Residential

Memories of family are part of what makes a house a home. This is especially true for the owners of this Evanston home; it has been in the family for over 60 years. It was important for them to add space for their growing family while maintaining the cottage character of the house. Two added challenges were the small lot’s triangular shape and the zoning ordinance which restricted the potential size of any addition. We proposed a small expansion of the buildings footprint with a completely reconfigured second floor that made better use of space.

Owners of an interactive media company wanted an energy efficient home that would take advantage of a double lot with southern exposure. The home features passive solar design as well as a geothermal system for heating, cooling and hot water. The home has been designed to integrate both their extensive art collection and the surrounding landscape, including a sunken garden.

The clients' goal was to maintain aspects of the vintage two-flat's character while transforming it into an open, contemporary single family home. The owners, a physician and architect, also wanted to replace a dilapidated wood stair in the rear with an addition to include a rear entry/mud room on the first floor and library/prayer room on the second. Existing woodwork was carefully removed, refinished and reinstalled on the first floor.

Sometimes less is really is more. To gain precious space in the backyard of their home in downtown Evanston, this couple decided to remove a wood and brick coach house adjacent to their garage. Rather than demolish the entire brick structure, we carefully preserved parts of the walls and salvaged brick to create a fence, outdoor fire pit, and bench. The wall between the garage and former coach house was rebuilt as a wood and translucentscreen providing a soft even light for the bluestone paver patio. The project also included the remodeling of the kitchen and powder room.

The most appropriate way to relate existing and renovated spaces depends on the home...and the owners. The family of this stately graystone home on Fullerton Avenue wanted to completely renovate the master bathroom, kitchen and add a small eating area with a deck that would look out on to their koi pond. Original details in those spaces had been completely removed by previous owners leaving our clients free to pursue a clean, modern look that fits their style. We opened up the rear brick wall to wash the kitchen in southern light.

The owner, the marketing director of a Chicago financial firm, wanted to transform an outdated kitchen and bedroom to create an open, modern home that reflects her lifestyle. The only catch was that Meatball and Lucy, her bulldogs, had to have their own space in the kitchen. Our solution reconfigures the kitchen to accommodate her love of cooking and entertaining...and the dogs' love of eating. The second floor addition transforms a cramped bedroom into a luxurious master suite, complete with a balcony, window seat and fireplace visible from the bathroom.

Hippocrates had it right, "first do no harm." The owners, two physicians, had their small rear yard redesigned just before they realized they needed a small addition at the rear of the home. We took our cues from the original landscape design (warm wood and stone) and began with the premise of preserving as much as possible. Small changes to a home can change how they are used and make them seem much larger.

The owners, a retired professional football coach and an interior designer, wanted to join a neighboring one-bedroom unit to their condominium to create a year-round residence. The challenge was to create connections among the spaces that allowed for both privacy and openness. Pairs of sliding translucent glass and aluminum panels replace walls in both units. The living room of the annexed unit was redesigned as the master bedroom with wood paneling and custom cabinetry that takes advantage of the space around the radiators.

A family of four that was about to become a family of five needed a larger house. We designed their home to include four bedrooms, generous living spaces and two decks on the third floor; there is a deck off the master bedroom and a second courtyard-shaped space between the office and stair. These open space provide excellent natural ventilation and sunlight to the top floors. Large southern windows and carefully located stair to the basement allow natural light to filter into the entire house.

Perhaps because they have design in their blood, the owners of a two-flat in Avondale knew they could make better use of their large lot. Two graphic designers hired us to provide design studies as to how they might make better use of their large, pie-shaped lot under the existing zoning ordinance. We provided a set of alternatives ranging from all new construction to a less costly "surgical" renovation.

Ideas come to us for our clients. And other times clients with ideas come to us for our ability to help them realize their ideas. The developer of this 21 unit condominium building brought a lot of napkin sketches to the first meeting. We worked with them and their ideas to develop the design and presented it to the local community at a number of meetings. The design evolved and improved as we listened, with the developers, to the neighbors concerns and suggestions.