Chicago Tribune
May 2007

As wood floors continue to grow in popularity, many home buyers are adding some pizazz to shake up their floor designs.

Instead of traditional oak that covers the entire floor, they are mixing in intricate stone or ceramic borders and inlays. Clear stains are being tossed aside in favor of rich cherry, mahogany and walnut stains that offer a more dramatic impact.

“You can get a variety of looks by changing the stain on the wood,” said Peggy Holloway, design counselor for Ferris Homes.

A decision about which wood to buy often goes hand in hand with the cabinetry selection, because these two elements are dominant features in the kitchen. Many people want both areas to have similar coloring, such as maple cabinets and an oak floor. However, others prefer a sharp contrast between the two.

The Grand Bend at Green Bay condominium project is just one example of how home buyers prefer contrast. The building, by Ferris Homes, has a rounded facade and is being built along a bend in a main thoroughfare through Evanston.

“Because it’s a contemporary building, people are using cherry cabinets and a lighter maple floor so you have the contrast,” Holloway said.

A buyer can take wood floor design a step further by having the wood installed on an angle or with wider planks. The angled floor adds an interesting dimension, but it also is more costly because there is more wood used.

While standard wood flooring today uses planking that is about 2 1/2 inches wide, there also are many designers that use wood as wide as 6 inches. Wider planking can completely change the way the room looks. In some cases, it adds a rustic, almost farmhouse-style look.

When deciding what type of wood floors to buy, think about colors and textures. Maple floors have a light, almost blond coloring, while oak and birch have more yellow and tan. Cherry and Brazilian cherry have red tones, while walnut is brown.

Oak and birch have more visible graining than maple or cherry. Maple is prone to displaying stray black streaks, which can affect a wide range of sizes. Some people consider those marks imperfections, while others like the natural, random look they bring.

Cost is a factor. Oak and maple are in the same general price range, but darker woods often cost 10 to 30 percent more. One way to get a dark floor without spending extra for an exotic wood is by staining. While oak has a different grain pattern than cherry or walnut, it can be stained to the same hue as those other woods.

At the upper end of the price spectrum are woods considered exotic, being hard to find. Those who can afford to spend more are turning toward zebra, Ipe or other woods to make a statement.

Regardless of the type of wood, it can be accented with a variety of materials to create a unique patter. Among the options are granite, limestone, marble, ceramic tile and copper.

A stone edge around a cherry floor can create a dramatic, formal look, for example. Copper or stainless steel tiles placed in a rectangular section can give a maple floor a contemporary look.

In one Lake Forest home, the owners used a herringbone pattern on their wood floor, then added a border stenciled in paint. The paint border was less expensive than adding a stone or tile border, plus it added a unique look, Holloway said.

“Doing borders is labor intensive, so it gets expensive,” she added.

One way to limit the cost is to focus the material in one key area. A circular medallion in the center of a foyer or a rectangular border near the kitchen sink can dramatically change the floor. The key is to be creative.

Chicago Tribune
Friday, March 30, 2007
By Leslie Mann, Special to the Tribune

Imagine buying a new house with ceiling lights in some rooms, wall lights in the bathrooms and a pair of outdoor fixtures flanking the front door.

Sounds like a Spartan lighting plan? That was the norm just 20 years ago, when lighting was an afterthought and “lighting plan” was an oxymoron. Along came home tours, the Internet, HGTV and a flurry of home magazines that enabled consumers to, literally, see the light. Manufacturers multiplied their light-fixture offerings, lighting plans were attached to architectural plans and home buyers upped their lighting demands. Big time.

“What used to be “upscale lighting” has moved down even to tract homes, too,” reports Debbie Kosters, vice president of Inland Electric in Shorewood, which supplies builders, architects and homeowners. “Consumers want it and the builders are giving it to them. It’s not necessarily that lighting is a bigger part of the house budget because there are just so many more products, with better finishes, available now at all prices.” Ditto for lighting control, adds Kosters, which now routinely includes such features as motion sensors and dimmers, at least.

The notion of hiring a lighting designer, once limited to builders of pricy residences and commercial buildings, has trickled down also.

“I’m not just working with the very high-end buyer anymore,” says Peter Hugh of Hugh Lighting Design LLC in Oak Park. “Even if the client doesn’t hire me to do his whole house, he may ask me to do a special room such as a media room. And you’d be surprised what you can do on a modest budget.”

For those with tight budgets, Hugh recommends concentrating on the kitchen and the master bathroom, if the latter is your retreat. When a client shows him magazine pictures of a room she likes, he asks her to describe what she likes about the room’s lighting, not the specific fixture featured. “Is it romantic? Spa-like? Exciting?” he asks. “You can achieve these things with different fixtures.”

For a multipurpose room such as a great room or a finished basement (lighting designers’ greatest challenges), Hugh helps a homeowner design lighting that can break up the room into different zones. Then the homeowner can program the correct ambience for each zone.

Arch Ahern admits he spent lots of time shopping and combing magazines before choosing the lighting for his new townhouse in Libertyville, built by Ferris Homes in 2005.

“This is my fifth house, and I’ve learned from each one,” said Ahern. His lighting includes everything from down-lit stairway walls to up-lit bathroom vanities to cans aplenty that showcase his art collection. The most practical: a coat closet light that turns on automatically when you open the door.

Every lighting plan takes into account natural light and that, too, is expanding.

To preview lighting in tomorrow’s new house, look to top-dollar high-rise residential buildings such as the Mandarin Oriental Tower, slated to open in Chicago in 2009. Its lighting contractor, Ken Johnson of Premiere Condominium Technologies in Chicago, will include a light-emitting diode lighting system as an upgrade.

“Instead of a bulb, the LED is a little semiconductor that produces light,” explained Johnson. “It lasts for years, so you don’t change bulbs, and it uses much less electricity than bulbs. Until recently, these weren’t used in residential buildings because they weren’t bright enough and they cost too much. But that’s changing. Now we can use them anywhere we’d use a traditional fixture.”

Also on the horizon, say builders and designers, is a greater use of whole-house, automated lighting controls. ART-Allsmart Residential Technology Inc. in Lake Forest, for example, offers a system that enables the homeowner to pre-set the house’s lighting for “vacation,” “entertainment” or “sleep,” for example, and to control any light from any room so a homeowner can, say, turn off the kids’ bedroom lights from her bedroom. While these systems are too pricey for homeowners of modest means, they are already popular among high-end buyers.

In the meantime, lighting contractors tell home buyers that it costs much less to include lighting during construction than to add it later.

“One thing I’ve learned is to do as much as you can upfront,” said Ahern. “Even then, you will think of something else you left out.”

Chicago Tribune
December 23, 2006
By Allison E. Beatty

Contrasting colors and designs add drama to this kitchen created by Greenview Homes of Lincolnshire. Varying cabinet heights, depths, woods and stains is gaining in popularity. When it comes to kitchen cabinet design, home buyers are pushing the envelope.

While the mix-and-match approach to cabinetry design–with varying cabinet heights, depths, woods and stains–has been popular for several years, some people are taking that approach a step further. “A big trend we’re seeing is color blocking,” said Amy Silverman, design and sales manager for Greenview Homes in Lincolnshire. “They’re using two or three different colors in the same room. This goes beyond just doing the island cabinets in a different color.”

It has become more common to use two different cabinet woods, stains or glaze colors on the wall and base cabinets, plus a third color, glaze or stain treatment on the island cabinetry. Among the popular themes are designs with contrasting light and dark colors.

Buyers might combine cabinets finished in a chocolate glaze with cabinets with a white or off-white finish, for example. The cabinetry often is dressed up with glazes, decorative molding and fancy hardware. A third accent color–used as a separate focal point–might be black or red.

“People are stretching a little beyond the norm,” Silverman said.

This stretching outside the box comes as many high-end home buyers consider it the norm to use two different wood species or colors in the kitchen. As part of this mix-and-match concept, they may stagger the height of their cabinets and design their islands with different cabinetry and colors.

The wall cabinets might be 36 inches high except in the corners, where the cabinets reach to 42 inches high and have decorative glass panels. Or glass cabinets might be turned on their sides and stacked on top of other cabinets.

The countertop material also is pulled into the mix. There might be a dark-colored granite countertop for the island to add some drama, then a more subtle countertop for the perimeter, said Donna Stembridge, vice president of Stembridge Builders Inc. in Naperville: “People are doing a lot of mixing and matching.”

Such design, however, requires careful thought and planning. Otherwise, the kitchen could look disjointed.

“Make certain everything works together,” Stembridge said. “You don’t want just one thing to stand out, because the eye takes in everything in a room.”

Silverman suggests homeowners start by deciding where their focus will be.

“If you have a commercial-grade cooktop on the wall across from where you walk in, you might want to draw attention to that area,” she said.

In that scenario, the ventilation hood over the cooktop could be done in a bold color, such as black. The two cabinets on each side of the hood also would be black. The rest of the cabinetry would be an antique white, to create a contrast and make the hood area stand out.

The island is another area where buyers tend to focus. Many use furniture-styled cabinets or a farmhouse-styled table to mix up the design and create drama.

The cabinetry can be dressed up with detailed molding, carved legs and beadboard accents, said Charlene Timm, vice president of sales and marketing for Steve Carr Builders.

The styles of cabinetry also have changed. Most high-end buyers want cabinetry that looks like furniture. Some buyers are turning toward cabinetry that has a dull rubbed finish.

“Instead of having a sheen to it, it’s more of a furniture quality finish to it,” Timm said.

Homeowners also are using cabinetry to blend a kitchen with an adjoining family room.

“They are extending the built-in cabinetry into the family room, using cabinetry around a plasma television that matches the kitchen cabinets,” said Peggy Holloway, design consultant with Ferris Homes in Northbrook. “By pulling your kitchen into the family room, it makes your kitchen bigger and your family room more finished.”

A similar approach can be used for bookshelves that surround a fireplace or for a children’s homework area along one side of the family room. The goal is to integrate both rooms so they function as one.

“That’s really your Grand Central Station in your home,” Holloway said.

When planning any of these designs, think first about the look you are trying to create. If you want bold drama in one area, look for the place that visitors will see first, such as the cooking area.

If you want two or three more subtle focal points, consider how your eyes will move through the room. The end result should be a flowing design with a few areas that provide the “wow” factor.

Today’s New Homes
October 2006

The Ferris Home design team; headed by award winning interior designer Susan Ferris has started the home building process for the buyer, and taken custom home building one step further. They have included design services and all the finishing touches to their homes and response to this new concept has been overwhelming.

Two special home sites have been chosen at Liberty Grove in Libertyville, and two exciting plans are being featured. Goldberg Downey architects of Lake Forest, a selection specialist and Ferris’ HBAC award winning interior designer, Susan Ferris have combined their talents for these Showcase Homes. The results are sensational, a brand new professionally coordinated home, ready for move-in.

“Seasoned home buyers know that building a custom home and making selections can often be time consuming,” said Drew Ferris. “The Showcase Home gives the homeowner an exceptional result and a new home in no time.”

A Ferris Showcase Home features an available plan with special enhancements that specifically tailor the home to the home site and potential homeowner. Interior selections showcase the industries newest materials as well as the classic. On the exterior, the landscaping aligns the home with the unique lot contours and the wooded neighborhood.

There is a very special focus on kitchen and bathroom design. Key ingredients begin with Woodmode cabinetry, specialty layouts, and the magic of the Koehler’s exceptional finishes, including a master shower spa.

Experienced lighting placement, flooring selections and wall colors all contribute to the special “finished” feeling.

“Response to our Showcase Homes has been very strong”, said Drew Ferris. “Our potential homebuyers have the opportunity to see our talents in a home they can move into immediately, or they can pick and choose aspects of this home to incorporate in a plan we will build them from scratch.” The debut of our first Showcase home came late this summer and the home was purchased before it was even finished. The homebuyers, as well as everyone that previewed that home were enthusiastic about our concept and expressed the need in the marketplace to work with a professional team, like ours and have the ability and enjoy the ease of moving right in to a fully coordinated home,” continued Ferris.

“Our Aspen Model at Liberty Grove was recently recognized and won four awards from the Homebuilder Association of Greater Chicago 2006 Lake County Tour of Homes,” said Ferris. “Our Model won the Best Kitchen, Best Interior, Best Master Bedroom & bath, and the Best Exterior.”

Ferris Homes at Liberty Grove now has one Showcase Home completed at the community. The Sequoia Showcase Home is a beautiful two-story home, and is 5,191 square feet. The home is located on a wooded lot with fenced rear yard, with a patio and oversized deck.

There is a 1,700 square foot walk-out basement for growing room, and a three car tandem garage. A first and second floor laundry room are provided, and a second floor loft gives flexible space for a number of uses. Each bedroom in the home boasts its own private bathroom. The front foyer features a hand-forged wrought iron and oak custom staircase, and hardwood floors grace the entire first floor.

The Kitchen features Woodmode Cherry cabinetry with glazing, crown molding and light rails. A special island with seating, and extra prep sink, start a long list of amenities that are provided in this home. All details can be found on the Libery Grove Web site.

Now being built at Liberty Grove is another Showcase Home. The Aspen II Showcase Home comes in direct response to the 2006 Tour of Homes Awards. Ferris Homes will debut the Aspen II Showcase Model for the summer of 2007.

This popular Model will grow is size to 2,971 square feet and will feature the master bedroom on the first floor. Information, plans, progress are available to see at the sales center in Libertyville.

Ferris Homes has been successful in the marketplace by following trends and surveys to determine what potential homebuyers are looking for. The results of these surveys claim that buyers want features such as high ceilings, granite countertops and upscale appliances. According to experts, trends begin with upscale homes and trickle down. Ferris Homes has paid attention to this research and as a result, offers their potential homebuyers all the amenities they are looking for at Liberty Grove and their other communities.

According to Ferris, “We spend a great deal of time and planning in order to give our buyers a balance of value and amenities that will stand the test of time,” said Ferris. “Our clients are excited with our Showcase Homes product and the concept has given our customer ease, simplicity and value. The majority of potential homebuyers prefer to buy this way.”

For more information on Liberty Grove and the single family Showcase Home, interested parties can visit www.liberty-grove.com or call (847) 680- 0001. The sales center is located at 200 Cater Lane in Libertyville. The sales office and model are open daily from 10:00 to 5:00 except Sunday and Monday from 12:00 to 5:00.