Homebuilder's design details focus on more shapely rooms

Straight lines and right angles are the things of which most homes are made.

Architects often speak glowingly about clean lines and sharp angles. However, Rick Bouchez believes there is lots of room in homes for curves.

"Curves soften a house and make it homey," said Bouchez, president of Homes by Richmond, based in Buffalo Grove.

"I learned from my wife when she was in interior design school that color affects how you feel in house, and shapes do, too. They add interest and act as a golden thread of softness throughout a home," he said.

A walk through Bouchez's ready-for-occupancy, 5,200-square-foot, $1.6 million home in Long Grove's Brookstone community reveals a house where most corners are softened by curves, yet long expanses of straight walls allow for easy furniture placement.

"My curves really don't affect how people place their furniture because most people don't put their furniture in the corners," Bouchez stated.

Doorways are arched; moldings and balconies are curved; ceilings are curved into interesting, layered shapes; and many of the large window groupings are arranged in modified waterfall forms, tying everything together for a nice feeling of continuity.

"So many of the big new houses I tour are so vanilla and boring," Bouchez complained. "I try to transfer the homeowners' personalities into what I am building and add all of the extra touches for a nicer presentation both inside and out.

"Most builders won't or can't do that. But I started out as a bricklayer and with bricklayers, everything is about shapes, textures and depth perception, so this came as second nature to me," he explained.

Bouchez started adding curves to his homes about a decade ago when a client asked him for something unusual in her house. He ended up giving her a perfectly round foyer with a layered ceiling that resembled a wedding cake.

Ever since then he has tried to add these elements to most of his homes, if the buyers are interested in the concept. In fact, one Long Grove client who is particularly whimsical in her tastes had him build her a perfectly round, two-story foyer where she now displays large carvings of a mother giraffe and her baby.

Bouchez relieves long, boring hallways with curved art niches. He builds recessed or protruding cloverleafs, circles, ovals and other unusual shapes into ceilings, depending upon the tastes of his clients.

He adds tray ceilings to every bedroom and tries to have doorways on angles for interest. And he builds master suites with coffee bars, balconies, gorgeous windows and luxurious master baths that make you feel like you are on vacation in your own home.

"I enjoy building layers of visuals for a feeling of gentleness in a house that wraps around you and is very comforting," Bouchez said.

No two Homes by Richmond houses are alike but they do share common elements, like look-out basements, 10-foot first-floor ceilings, wide hallways and rear exteriors that look as detailed as the fronts.

"Houses are very emotional places," he continued. "I use curves to make people feel happier and more comfortable in entertaining spaces. I use more linear, square rooms as work spaces like studies."

Bouchez is the first to admit that adding all of these extra touches costs time and money. A house that would take eight months to build with straight walls would take 12 months to build if it were equipped with Bouchez's full complement of curves, niches and arches.

But he feels that when someone spends over a $1 million on house, they should get something extra special.

"It is a laborious process that is very much like artwork," he said. "For instance, when we are curving a wall we have to place studs every six inches instead of every 16 inches as you would with a straight wall. But the carpenters and drywallers enjoy it because it is different and when they are done, they know they have created something special."

In an average year, Homes by Richmond, a self-proclaimed "boutique builder," constructs between four and five custom homes ranging in size from 4,200 to 11,000 square feet.

For more information on Bouchez, Homes by Richmond and his available lots and spec homes in South Barrington, Inverness and Long Grove, call (847) 541-2100 or visit homesbyrichmond.com.