Are You Celebrating the Holidays in Your Dream Home?

Find out how to have your custom designed dream home in the Chicago area. Photo by Ron Warren. Design by 1212 Architects.

Find out how to have your custom designed dream home in the Chicago area

December is the time of year when most of us gather together to celebrate for one reason or another.  Loved ones come from far and near to add another page to the Story of your family. No matter what the traditions, there’s excitement in the air. Young and old, the home is decorated to mark the occasion and commemorate the completion of another year. Is your home living up to your dreams for the holidays?

The reality of your celebration is rarely the same as your ultimate vision. Perhaps by Christmas, you hoped for a larger living room with ample space for your oversized tree and abundant presents. Or when overwhelmed by the stress of your in-laws staying for a week, maybe your guest bath hasn’t been renovated. And no one wants to hear from Uncle Bob about the draft in the guest bedroom!

While it’s too late to construct a wish list for your dream home for this holiday season, it is the perfect time to begin your project planning for next year, 2022. The design of your dream home would be the perfect gift from Santa.

Create the story of your home, your family

Imagine the scene: Snow is falling, the room is aglow from the crackling fire, stockings are hung from the mantel, the scent of Frazier fir fills the air, twinkling lights and family heirloom ornaments adorn the tree, brightly wrapped gifts are carefully placed underneath. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you glimpse the frozen lake with a new layer of freshly fallen snow glistening in the sunlight. In mere moments, children will race down the new stairs eager to see what Santa delivered. Plenty of space for the family, in the spacious yet cozy family room of your dreams. Your knowing smile is a subtle reminder you made all the right design decisions. This is what Christmas should be.

Memories made in the kitchen

Cookies shaped with vintage cutters, decorated in red and white, sit on Grammie’s crystal platter for everyone to enjoy. The warm aroma of cinnamon and gingerbread wafts in the air while powdered sugar drapes the countertop after finishing the pizzelles. Remnants of this morning’s homemade cinnamon rolls from Aunt Diana’s recipe fill the under-the-counter drawer dishwasher. Ingredients for tonight’s turkey feast are spread across the ample island as The Nutcracker Suite drifts softly through the whole-house audio system.

A well-designed kitchen that allows you and your family to bake and cook together is one where vivid memories are made. Favorite foods and special treats complete the holiday experience. But it’s more than the food itself, it’s the process of creation, the act of working together, the singing with the aunts while cleaning the kitchen afterward―where stories are told of past and present. The wreath is hung on the beautifully trimmed stove hood, the candles decorate the gleaming marble counter. Your home is designed to create experiences your children will cherish for their lifetime and will share with their grandchildren. These are memories to last a lifetime.

Exterior design is as important as inside

Your dream home is more than the interior spaces. Your luxurious wrap-around porch to enjoy on steamy summer nights easily transforms into a winter wonderland with warm yellow lights, rails wrapped with garland and big red bows, a balsam wreath on the front door and single candles in each of your new windows. A driveway and sidewalk lined with luminaria completes the spirit of the season. If your family is anything like mine, you’ll hop in the mini-van with hot cocoa and drive around the neighborhood “oohing” and “aahing” at the beautifully decorated homes.

But your home is your favorite, without a doubt. When it is finished, your experienced, licensed architect will have guided you through the lengthy design and construction process, customizing every decision for you and your family’s Legacy Home. Turning on the lights, you stand back with your family and admire your home, content and relaxed. Yes, you think, Santa brought me everything I wanted.

Celebrate the holidays in your dream home

Each family has its own history, customs and traditions. Honoring your unique family history sets the stage for the creation of new memories – your Story.  When surrounded by loved ones in a home you love, holidays are even more special. It’s a time of magic and for wishes to come true. Every design begins with a story. Let us tell your story. 

If you are ready to create memories for your family and add another page to your family history by designing your dream home, contact us at 630.346.1620.

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All photos, including feature image above, by Ron Warren. Design by 1212 Architects.

About the author

Cinda Lester

Cinda K. Lester is an architectural storyteller, and comes to storytelling through both sides of her family tree. Though she considers herself a Chicagoan, Cinda has traveled and lived all over the US. She and her husband Henri LamBeau met in architecture school at the University of Idaho, where they both received a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch). Cinda returned home from the great American West, bringing Henri along with her, and received her Master of Urban Planning and Policy (M.UPP) at the University of Illinois at Chicago.