How One Lincoln Park Couple Created a Spacious Feel on a City Lot
After scooping up a rare triple lot, North Side couple builds an 8,500-square-foot Mediterranean manse.
By Elle Eichinger
September 28, 2017, 11:17 am
Feeling cramped in your Chicago townhouse? So was a North Side couple, who, after having their second child, needed an upgrade. They found a rare Lincoln Park triple lot and built on it an 8,500-square-foot Mediterranean manse, customized by Rodger Owen, a principal of local luxury home builder BGD&C.
The exterior has three dedicated spaces: a 30-by-100-foot lawn where the kids play soccer, a vegetable garden (the couple grows their own food), and a traditional English garden complete with a limestone well.
Photos: (English garden) Wayne Cable; (all others) Tony Soluri
For Owen, practicality was key: “In Mediterranean architecture, the windows have overhangs because the sun is so bright. But in Chicago, you need the extra light.” He installed a retractable awning over the patio to get the best of both worlds.
The temperature-controlled wine cellar comes with an alarm that sounds if the space gets too hot or cold.
With a backyard so lush, the family rarely uses the front door. Putting the stairway near the rear of the house made for a more fluid layout.
Dark wood may be über-traditional, but modern flourishes like leather panels and an abstract light fixture by Hubbardton Forge balance out the study.
