When a few builders are gutsy enough to build something other than the expected for a formal showing of a group of expensive homes, they deserve more than a few kudos for being adventurous.
Such is the case with several of the homes at the Northern Illinois Home Builders Association’s Cavalcade of Homes, to be open to the public at the South Pointe development in Naperville from July 13 through August 4.
Eleven custom and semi-custom builders have constructed houses that will sell for just less than $500,000 to way, way up.
Most are nearing completion, although practically all had a long way to go on finishing, decorating and furnishing their masterpieces and only a few had their landscaping in place during a very recent visit.
The 11 big houses have a lot in common beyond their upper-level price tags. In fact, too much in common.
All but one are two stories (the loner has a third-floor bonus room although none are ranches or even have a first floor master suite, a very popular amenity with builders and buyers at varied price points); all have three-car garages (one has tandem spaces) that extend beyond the facade of the house.
Eight use brick and stone (and occasionally a third component) on the facades; more than half have look-at-me two-story entries, most often arched, and too many, for my taste, have leaded, curved or fancied-up windows that add to a busy, overly fussy house front. .
However, there are three or four that offer something different and two that are so distinctive they stand out.
Like their styling or not, they deserve credit for straying from “what you expect to see all over Naperville,” according to one builder (but not among my picks).
The most unexpected is The Craftsman, a contemporary version of an Arts and Crafts style built by Tom Bart Construction Inc., in Naperville.
It’s the only one constructed of cedar siding (a pale olive green with white accents) and stone, the only one with a functional, roomy covered porch that seems to want a swing and some rocking chairs, maybe with grandparents reading stories to the little ones.
Bart, known for his porches, said “they give a warm, welcoming feeling,” which is what he wants his homes to convey.
He believes his company has tapped into “a niche market” for people who don’t want their homes to look as though they’ve “arrived” (although they have; this one’s priced at $489,900).
“They don’t want the entry to look formal, like a cathedral,” he said, adding “they want something softer.”
The Merrywood is the culmination of a builder’s dream and, fortunately, the same for the buyers and their family who’ll be moving in after the Cavalcade is over.
Wiseman-Hughes Enterprises Inc. of Wheaton, which has been building homes in the $160,000 to $300,000 range, is launching its custom division with this Cavalcade model, which was purchased as-is for $700,00 by a person passing through the area, according to the company’s sales/marketing director, Pam Schawel .
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“When people see it, they’ll remember it,” Schawel said of the firm’s aim in building its first high-end house. She described it as having the character of “a European manor,” with its exterior in real (as opposed to synthetic) stucco in pale yellow and cobblefield stone.
“We built it the way we wanted, interior and exterior, and it wowed them,” she said of the happenstance buyer who’d heard about the Cavalcade homes, drove through the development, saw the house, came back with family, tracked down the builder and–done deal.
It has everything and–how nice–everything is what the family wanted: A four-seasons room, huge deck, four bedrooms and bathrooms, a finished basement with all sorts of life’s niceties, including home theater, wine storage, exercise and music rooms, enormous recreation room, lots of storage space.
Like most Cavalcade houses, The Chase has a brick and stone facade but it has appeal particularly because it does not have one of those pretentious two-story, arched exterior entryways and has charm with its somewhat rustic cedar garage doors.
“Our aim is to create a distinctive exterior,” said Jim Stump, president of Reese Custom Residences Inc. of St. Charles.
“You only get one chance to make a first impression,” he added, “and we like to set ourselves apart.”
The English-country style home “has some neat, fun features inside,” according to Stump, referring to an unexpected arched reading alcove and a space for an informal desk carved out along the balcony.
The house would be priced at $665,000 but will go for $599,900 (with Stump passing along vendor discounts to the buyer during the Cavalcade).
A few other homes need at least a brief mention for exterior styling or detailing (I only got a few glimpses of interiors but sawdetailed floor plans).
Steve Carr Builders of Naperville has probably the most contemporary exterior, mainly because of its clean-cut windows and lack of fussy details. I don’t get the single pillar on the tiny porch, though, and, unfortunately, the garage protrudes way beyond the facade of the house.
King’sCourt Builders of Naperville would do a big favor to its Baldwin Manor if they’d eliminate the rural-type shutters.
Those shutters, outlining clean-lined windows on the front of the house and above the garage, just aren’t in the mood of a house called a manor that has a three-story circular staircase of oak and decorative iron right in front of you as you enter the foyer.
Floor plans don’t indicate space for an elevator but a third floor bonus room that’s nearly 17 by 22 feet and includes a full bath could be a private suite for the in-laws or spacious guest quarters.
Cavalcade visitors will want to take a look, too, at The Westfield by Andreacchi Construction of St. Charles. It’s classy and somewhat understated for a Georgian, as the firm describes it. For the buyer who absolutely must have a two-story, arched entryway, this could be it.
For visitors who are seriously looking for ideas, for a builder or maybe even looking to buy, be forewarned: Get a full set of floor plans and make notes on them, ask questions (but only believe answers given by the builder or by authorized sales associates not the “guides” who may be there only to tell you to take your shoes off or put a pair of paper booties over them to avoid damaging/dirtying flooring and carpeting).
One question I wish you’d ask: Why does almost every home here have a brick facade while the rest of the building is covered with wood or synthetic siding? What ever happened to the all-brick home?
The reason for the unasked-for advice: A lot of necessary information is missing and some information is misleading or puzzling. For example: Steve Carr Builders Avalon model is described as having 14 rooms with a sunroom, media room, fifth bedroom, teen loft and third floor bonus space.
Yet, there’s nothing on the floor plan that indicates a third floor; I couldn’t find any of those extras like the media room or fifth bedroom on any of the floor plans and, if any builder can fit 14 rooms into “3,330 square feet of luxury living,” well, I’ll take another drive out to Naperville and give it yet another look.
And, speaking of square footage, it’s hard to fathom how custom builders can describe their houses without divulging the living space/square footage of the dwelling. Only one other builder provides this info: King’s Court’s Baldwin Manor has 4,355 square feet.
In general, the homes’ interiors have much in common. Almost all have the ubiquitous two-story foyer, quite a few also have either a two-story living or family room.
Nearly universal: Overbearing stairways immediately inside the front door and the most varied assortment of chandeliers to be imagined.
First-floors usually include an extra room designated library, study, den, just plain “office” or, in one case, “executive” type study; a precious few have sun or four-seasons rooms.
Many have fireplaces (some stone-faced, two stories high) but the fireplace in the bedroom isn’t the rage it was just a few years ago.
The bedroom-bathroom ratio in upper price bracket homes continues to amaze me. The majority of the homes have four bedrooms (including the master suite) but more homes have just two bathrooms for those four bedrooms –meaning three bedrooms share one bath.
Is it the builders who are stingy with baths or has experience taught them that buyers think the kids and guests can all share one bathroom (plus, of course, the powder room)?
Many of the master bedrooms show plans with large sitting areas or even separate morning or sitting rooms. Why not give some of that space to an extra bathroom so the poor kids don’t have to wait in line to take their showers or bubble baths?
Surprising, too, for so-called luxury-living, are the puny linen closets and the lack of walk-in or adequate-sized kitchen pantries. However, a refreshing surprise is the nearly unanimous showing of enclosed toilets in the master bathrooms. How very civilized.
Ceilings have taken the lead in decorative adjuncts, be they called vaulted, cathedral, plain tray or two-tiered tray.
Some of the builders’ descriptions are creative, imaginative, bewildering, amusing and/or, yes, self-indulgent.
One that’s refreshing: A builder calls the style of his home a straightforward “traditional,” unlike another who wrote that the home had “eyebrowed windows” (a curve of bricks outlines the window top) or another who rhapsodized over the combination of “Greek charm and modern architecture.”
(Incidentally, if 11 models don’t satiate your appetite take a look into some of the other models in South Pointe. The development is planned for 300 houses by a number of builders. Some other models will be open for touring during the Cavalcade. Most have “Models” flags flapping out front.)
Cavalcade of Homes 2002
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Open to the public July 13 to Aug. 4
Address: South Pointe, Illinois Highway 59 and 111th Street, Naperville
Description: A showing of 11 decorated and furnished homes built by members of the Northern Illinois Home Builders Association.
Developer: Macom Corp.
Prices: Around $500,000 and up.
Neighborhood: South Pointe is a community with 300 single-family home sites with a six-acre park and swim club (with water slide and playground); clubhouse with party room. Route 59 is lined with numerous housing developments. Short drive to new Target and Jewel/Osco, as well as other shopping.
Information: Tickets, $10; seniors, $8. Open during the Cavalcade from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Meet the Builders, July 24 and 31. Phone: (630) 393-4490
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Contact Genevieve Buck at New Homes section, baiduhai, 435 N. Michigan Ave., 4th floor, Chicago, Ill. 60611. Or e-mail [email protected].
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