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Pro Spotlight: Design a Classic Home for Modern Living
A North Shore architect shares tips for building or renovating a historically inspired home
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Who: Doug Reynolds of Reynolds Architecture
Where: Northfield, Illinois
In his own words: “With attention to scale, and the right space allocation, you can enjoy all the modern amenities in a classic home.”
Your tastes run to the formal and classic, but you live in the 21st century. How do you fit a media room, home office and exercise space into a historically inspired home? What if the lot you love is not ideal for a traditional home? The key is thoughtful design, according to architect Doug Reynolds, the principal of design-build firm Reynolds Architecture in Northfield. “Underneath, it’s a modern home,” he says. “But with attention to scale, and the right space allocation, you can have all of the beauty of classic design.”
Where: Northfield, Illinois
In his own words: “With attention to scale, and the right space allocation, you can enjoy all the modern amenities in a classic home.”
Your tastes run to the formal and classic, but you live in the 21st century. How do you fit a media room, home office and exercise space into a historically inspired home? What if the lot you love is not ideal for a traditional home? The key is thoughtful design, according to architect Doug Reynolds, the principal of design-build firm Reynolds Architecture in Northfield. “Underneath, it’s a modern home,” he says. “But with attention to scale, and the right space allocation, you can have all of the beauty of classic design.”
European influence. Reynolds earned a degree in architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and studied at the National School of Architecture in Versailles, France. After working with a Chicago firm, he formed a partnership that transformed apartment buildings into single-family homes. “It gave me experience in all the aspects of construction,” he says. In 1995 Reynolds got his architect’s license and started his own firm, focusing on new construction.
A timeless look. Classic homes come in many styles, from Queen Anne and Tudor to farmhouse and Mediterranean villa, but all have certain design elements in common. “Even if it’s new construction, a classic home will often have the look of being added onto over time,” Reynolds says. “The feeling of additions keeps the scale more pleasing to the eye.”
Reynolds offers some ideas below to bring classic grace to your new home or renovation.
Reynolds offers some ideas below to bring classic grace to your new home or renovation.
1. Manage Mass
If you’re building near a flood plain or on a smaller lot, spaces usually hidden in a basement or secondary building — such as a media room, wine cellar, fitness room or garage — will need to be incorporated into the main home design. Even so, your house doesn’t need to look like a sprawling structure as a result. Reynolds suggests adding recessed entrances and horizontal terraces, and incorporating architectural detail at the entrance level.
For this modern Beaux Arts-style home in Winnetka, sited on a flood plain, Reynolds designed a side-access garage on the main floor with the family’s media room above it. “We created separate vertical structures,” he says. “Arches and round windows soften the lines.”
See more of this project
If you’re building near a flood plain or on a smaller lot, spaces usually hidden in a basement or secondary building — such as a media room, wine cellar, fitness room or garage — will need to be incorporated into the main home design. Even so, your house doesn’t need to look like a sprawling structure as a result. Reynolds suggests adding recessed entrances and horizontal terraces, and incorporating architectural detail at the entrance level.
For this modern Beaux Arts-style home in Winnetka, sited on a flood plain, Reynolds designed a side-access garage on the main floor with the family’s media room above it. “We created separate vertical structures,” he says. “Arches and round windows soften the lines.”
See more of this project
2. Vault the Ceilings
To add classic styling to your remodel, raise the ceilings. Reynolds’ firm did a room-by-room remodel of this 100-year-old farmhouse in Golf. He added 2,000 square feet of living space, all on the main floor, and created dramatic vaulted ceilings. “They give real excitement to what otherwise would have been a 5,000-square-foot ranch,” he says. “In the living room we were able to expose the trusses from the original roof structure.”
See more of this project
To add classic styling to your remodel, raise the ceilings. Reynolds’ firm did a room-by-room remodel of this 100-year-old farmhouse in Golf. He added 2,000 square feet of living space, all on the main floor, and created dramatic vaulted ceilings. “They give real excitement to what otherwise would have been a 5,000-square-foot ranch,” he says. “In the living room we were able to expose the trusses from the original roof structure.”
See more of this project
3. Capitalize on Views
If your lot has a great view, you’ll need to decide which rooms get to take advantage of it. While it’s traditional to have formal living rooms and dining rooms overlook a lake or mountain, it might make more sense to give those views to rooms you use every day.
Clients in a Barrington Hills lakefront home wanted their home offices, kitchen, breakfast room and master suite to overlook the water. “Why take a room you aren’t spending time in and give it the view?” Reynolds says. The clients now enjoy views of the lake — as well as the home’s gardens, terraces and infinity pool — from the rooms they’re in the most, including the home office seen here.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Doug Reynolds and examples of his work, visit Reynolds Architecture’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
If your lot has a great view, you’ll need to decide which rooms get to take advantage of it. While it’s traditional to have formal living rooms and dining rooms overlook a lake or mountain, it might make more sense to give those views to rooms you use every day.
Clients in a Barrington Hills lakefront home wanted their home offices, kitchen, breakfast room and master suite to overlook the water. “Why take a room you aren’t spending time in and give it the view?” Reynolds says. The clients now enjoy views of the lake — as well as the home’s gardens, terraces and infinity pool — from the rooms they’re in the most, including the home office seen here.
See more of this project
More: For more information on Doug Reynolds and examples of his work, visit Reynolds Architecture’s Houzz profile.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
Reynolds Architecture, founded in 1995 by Doug Reynolds, is an architect-led design-build firm located on... Read More
Review by Julie Voelker:
The Reynolds Group was a tremendous help to me. I was selling my house and needed to manage repairs, while also holding down a full-time job. Doug assigned Brad to be the general manager of the proj...More