Houses on Children's Memorial walk showcase owners' flair
From a historic Victorian in Palatine through two very different Inverness homes to a Barrington Hills residence with drop-dead views, a housewalk benefiting Children's Memorial Hospital promises architectural diversity.
The hospital's Northwest Suburban Guild hosts the housewalk only every three years. The Sept. 18 event will also include a lunch and boutique at Honquest Furniture for Living in Barrington.
Inverness
Val and Steven Abruzzo remodeled a home that had never been lived in. In fact, the Inverness house they purchased four years ago was started several years before, and never finished because the builder's health failed.
Not only did the Abruzzos redesign the interior to fit their family, they also added a family room and master suite and decorated the front with limestone.
"We loved the location," said Steven Abruzzo. "We lived a mile from here, and our kids were in the school district."
It's especially obvious in the kitchen and master wardrobe room that the couple took advantage of their professional contacts through the Schaumburg kitchen studio that bears their name.
The perimeter kitchen cabinets are white Wood-Mode glazed with charcoal. The cherry cabinets with the almost-chocolate colored finish designed by Abruzzo staff make up a stunning island against the limestone floors.
Special features include Sub-Zero refrigerator drawers and Fisher & Paykel dishwasher drawers.
Above the range in the cooking grotto, convex brick-shaped glass tiles from Ann Sacks create a light copper look with thin ribbons of darker bronze.
Ceiling lights present a midcentury appeal, and Val Abruzzo likes the décor's Asian touches.
"We wanted the house to be clean, light and European," said Steve Abruzzo.
On the second floor the couple left a large opening from the master bedroom to the bath because the bath has no real window.
It's on this level that visitors will especially notice the many faux treatments on the walls from Sheri Zeman's Faux Design Studio in Addison. They range from silk to ostrich leather and a champagne waterfall.
The lower level with its kitchenette behind the bar, billiards table and entertainment area is certainly worth the trip. Notice the use of antiqued black absolute granite as a countertop on the vanity and a backsplash up the wall.
Empty nest
The second Inverness home is just the way empty nesters want to live - an open floor plan plus a master suite and smaller rooms including an office with a bay window and French doors on the main floor. Then grandchildren can play on the lower level, where there's also a sewing room.
The new home features maple kitchen cabinets with a small twist of trim and a mocha glaze. Off this room is a sunroom that is the owner's favorite spot.
Most of the furniture came from the owners' previous residences, including an eye-catching hand-painted chest right inside the front door.
Artwork is everywhere in this house, including bright pictures of scenes in Naples, Fla., by Paul Arsenault, Hawaiian touches by David Lee and realist Robert Addison.
Barrington Hills
When the owner of this Barrington Hills estate proposed to his wife 13 years ago, he promised to enlarge the closet in the master suite. But then he noticed he needed a new roof and decided to raise it. By the time they were finished you would not guess the ranch home is originally from the 1960s.
Anyone who can take their eyes off the magnificent lake views will appreciate the oversized kitchen by Insignia Kitchen and Bath Design in Barrington that still works well for entertaining after more than a decade. Sliding glass doors here and in the more formal area of the house make the most of the view.
The room is set up for serious cooking with two islands, two double ovens, two microwave ovens and a Sub-Zero refrigerator. The cream-colored cabinets are glazed, and the hood over the cooktop and mosaic wall is stainless.
The room shows all this and an adjacent three-season room.
The walkout lower level has its own, contemporary-styled kitchen.
Other special rooms in this home are a theater, billiards area, massage room and exercise room with more than 30 pieces of equipment.
Palatine
It's the house that everyone knows, the white Victorian with the tower near downtown Palatine.
Charles and Mary Patten built it in 1898. He was a banker, entrepreneur and mayor of Palatine, and it is still in the Patten family.
Interior features include five fireplaces with Italian marble, oval rooms, curved molding, carved woodwork and stained glass.
And would you believe a billiard room in the attic?
<p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>If you go</b></p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>What:</b> Housewalk sponsored by Northwest Suburban Guild of Children's Memorial Hospital.</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>When:</b> 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Where:</b> Honquest Furniture for Living, 1455 S. Barrington Road, Barrington.</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Tickets:</b> $50.</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Extra:</b> Tickets purchased prior to Sept. 9 include a complimentary lunch. The boutique at Honquest is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Information:</b> (847) 397-8955 or email karenkallman@aol.com.</p>