The clients are avid horticulturists which led to a four-year search for a site with ideal growing conditions. The design of this 2,100 square foot Wilmette house is a direct response to this passion. A 29-foot span of glass along the south side of the house opens directly onto the back garden. An extension of the house's walls and roof shelters this façade from direct sunlight during the summer and neighbor views year-round.  Opening up the interior of the house as much as possible to the rear yard meant positioning the garage toward the street.  The telltale garage volume is blurred by the extension of its street facing wall. The wall extension creates a gateway into an outdoor room/garden that expands the scale of the modest structure and further strengthens the relationship between inside and out.