Old World style meets New World technology

Imagine living in a 16th-century Italian villa.

Richard and Inna Panichi not only imagined it, they had a builder re-create one as their private residence in Barrington Hills.

Why a residence from the 1500s?

“I couldn't help myself,” Richard said. “I like the way these homes look. Half my life I've been thinking about building a home like this, and we've been talking about it for a long time.

“Many builders only want to build what they know and what's familiar to them. So when I talked to some builders about what I wanted, many said, ‘no, that's not what you want.'”

But not John Elias. He looked at the architectural plans and was excited about the project even though he knew it would be a challenge. “I had never built anything like it, but that wasn't going to stop me,” said Elias, owner of Avalon Development & Construction, Inc. in South Barrington.

With that, the relationship between Elias and the Panichis began. The project required a lot of research, and the three did everything short of going to Italy.

The home, which reflects the architecture of Andrea Palladio, features 4,000 square feet of living space and sits on a large, scenic home site.

Despite its grand entrance and stately columns and arches, in the 1500s the Italian home was a small and simple building because owners devoted their time and money to their beautiful and extensive gardens.

A major challenge was to make the residence practical for 21st century living, Richard said. “This is the most unique home in Barrington Hills — in the area — there's no other house like it.”

Distinguishing characteristics of the home include custom cabinetry, millwork, unique carvings and old-time artistry and craftsmanship. In the great room, which was probably called a salon in the 1500s, a chocolate leather sofa and two chairs sit around the intricately carved marble fireplace. The fireplace began as a slab of marble from China that Elias transformed into a stunning piece of art.

On the wall, an ornate gold-framed mirror conceals the 55-inch TV. “It took about a month to figure out how we were going to do this, but we did it, and we did it right,” Elias said. “It was quite a design challenge.”

The balcony with oak railing and wrought iron spindles overlooks the great room below while a massive chandelier hangs from the coffered ceiling's rotunda.

“We built the balcony for its looks — it's not very practical,” Richard said. “We like being up here and looking down. And at night the backlit ceiling really glows.”

With a neutral palette and subtle details, nothing in the home speaks loudly. “We didn't want anything that popped,” Richard said.

The showpiece kitchen features custom alder wood cabinetry with hand-carved detailing designed and built by Elias. “The carving detail resembles a wood basket weave that we saw in a book on country Italian kitchens,” he said. In its early times, the kitchen would have been in the basement near the servants. The owners enjoy informal meals at the granite counter atop a huge island with sink while more formal meals are served in the adjacent dining room that features a vaulted barrel backlit ceiling.

Limestone flooring from Turkey flows throughout the main level with a different custom design by Elias in each room.

The home's doors — two exterior and several interior — represent a unique design element from architectural salvage. When Elias received the doors at his shop, they were antique slabs without any hinges or door jambs. “So it was fun to build around these doors,” he said.

Richard saw the doors 20 years ago in a shop in New Mexico where they had been imported. They came from India or perhaps Afghanistan, he said. “I always wanted to have these doors in a house or to have a house that would go with the doors. I don't think anyone else would use an Asian door with classical architecture.”

Although the home has a large footprint, it's smaller than it looks and is probably the only two-bedroom house in Barrington Lakes, Richard said.

The home's sleeping quarters — the master suite and guest suite — are each a private retreat away from the more public rooms.

A grand entry into the master suite says something extraordinary sits beyond. The suite includes a coffee bar, laundry space and a custom closet built to accommodate the owners' clothes and footwear. In the bath, a television behind the mirror allows the owner to watch TV while shaving.

The sleeping area features a groin-vaulted ceiling and hardwood flooring with a herringbone pattern. A Juliet balcony with belly iron spindles and Brazilian wood deck offers beautiful outdoor views. Prized paintings include a picture of Richard's grandfather's house and the couple's second home in Colorado. Also displayed is a Mongolian hand-appliquéd fabric wall hanging.

The guest suite features a coffee bar and a bath with a walk-in shower with limestone surround. “We wanted the guest area to be like a luxury hotel suite,” Inna said. “Everyone who has stayed here loves the privacy.”

A separate room accommodates the couple's two French Brittany dogs, Lia and Masha.

The gallery portion of the home is similar to a Roman atrium with beautiful views of the outdoors. “We love the view, and there are so many birds here that I have never seen before,” Inna said.

“This unique style home and the lot itself offered many design challenges,” Elias said. “We had to build up the entire backyard of the house because it is a reverse walkout.”

What looks to be the front door at ground level is actually the lower level of the home, while the double staircase at the front brings you to the main floor. For convenience, an elevator runs from the lower level to the main level.

The walkout to the rear of the house features double French doors to an open-air covered patio, pool, courtyard and gardens. This space brings living to the outdoors to the delight of the owners, who love spending time outside and cooking in their outdoor kitchen within the screened-in area.

The imported clay tile roof, which is an Old World type of roof that you don't often see anymore, is another unusual aspect of the home, Elias said. “Each clay shingle is cast from a mold. And for the color, they spin a giant wheel that splatters brown on the tile so that every tile is different but with the same brown color glaze over the clay.

“The home's exterior features stucco with a glaze on top that gives it an aging look while the interior drywall and plaster give it even more of an old world gilt.”