The whole house renovation included a room addition on the back and side doubling the square footage of the house, all new siding, roofing, windows, doors, landscaping, and garage. The 1st floor work included all new hardwood flooring, new kitchen, powder room, family room with masonry fireplace, mudroom, breakfast room, and back basement stairway. The 2nd floor work included a new master suite, 2nd hall bathroom, remodeling of the 1st hall bathroom, another bedroom, and a laundry room as well as re-configuring closets and the hallway. New front and rear covered porches and full basement under the new areas and finishing most of the basement was also part of the project.
All of the siding on this house is new cedar, 3” exposure clapboard on the 1st floor and 7” exposure shake on the 2nd floor. All rafter tails on the main roof are curved to match the original. This is most visible on the gables. There is another curve where the 2nd story shake starts. A band of trim between the floors pulls the first course of shake away from the wall, which then curves back to the wall over the next few courses. The shake corners were weaved as was traditionally done with shake. Douglas fir beaded ceiling was used on both porches with beaded ply for the soffits.
The new poured foundation was covered with mortar and “blocks” were tooled into it to look like a block foundation. This is the same procedure that was done on the original home and was common 100 years ago.
Custom made brackets support the cantilever. The new wood windows have an aluminum clad exterior for longevity. Exterior window trim is added to dress them up and mimic the old detailing.
Look at any side of this house and you will see extensive trim details, as was done in past times. This adds character, quality, and charm to the entire house.
This home is a seamless combination of its historic architectural features from 1905 and the modern day conveniences of today. I was lucky enough to be the designer for this project. Throughout the process a great deal of care was given to incorporating the Arts and Crafts elements of this home with the interior and exterior selections needed to update the home. Much of the tile work was completed with Sonoma hand-made decorative tiles. The fireplaces, bathrooms and kitchen incorporated geometric and nature-inspired decos reminiscent of the organic nature of the Prairie School of architecture. The woodwork and fireplace mantels reflect the original style of the moldings in the home. The white raised panel kitchen cabinetry combined with the hutch, plate rack and butcher-block island resembles the simple kitchen style of the period. The classic blue and white Wedgewood dishes popular during this era were the inspiration for the kitchen colors. The light fixtures were chosen to coordinate the simplicity of the architectural lines of the home with the ornamental designs of the tile work. All of the exterior and interior color selections were based on the colors of nature in keeping with the Wright concept of organic architecture.
This home is truly a wonderful combination of old and new. It is a rare example of what can be achieved by combining our historic roots of architecture with the modern building process.
Ann Cullinane, ASID
Interior Designer
New kitchen cabinet uppers include 100 year-old glass taken from the old windows that were replaced. Although it is kitchen cabinetry, the furniture look of the cherry hutch also brings back the past.
All new wood trim was custom made to match the existing.
Subway tile on the walls and mosaics on floor are reminiscent of days of old. One improvement over the old days is the heated floor and insulated windows.
The quarter-round bead above was made by a 4th generation wood turner. The finish used for all the trim was amber shellac. This was probably used on the original trim, since it was very common back then. Shellac is still a good finish to use today and was the best fit to match the tone of the old trim, which still remained in some rooms after the renovation.
Interesting Find – While removing the old hardwood floor in one of the rooms there was an obvious patch of shorter boards. Underneath the boards was a Chicago Sun newspaper dated December 8th, 1941. The headlines read WAR WITH JAPAN. While working on the house a gentleman who happened to live in the house in the 1940’s stopped by to see the work being done. He wasn’t aware of the newspaper or how it might have been placed there. A more recent past homeowner, Mrs. Ahern, also stopped by while we were working. We hadn’t found the newspaper yet to ask her about it.
With modern conveniences and a creative design, this new home combines our long-committed attention to detail. The end result is what we hoped for, comfortable living for the homeowners and an escape for their visiting family members.
The original home was built in 1905. This Queen Anne with Free Classic detailing sat on a 75’ wide lot in the Historic District of Naperville. The land was formerly part of the Morris Sleight farm.
Taking advantage of this wider than average lot the addition extended to the side as well as to the rear. The new wrap-around porch helped highlight the use of this extra space. This home like others of this era had only a 2nd floor hall bathroom and was without one on the 1st floor. The renovation included a 2-story addition on the side and back with a full basement under the back section. The 1st floor part of the renovation includes a new kitchen, family room, dining area, office, mudroom, bathroom, and closets. A back stairway was added as well as a family room masonry fireplace. The 2nd floor work included a new master suite with sleeping porch, and walk-in closet. A 2nd floor laundry room was also added. The wrap-around porch and rear cedar deck now extend their seasonal living space.
The Douglas fir beaded ceiling is a typical feature on older homes.
The “sleeping porch” off of the master suite sits above the family room.
Cedar siding and trim details to match the old
The 1-story part was removed including the foundation.
The skirted base of the rear deck provides a finished look and hopefully keeps critters out. Sections can be removed for access [by humans].
“One of our major goals was to maintain the character of the original home throughout the
addition. Packey reproduced architectural details faithfully on both the exterior and
interior of the home, and today visitors to our home often comment about how well the
new portion of the home blends with the old; most cannot figure out where the early 20th
century house ends and the early 21st century addition begins.”
Period details include beaded wainscoting, medicine cabinet with cupboard latch and ball-top hinges, railed glass shelf, sub-way style tiling, and Kohler Memoirs fixtures.
Windows made to fit the homeowners’ leaded glass panes sit above custom bookshelves and flanking the fireplace. New custom bookcases at the family room entrance were inspired by originals from the homeowners’ previous nearby 1915 home.
“We met with several builders before selecting Packey for our project. He got the job for
several reasons. His bid was competitive and in line with most of the other builders.
Equally important was the fact that we felt we were most likely to get high-quality work
by doing business with Packey rather than with one of the other builders.”
This was a typical 2-story, 4-bedroom home, with attached 2-car garage. The brick front and aluminum siding on the remaining elevations was also common fare.
The the 2-car garage was replaced with a 3-car heated garage, master suite added above it, brick added to the 1st story and stucco to the 2nd, and added various other features: copper dormers, cupola, and 2 balconies and more. Landscaping was also part of the project.
The roof over the front porch and gable above were also added. Limestone quoins cut into the brick corners and copper conductor heads and downspouts add to the architectural appeal. The front balcony is accessed from the master suite.
The arched brick openings in front were carried throughout the other elevations.
The bay window was relocated to the back wall; the brick patio was extended. The driveway was replaced, as was the roof and electrical service. The back balcony above is accessed from the master bedroom.
Granite topped brick storage areas rest on full foundations.
The original home was built in the 1960’s in Naperville’s Saybrook neighborhood.
The renovation included a 2-story addition on the back and 2nd story over the garage, new siding, roofing, windows and doors, re-locating some interior walls, and all new wall and floor finishes for the entire house. The interior was completely gutted so all the insulation, most of the wiring and most of the plumbing is new. The 1st story work included a new kitchen, family room, mudroom, powder room, stairway, and heating and finishing the garage. The 2nd story work included a master suite, which is over the garage and extends into the new 2nd story part of the addition, 2 new bathrooms, and laundry room. New bluestone front porch and back patio, and some landscaping were also part of the project.
The main roof of the original house was beefed up with the new back gable and flat roof area being built over it. The “widow’s walk” is above the sitting room off the master bedroom. The mudroom below at the back entrance is also the entrance from the garage.
This is the same fireplace with the opening modified, the hearth extended, stone cladding, and a new mantle.
Relocating the powder room to the other side of the kitchen [not shown] helped enlarge the kitchen. The dinette area is also part of the addition. The kitchen includes white oak flooring with a contemporary finish, painted maple cabinets, granite tops, tiled backsplashes, and a white-washed fir ceiling.
“Our home renovation was very complex and involved numerous sub-contractors. Every member of the team that worked on our project did so with the highest level of craftsmanship. More importantly, they all showed a tremendous amount of respect for Packey.”
"I’ll end by saying I am a VERY particular person (ask Packey) and I was very happy with every aspect of the job he did for us. I would encourage you to call any of Packey’s references and discuss in detail what a great job he does and why he is the person you should select for your renovation.”
This 1925 American Foursquare located in the heart of Naperville had a previous 1-story addition to the kitchen (lower right in the above photo).
The enlarged kitchen was an improvement but not without certain shortcomings. The window-air-conditioner [seen in the Before photo] wasn’t doing the job, the balcony railing wasn’t sound, and the back entryway being right into the kitchen didn’t provide much room for removal and storage of coats, shoes, books, etc. The new addition/renovation addressed these issues and more. Our project included a mudroom, family room, kitchen bay, and screened porch on the 1st floor. On the 2nd floor a master suite was added which used the existing part of the home for the master bathroom. The renovation also restored a front bedroom, which had been enlarged in a previous remodel, to its approximate original size.
A swirled ceiling pattern matches the plaster ceilings in the original home.
The new family room included a masonry fireplace, hardwood floors, beamed and textured ceiling, and a custom built mantel.
“Your craftsmanship is excellent. The fireplace mantle you designed and built for us is stunning.”
The homeowner bought old chestnut pew ends and we made the bench parts to fit it into this alcove in the hall.
All of the porch trim was replaced except for the columns and railings.
“You were a dream to work with. I don’t know that we’ll ever take on another project of this
scope, but if we did, you would be the only person we’d call. It was a pleasure working with you.”
