The homes clustered in a neighborhood a half-mile west of Barrington`s downtown don`t look alike, but there`s a certain sameness.
They`re not the clones you`ll find in some subdivisions, but these homes share a cozy, older look.
Noting the similarity, area resident Matt Skeffington explained that many of the homes were built in the 1920s and `30s from kits advertised in Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Montgomery Ward & Co. catalogs. Skeffington visited the open house at 143 N. Hager last weekend to get decorating ideas for his own two-bedroom house, which is two blocks away and very similar, he said.
”They`re actually very solid homes,” said Skeffington. ”I think there`s probably a lot more lumber in them than in new construction . . . It would be costly now to use the same materials.”
Owners Rebecca and John Fulgoni don`t know whether this 66-year-old home is a mail-order model, but the pale-yellow aluminum-sided abode fits right into its quaint surroundings.
The home is listed with ERA J.S. James & Co. Realtors for $174,900. Needless to say, that price is on the low end for an area where houses exceed the $2 million mark, said listing agent Pat Kill.
Made in the shade
An impressive 30-foot spruce in the front yard makes the home easy to spot and a wood bench takes advantage of the shade from the expansive boughs. The bench matches the home`s tiny front porch. Through the front door is a small sun room, which probably was a front porch at one time, Kill said.
To the right of the front door is another front door that opens into a 15-by-15 living room, which has oak flooring (which runs throughout most of the first floor). The room is painted off-white and has five windows that offer sunlight from the south and west. Dominating the room is an unusual gray ceramic tile corner fireplace with a white smokestack to the ceiling. The hearth is wide and deep enough to offer a comfortable seat.
The fireplace is one of many changes the Fulgonis made to create a more modern atmosphere in the home, Kill said. ”It has a lot of charm and it does not look dated.”
The fireplace took the place of a wood-burning stove, which fit into the previous owners` country decor.
Through the living room`s wide, arched doorway is a 17-by-12 dining room with a small coat closet.
A short hall leads to a full bathroom with maple-colored wood molding that matches the wood medicine cabinet, toilet seat and sconces above the sink. The wallpaper is off-white with tiny blue flowers.
On either side of the bathroom are basic bedrooms, both 11 by 11 feet. The west bedroom is painted light gray and has a window overlooking the former porch, and the east bedroom is painted white and offers extra storage space in a closet beneath the hall`s stairway.
The stairway used to be located off the dining room and lead to attic space, but the owners relocated it and made the second floor into a 12-by-10 master bedroom, Kill said. This room has a slanted ceiling and three gable windows.
Though assisted at times by relatives, the Fulgonis did most of the remodeling themselves, Kill said. They insulated the room, installed dry wall, covered the walls with a contemporary white and light blue wallpaper and laid brown carpeting.
They also had plumbing installed to create a master bathroom, which has a white ceramic tile floor, pedestal sink, white and pink wallpaper and a counter inset in the wall. The Fulgonis put a skylight in the slanted ceiling. The 12-by-12 kitchen had already been remodeled, so it was left pretty much alone. The previous owner had knocked out the walls to a third first-floor bedroom in order to create a 12-by-11 eating area, Kill said.
Pine paneled
This breakfast nook is paneled with shiny knotty pine that matches the kitchen cabinetry. Both areas share a burnt-orange ceramic tile floor that looks like brick.
Off the kitchen are stairs down to a landing with a door to the narrow side yard. At the base of the stairs is an unfinished basement with a cement floor, dark workroom and corner chain-link cage that previous owners used as a dog pen.
”Again, it (the basement) is a good use of space in a home that`s not oversized but certainly adequate for a family,” Kill said.
Off the kitchen area is a sliding glass patio door leading to the Fulgonis` new two-tiered wood deck, which has built-in benches around its perimeter. Bowing to nature, the Fulgonis built the deck around a medium-size tree.
Stairs off the deck lead down to a fenced-in yard that features a two-car garage.
Besides its price and the remodeling, the home`s biggest asset is its location, Kill said. It`s within walking distance of both Barrington High School, immediately to the west, and to a Metra train station and other amenities in the village`s downtown to the east, he noted.
Skeffington, who works in Chicago, agreed. ”I walk to the train every day,” he said. ”If you have to drive, it`s a bear.”
