity area. The wall sconces are by Nader Gammas, and the chair by Martin Masse, both for StudioTwentySeven.
8/8The primary bedroom’s office is a dreamy space that balances between rectilinear and soft forms. The oak desk is a custom piece made by Flores Antique Restoration, with chairs by Jindřich Halabala and Michael Del Piero.
