History Repeats Itself in Lincoln Park

Investment: $250,000-$500,000
Designer: Areté The Art of Design
Architect: Mayer Jeffers Gillespie Architects
Location: Lincoln Park, Chicago
Description: The goal of this home renovation – with scullery addition, was to bring it into the 21st century while taking into consideration the beautiful Victorian era details of the original design. The owners asked for a period home with functionality. They wanted to use a mix of materials and did not want the space to look “new”. We worked together to insure that all materials looked as if they had been there all along and to create an environment that felt true to the original architecture and styling.

Our company believes that developing environmentally sustainable construction practices is a vital step toward decreasing any one of our construction project’s carbon footprint, increasing our competitive advantage, and preparing for inevitable government regulations. For these reasons, we saw a perfect opportunity to source only eco-friendly materials for this historic restoration so it continues to last throughout the centuries. Areté restored both the entire exterior and interior of this 1879 Romanesque Queen Anne style home. We added EcoTech spray foam insulation composed of over 27% soy and 45% renewables in order to preserve the heat and cool air. We installed a period Kohler 1920’s era cast iron farmhouse style kitchen sink in the scullery and restored all of the existing wainscoting and maple hardwood floors throughout the home. All five bathrooms had Chicago faucets installed and extra storage was added. Our client’s enthusiasm and ability to resource wonderful antique lighting fixtures and hardware added to the uniqueness of the finished product.

To learn more about how we sourced our green materials and the history behind this home, click here to check out the full blog write up on History Repeats Itself.