This new 3800 sq. ft. custom single family home, built in McHenry, IL, is a contemporary house that evokes the romanticism of the American Shingle Style. It  offers the features of a summer house while having proximity to central Chicago.

The first and second floors feature wings, which ring a central stair and project into the surrounding wooded area. Each of the four bedrooms has a private outdoor balcony. The largest, a screened in sleeping porch, accompanies the master bedroom. The first floor rooms also feature convenient access to the outdoors: the living room opens to a pent roofed wraparound porch and the kitchen has access to a large open deck for cookouts and summer entertaining. The family room has an attached screened porch, which extends the functionality of this room even further.

Special finishes were selected to lend richness to important interior features. Among these are Indian slate tiles for the flooring in the front hall and kitchen, handmade tiles for the family room fireplace surround and apron, and custom millwork for the living room fireplace mantle.  An Arts and Crafts  color palette (moss green, barn red and ochre) was chosen for the exterior in keeping with the rustic image, and is especially striking in the fall and winter months.