Additions

With a new second story, some brick staining and a brand-new floor plan, a 2-bedroom ranch metaphorized into a beautiful mix of traditional and modern, now boasting 5 bedrooms, an open first floor plan and a beautiful screened porch. It blends perfectly with the historical houses on this prestigious block in Oak Park. But it is perfectly updated in modern French farmhouse style inside.

A mid-century split level offered plenty of potential on a 100-foot lot in a great area of River Forest, but literally had not been changed since it was built in the early 1960s. The white stone exterior was marble imported from Italy by the original owner and we wanted to save it, but the new owner wanted something completely different and fresh, so we stuck with the white theme, added one more floor with three more bedrooms, and did a complete gut renovation on the rest of the house. The look was transformed to Spanish Revival inside and out, with four meticulously finished levels, six bedrooms, seven baths. 

What started out as a humble bungalow on a very large lot became an 8000 square foot Tudor Revival with an attached and heated three car garage, lowered basement slab, white oak quartersawn flooring, 6 bedrooms and 6 baths, with a great open kitchen-family room in the back and plenty of space for a growing family.  

The proud new owner of this house, one of the oldest in Oak Park, had always wanted a romantic Victorian. All it was missing was a turret and some bold Victorian color (and a mudroom, and a new kitchen and an expanded third floor, and all new heating, all new electric, all new plumbing!). After going through a Village review and approval process (the property was deemed historically significant) we undertook a gut renovation. After a gut renovation that perfectly blended old fir flooring with painted cabinets and Farrow and Ball colors, a second floor library and a brand new study in the turret, the happy homeowner moved in and has loved it ever since.

Situated in a far north area of the City, backing up to a park, this home did not quite meet the space needs of its owners, but they loved the location. They also felt the house didn't resonate aesthetically. So, a full two-story addition was added, we removed the mansard roof—which made the house look very dated and small—and added brick on the front for a classic Chicago home that now boasted a usable third floor as well as a new master suite on the second floor and darling new rooms for the children in the front. 

There are a wealth of small tidy desirable houses on the south side of Oak Park.  Some owners love the cozy nature of these homes, but others need room for a growing family. In this case, we "popped the top" to add a full second floor with a primary suite, two more roomy bedrooms and a hall bath. The house was also gut renovated with a new kitchen, finished basement, new exterior and new deck.

This home on the north side of Oak Park was meticulously preserved and updated by the owners. However, there was one area of the home they just couldn't deal with; a decayed second floor deck that a previous owner had built on top of the sunroom, and that was slowly sliding off the roof. The house, like many period residences, also lacked a master bath. So, we were commissioned to take the deck down and build a second-floor addition that looked like it had always been there. This meant staining brick to match a color that was no longer available, custom cut limestone for the exterior, art glass windows, tile roof and copper gutters. Although we did not submit for a Historic Preservation Award with the Village, we were surprised to learn that they had picked the project as a winner!