`Why did I choose this neighborhood?” is a good question to ask when building or buying a newly constructed house in an established community.
If the answer is “I like the trees, the grass and the general look of the neighborhood,” a good follow-up question might be, “How well does this new house blend in with the old?”
The Heritage Court Idea Home 2004, the 13th show house for Midwest Living Magazine, attempts to do just that.
Built by Naperville-based Schillerstrom Homes, this is an “in-fill” house, meaning it is constructed on a recently subdivided lot surrounded by older homes.
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It’s a switch from the magazine’s previous show houses, which generally were located in new subdivisions, and it reflects the growing redevelopment, by teardown, rebuilding or infill construction, of established neighborhoods throughout the country.
The house is built near the heart of Naperville, one of DuPage County’s oldest towns. It is a neighborhood of mature trees, grassy lawns and a democratic housing mix of early 20th Century American foursquare and farmhouse styles interspersed with a smattering of mid-century ranches and split-levels.
Like most show houses, this one aims to illustrate some of the “latest and greatest home products” both in construction and interiors, says Kim Kudasik, publicist for the magazine.
Midwest Living officials chose the husband-and-wife team of John and Stacey Schillerstrom to build the home.
The couple has built a number of homes in redeveloping neighborhoods in recent years and is developing a business specializing in just such construction.
In addition, Stacey Schillerstrom was part of a Naperville citizen group called Community First that was concerned with preserving the character of local neighborhoods as the community began experiencing teardowns.
The group wrote an award-winning idea and resource guide called “Workbook for Successful Redevelopment.” Some of those ideas appear to have found their way into Heritage Court.
“We don’t expect people to reproduce this house exactly,” says Kudasik about the house which will be featured in the September/October issue of Midwest Living. “We hope they will take this and that and apply it to their own home,” including some ideas about in-fill building.
I hope so too. Heritage Court has a comfortable, livable plan in addition to being a good neighbor. This is a house with interior space, light and most of the conveniences families now demand. It looks like it belongs on the block, while mostly avoiding overwhelming its neighbors.
The house has a roofline, windows and front porch similar to others in the neighborhood. But it is no clone. A sloped ski roof on the front porch is an element that gives the dwelling some individuality.
More to the point, the front facade, while considerably larger than its closest neighbor, is in character with a number of area residences. And, like those houses, it retains a front yard.
The trick here seems to be that the bulk of this three-story design, which has 4,000 square feet plus a basement, is front to back on the lot. The detached three-car garage, hidden behind the house, faces an alley.
Inside, a central hallway divides the main floor from the front door to the family room at the back of the dwelling.
Visitors step from the porch into a central space that opens to the right into a cherry-paneled study, with glass-paneled pocket doors for privacy, and, to the left, into what the floor plan calls the “living room” adjacent to the stairway to the upper levels.
A smallish room with a big window overlooking the front lawn, the living room might be better labeled a parlor or reception area.
Decorated with a sofa and chairs and a tall desk secretary, it is near front door and stairway traffic, making it an unlikely spot for extended private conversations.
Down the hall toward the back of the house is a dining room, on the left, and, across the hall, a powder room and a good-sized laundry room. The dining room has an appealing bay with deep, almost-to-the-floor windows looking west.
The hall leads to the 21-by-17-foot family room at the back of the house which is side-by-side, but in a separate room, from the 24-by-15-foot kitchen and family dining area.
“We are trying to replicate that older home feel,” said Stacey Schillerstrom about why the space was not an open-concept great room.
It is a decision I applaud and I suspect future buyers will too. The traffic can flow freely between the rooms through two doors yet, when necessary, noise, odors and unsightly piles of dirty dishes, pots and pans can be contained.
The third floor “bonus” space is another room that has that older house feel. Brightened with skylights and a charming dormer alcove, this could be a playroom or study, but is shown as a fifth bedroom.
The second floor is the bedroom level with two bedrooms at the front of the house overlooking the street. They have nifty window seats. Another secondary bedroom is opposite a hall bathroom. The large master suite extends across the rear of the second floor.
No house is perfect. Cost alone makes this one only a dream for most people. After its benefit run for the Naper Settlement living history museum, the home will be sold. Though the exact price tag has yet to be determined, Stacey Schillerstrom says it will be upwards of $1.3 million.
There are hits and misses in new, low maintenance or easy-care products used to mimic the old.
The fiber-cement siding and shingles on the exterior by Hardiplank look enough like the wood siding on Heritage Court’s neighbors to fit in. The Cambria quartz granite-look countertop is a reasonable-enough facsimile to be considered in place of the real stone, especially when the cost of special edging is factored in.
But the cultured stone walkway and the synthetic decking fall just short of looking like the real thing.
And let’s be honest, this is one of several houses in this neighborhood that appears to be a “new” old house with vintage-look elements.
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While the choices made at these new houses generally are tasteful and sensitive to detail, the shininess of the newcomers sets them apart from the aged patina of true vintage dwellings.
Heritage Court is a good and valid attempt to blend in with the homes from the past, but building so many new “old” houses surely is changing the neighborhood’s character.
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Heritage Court Idea Home 2004
Address: 323 Douglas Ave., Naperville
Builder: Midwest Living Magazine in conjunction with owner/general contractor Schillerstrom Homes, Inc., Naperville; architect K.W. Malmgren, Inc., Hollywood, Fla.; landscape architect K.S. Design Group, Yorkville. Interiors decorated by Midwest Living home editor Carol Schalla with interior designer Holly Craiger.
Description: A three-story 4,000 square-foot house with four bedrooms including master bedroom suite, 4 1/2 baths, a third floor “retreat” or fifth bedroom, basement, multi-level back deck with pergola and detached three-car garage.
Open: Until May 23 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.
Tickets are $5. Proceeds will benefit Naper Settlement, Naperville’s living history museum.
For more information: Call 630-420-6010 or visit www.naper.settlement.museum
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Past House Hunter columns: CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/HOMES