Devoted to the home’s most important room, the Junior League of Evanston-North Shore’s Designer Kitchens of the North Shore on May 2 offers a luxurious look into some of Winnetka, Wilmette, Glencoe, and Kenilworth’s finest kitchens. Sheridan Road sat down with the six designers featured on this year’s tour—and referenced some of their previous work—to find out what makes the true heart of any home beat.
- New trend for 2014: Open shelving. More and more you see homeowners displaying kitchen items much like one would display keepsakes on a bookcase in a family room.
- Favorite color palette: A quieter one. Something that whispers instead of screams, usually neutrals, in dusty muted colors.
- Appliances worth splurging on: Good refrigeration is paramount. Higher end refrigeration brands offer a myriad of sizes and type of fridge and freezer options, like drawers, that allow everyone to think outside the traditional work triangle.
Read the Full Article.
(Original Article from Sheridan Road Magazine)
Wilmette Beacon
Wilmette, Illinois is one of the oldest Chicago suburbs located on the north shore of Lake Michigan. The housing stock in Wilmette has a varied and rich tradition from Queen Anne style homes to turn of the century Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces. When the owners acquired the lot to design and build a new single family residence, they viewed the lot as a clean palette for a green home expressed through fresh and modern architecture.
The owners desired an open and flexible floor plans as a means to display their art collection, and indoor/outdoor living spaces for the tighter sized lot. Drawing upon their Danish heritage, the owners sought International Style architecture, expressed in the massing of a traditional Danish summer home. Utilizing green technology for their family of 5 was a major priority. An additional design concern was not to hide green technology, but rather express it with new materials.
In order to accomplish this task, the massing of the home is a one and a half story gable structure. The first floor spaces are free of any interior load bearing walls, and the second floor bedrooms enjoy 14′-0″ vaulted ceilings. Instead of choosing traditional building materials or configurations of openings, the design and structure of the home opens to the outdoor courtyards. The first floor exterior is comprised of brick with commercial grade, aluminum, low E windows and doors which span from floor to ceiling. The 9′-0″ x 9′-0″ sliding doors allow the lush landscaped courtyards to become a part of the living space. The second floor exterior is comprised of recycled concrete fiber cement paneling, and a reflective aluminum standing seam roof. The structure relies upon pre-engineered wood framing components, and the home is insulated with closed cell spray insulation. Other green technologies utilized were: EcoSmart fireplace (burning denatured ethanol), Toto dual flush toilets, KCMA Certified cabinetry, LEED certified solid surface countertops, porcelain bath tiles, bamboo flooring, compact fluorescent lighting fixtures, Fertigator irrigation system for water conservation, Energy Star appliances including induction cook top, high efficiency water heaters supplemented via geo thermal, a 12 kW photovoltaic system, sun shades to reduce heat gain, and a geo thermal heating and cooling system. Every opportunity was taken in the design to emphasize the green nature of the home – from the window pattern, which highlights the structure of the home, to the exposed duct work on the second floor to re-capture conditioned air in the habitable space.
The owners have complimented the design with furniture by renowed architects: Poul Kjaerho lm, Mies van der Rohe, Arnie Jacobson, Isamu Noguchi, and George Nakashima. The results of these efforts are a tastefully appointed and detailed home that is extremely child friendly. Since its completion in 2009, the home has been featured in nationally televised commercials, and featured in numerous publications.
