UNEXPECTED TOUCHES MAKE FOR A UNIQUE HOME – AND FIRST-EVER BARN

It’s not every day we get to design and build a house like this. With responsibility for both architecture and construction, we were able to infuse every detail with the energy and personality of the homeowners – and there were a lot of both!

From the ground up, a focus on daylighting, new takes on old traditions, and separate but adjacent spaces created a home that flows in a way that is exceptionally innovative and wonderfully connected.

• The beautiful mix of grey, chocolate and buff stone on the exterior, quarried from a remote rock face in the Carolinas, creates a non-centered focal point on a remarkable bridge that connects the main house to the guest wing barn
• There is no formal staircase, but instead, a stair in the mudroom (with a distinctive window into the dining room) that establishes privacy between the family suite and guest suite
• Numerous windows, including a 12-foot skylight shaft in the second-floor hall, bring in dramatic views and light
• This kitchen is not white! The cabinets are knotty alder with a grey stain that adds extra warmth in the family’s central gathering space
• Where you might expect a range hood we put windows – to allow for a view of the outside
• An office and homework room are adjacent to – instead of in – the kitchen
• A sneaky pop-through laundry chute connects the Master Closet and Laundry room
• A hanging closet was added to the butler’s pantry for storing table linens
• Connected to an outdoor kitchen is an expansive open-air porch with fireplace and TV
• A barrel-vaulted ceiling, dormer, and chandelier unexpectedly grace the master bath
• Timber beams were salvaged from an actual barn – Fiegle’s Wind Mill Barn in Markesan, Wisconsin built in the late 1800s – for a special ceiling in the master bedroom

Everywhere you look at this Northbrook new construction is a nod to rustic chic design, a commitment to reuse of materials, and an amazing representation of what happens when custom homebuilding is genuinely custom.

Photography: © 2016 Bruce Van Inwegen