All of the eclecticism that a subdivision can offer is represented in the architecture and interior design in this year’s suburban Parade of Homes, which runs Saturday through Aug. 14 at Aberdare Estates in Gurnee.
Visitors to the event at the Lake County development will walk through eight upscale, custom-built homes whose architectural elements include traditional farmhouse, California sleek, Arts and Crafts movement and Georgian, among others.
A couple of the houses are sold already; prices for the remainder will range from $450,000 to $635,000. Six of the homes have been decorated by members of the American Society of Interior Designers, which is co-sponsoring the Parade with the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago. (Two homes’ interiors were designed independently.)
Among the highlights:
– The dramatic staircase of the Richfield model by Arnold Buschman Enterprises leads not only to bedrooms but serves as a perch for peering down upon the two-story family room.
And when faced with the builder’s request for a huge television to be mounted over the fireplace in that room, designer Lori Lennon paneled the whole arrangement, floor to ceiling, in such a way that makes the screen less dominant, more like a painting than an electrical appliance.
– If you’re a fan of front porches, the Farmington, by the Aberdare Group, has the quintessential wraparound; it lacks only a glass of lemonade. Cyrus Homes has created a wholly different effect with the wrap porch at its home, the Gables. Here the porch winds around the back and sides of the house. The home’s dominant front chimney, plus its mixture of brick, shingle and stucco on the exterior and quaint latticework over the front door give the Gables a kind of European cottage look-if it’s possible to have such a thing as an enormous cottage. This one has 4,000 square feet.
– And if your porch passion extends to balconies, two houses’ master bedroom suites have them. Particularly inviting is the one at the Bennington Brook, the parade’s highest-priced home, which also overlooks a creek.
– Whirlpool tubs are a popular feature in upscale home-building, and the one at the Kalyn, by New Tradition homes, gives it a twist. This large tub recirculates and filters its water, so it can remain filled at all times if so desired. When not in use, a cover rests over the tub, which sits right in the floor of the “spa room.” The second floor also has a suite intended for a live-in nanny, complete with private bath and walk-in closet.
– New Tradition also built a ranch-style home, the Kelsey, whose living room balcony affords an unusual, wide-open view of the expansive basement living areas, which have been designated for a media room and office, plus a fourth bedroom.
– Because they were able to collaborate with the builders before construction began, several designers wrought changes in floor plans, features and building materials.
For example, in the New Classic built by Henderson Homes, the design team suggested the great room would be opened up by putting circular openings between the great room and a space called a “keeping room,” which is sort of a family room.
– Home builders’ current passion for soaring, two-story entryways (known in the trade as “volume ceilings”) reaches what may be a new standard in the Avignon model by Turnkey Construction.
Visitors to the three-bedroom house, which has been designed with empty nesters in mind, also features a step-down living room that is oriented to the back of the house, and a first-floor master suite.
– When the interior designers first were collaborating on their designs, some of them expressed concern that green, which is in vogue in design, was being overused.
So the designers scaled back, though the shift seems to have gone en masse toward a soft yellow-gold that shows up amply on walls and on exterior trim throughout the Parade. Watch for it in a subdivision near you.
The Parade’s sponsors are planning such auxiliary events as a tent showcasing products of manufacturers participating in the show. A truck exhibiting Kohler Co. bath and kitchen fixtures will be at the Parade during the weekend of July 30-31. Each weekend, clowns will provide entertainment for kids. Food service will be available throughout.
Aberdare Estates is at the corner of Washington Street and Almond Road in Gurnee. Hours of the parade are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day (last tickets sold at 7 p.m.) through Aug. 14. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, free to children 12 and under.
For information, call the homebuilders at 708-627-7575 or the ASID at 312-467-5084.
