Everyone is going to remember the indoor swimming pool.
It’s the most unusual amenity in nine custom residences packed with amenities at the 1994 Cavalacade of Homes.
The show opens Saturday for a 24-day run at the Stonebridge Country Club in west suburban Aurora.
The pool is an integral part of the 3,897-square-foot Ashley model, priced at $489,000 and built by Anna Custom Homes of Naperville.
Though small-about 10 feet long, 7 feet wide and 4 feet deep-the pool can be used to swim laps because it has a current-creating machine. There also is a separate whirlpool spa.
Sponsored by the Northern Illinois Home Builders Association, the this Cavalcade is one of the most innovative in years, with custom creations ranging from 2,413 to 4,041 square feet and carrying tags of $290,000 to $489,000.
These mini-mansions present traditional Midwestern exteriors, but the interiors are filled with the excitement of open, California-style floor plans. While the glitzy decorating can be dazzling, the underlying designs point to trends of the future. Here are some of them:
– Formal living rooms are continuing to shrink. Many of them are down to parlor size; one home, the Legacy ranch, eliminates the living room altogether.
– Formal dining rooms also are being downsized, but they seem to have more staying power. “A formal dining room is like a mink coat; you may not wear it often, but when you need it, you’re glad you have it,” said Anna Bean of Anna Custom Homes.
– Three-car garages are almost standard in this price range. Seven of the Cavalcade homes have them, and the other two sport 2 1/2-car garages.
– Lavish master bedroom suites continue in popularity, and have become the second-largest space in the house, after the family room.
– Walk-in closets in master bedrooms are expanding, apparently to meet demand. Some of the closets are the size of small bedrooms.
To insure that the models are ready for opening day, the Northern Illinois Home Builders has a rule that specifies that any unfinished home will be fenced off with yellow tape and a sign posted saying, “This builder failed to complete his house on time.”
During the last 15 years, no home has failed to meet the deadline.
Now let’s tour this year’s models:
– The Ashley actually has two pool rooms. One is a game room; the swimming pool is housed in a light-filled room with eight sets of sliding glass doors that open onto the back deck.
Next to the pool is a 9-by-10-foot sun room and then a two-story, 15 1/3-by-19 1/4-foot family room, which is the focal point of the first floor. It features a fireplace flanked by 18-foot windows.
Upstairs, the 22-by-14-foot master suite has an adjoining sitting room is brightened by two slanted skylights, which can be opened to form a “balcony” effect. The master bath has a whirlpool tub with gold faucets and a separate shower with steam capability.
– The Savoy by Airhart Construction Corp. of West Chicago is the most contemporary of the show homes. That is to be expected, since Airhart specializes in contemporary designs.
The exterior, though, has a traditional look, with four gables and a dormer over the three garages.
Priced at $296,100, the two-story home has four different levels-five if the English basement is counted. The large family room, which features an entertainment center and fireplace, is seven steps down from the first floor. Two secondary bedrooms are on the first level up from the first floor.
The top level is devoted to the 22 3/4-by-15-foot master suite and an adjoining den/bedroom.
The glitzy master bath recalls the Hollywood-style baths of the late ’80s. A balcony in the master suite overlooks the Savoy’s spectacular garden room.
– The Presidential is another winner in the dramatic use of volume interior space. Most notable is the two-story music room, a semicircle of almost floor-to-ceiling windows, that casts an abundance of natural light into the adjoining 22-by-19-foot family room, which also is two stories high.
If that isn’t enough, there is a cutout in one wall of the family room that allows more light from windows in the living room.
All this open space is overlooked by the 9-by-15 2/3-foot loft/balcony on the second floor.
With a modified Georgian exterior, the 4,041-square-foot home by Executive Builders & Developers of Naperville is priced at $422,000.
– One of the most traditional exteriors at the Cavalcade belongs to the Greystone Manor, which has a red-brick facade with green shutters and three dormers on the roof. Priced at $365,000, the 2,951-square-foot residence has white pillars and a red-brick driveway and walkway.
Inside, the red-brick motif is carried out with a massive brick fireplace in the 19 1/2-by-17-foot sunken family room, which is brightened by two skylights and has access to the rear deck.
The formal design also is reflected in the positioning of the formal dining room and formal living room on opposite sides of the foyer.
Greystone Manor is built by Gladstone Builders & Developers of Aurora.
– The Mitchell, a 3,500-square-foot design by King’s Court Builders of Naperville, is the show’s best blend of traditional and contemporary.
The exterior of the $449,000 model has plenty of links with the past-a red-brick facade, three dormers and an old-fashioned porch that’s big enough for a couple of rocking chairs.
The front door opens onto the two-story foyer and an impressive, you-have-made-it staircase that splits right and left halfway up, thus allowing views into the two-story family room beyond.
Upstairs, next to the 18-by-13-foot master suite, is an 11-by-8 1/2-foot octagonal sitting room that offers views down into the family room and also into the back yard and pond. The octagonal shape is repeated in the wood deck.
– The one ranch in the show is the 2,413-square-foot Legacy, which has the additional distinction of being “barrier-free.”
Priced at $290,000, it features 3-foot-wide doorways and 4-foot-wide hallways to provide easy access for a wheelchair. In addition, there is open space under the two bathroom sinks to allow use by a person in a wheelchair.
The Legacy is the only Cavalcade home without a formal living room. “Living rooms seem to be less important these days,” said Paula Heyden, sales manager for the builder, Kopeyka Associates of Downers Grove.
However, the 12 1/2-by-13-foot library, which features a cathedral ceiling and a window seat looking out at the front yard, could be used as a living room.
The third garage is tucked back from the other two so the front is not dominated by three garage doors in a line.
– The 3,200-square-foot Ashley Manor by Pickerill Development of Villa Park also has taken the design challenge presented by a three-car garage front, and turned it into an architectural plus. The solution was to stagger the three garage openings, thus creating three different rooflines.
In the foyer is an unusual staircase-a modified spiral. Upstairs, a balcony overlooks both the foyer and the two-story, 21-by-15-foot family room.
Priced at $379,900, the Ashley Manor has been sold.
– The Kingston, a 3,200-square-foot design by Reese Custom Homes of Naperville, already has been sold.
Dave Reese, the builder, explained that the $379,500 home was designed for a specfic buyer, a young bachelor. “He wanted a masculine look, as well as wiring for sound and computer systems,” he said.
Off the foyer is the study, a formal yet comfortable 12 1/2-by-14 1/2-foot space with built-in bookshelves of dark wood. The use of dark wood is continued throughout the house, including in the 20-by-17-foot family room, which is equipped with a big-screen TV and fireplace.
Upstairs, the 15-by-17 3/4-foot master suite shares a two-way fireplace with the adjoining master bath. Most memorable, though, is the “King Arthur Room,” a 12 1/2-by-14 1/2-foot bedroom in a medieval motif, including a bed decorated as the drawbridge of a castle.
– The French Country Retreat, a 3,328-square-foot model priced at $423,000, has plenty of curb appeal owing to its exterior of stone, Dryvit, cedar shake and four gables. It is the only Cavalcade home with a garage not facing the street.
“We turned the garage for greater architectural appeal, and it also makes the home look bigger,” explained Ron Charles of Ron Charles Builders in Naperville.
Another special feature is the 11 1/3-by-8 1/3-foot screened porch off the 16-by-18-foot, two-story-high family room.
Upstairs, a double tray ceiling highlights the 19-by-16-foot master suite, which offers plenty of storage in the 13 1/2-by-7 1/2-foot walk-in closet.
The Cavalcade is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. through July 4 at the Stonebridge Country Club in Aurora.
From Interstate Highway 88 (East-West Tollway) exit south on Illinois Highway 59, west on North Aurora Road, and north on Eola Road to the entrance.
Tickets are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, children 12 and under free. Call the Northern Illinois Home Builders Association, 708-393-4490 for more information.
