Mudrooms are much more than a bench with some hooks for jackets these days.
They’re the command center of the home.
“Often it’s the first spot where you can throw something when you enter the house,” says Chicago designer Steve Kadlec who worked with BGD&C on their award winning transitional home. “Mudrooms should be a legit concealed area—a workhorse of a space,” he says.
Last month, we had so much fun chatting with BGD&C preferred designer Melissa Benham about the changes she made in her home due to the pandemic that we decided to keep it going. This time we asked BGD&C collaborator Jessica Lagrange what projects she undertook in her own home.
Q&A with BGD&C’s Rodger Owen for American Lifestyle Magazine:
To focus on the Lincoln Park Transitional project: how did this project first come about and what were the overall goals?
The clients were originally looking at another development project when we met. We happened to have a 60’ lot available in Lincoln Park at the time and presented them the option to build custom with us. They ultimately decided the location was perfect (they happened to live close by) and that building with us was their best opportunity for getting the quality of home they wanted.
The COVID pandemic presented plenty of challenges for people’s health and well being. Some industries came to a standstill. But demand for home-improvement supplies and building materials soared. It also caused some major supply-chain disruptions. Exhibit A: Lumber, which, for a time just a few months ago, was nearly impossible to get, and what was available was extremely pricey.
A lot of us made design changes to our homes during the pandemic to accommodate more people in the family living, working and studying in the house nearly 24/7 for months on end. Interior designer Melissa Benham of Studio Gild, who works on projects in Chicago for BGD&C and in Los Angeles, where she lives, is no exception.
“I definitely did make a couple of changes,” said Benham. “Being able to be outside a lot in Los Angeles really helped, so I amped up my outdoor space. I purchased new furniture—an outdoor sofa, lounge chairs, side tables, and a plethora of new planters and plants to cover every inch of space. It’s been wonderful to be able to bring my laptop outside and take work calls while getting fresh air and a dose of vitamin D. My pups enjoy it too!”
Building a custom home means that everything in it, from the space configuration and size of rooms to the doorknobs, lights and landscaping, will be designed just for you. That also means a nearly infinite number of choices and lots of decisions. Does that excite you or cause you anxiety? That depends on your personality, but either way, BGD&C is here to help. We spoke with Taryn Lund, senior project manager at BGD&C, for some insight into the process.
For the 30 years BGD&C Custom Homes has been building in and supporting the local communities of the Gold Coast and Lincoln Park, so has our long time collaborator, Scott Byron & Co., been beautifying the area with their gorgeous, engaging landscape designs. We are excited to spotlight Scott Byron, CEO of Scott Byron & Co., who has over 40 years of experience in design, construction, maintenance, and project management. Byron’s goal is to create the most positive end result for the client, while “making sure the land is properly preserved and the design is complimentary to the architecture and setting”. We hope that while you are sheltering in place these beautiful gardens will provide you with inspiration.
Janet Owen, a leading Broker with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, recently wrote a piece about Garages called “The Forgotten Room.” The piece features her own garage which was recently renovated by BGD&C Custom Homes.
Summer is ever fleeting in Chicago. Which is why outdoor living space have always been at the top of our clients’ wish lists. We all want to soak up every last drop of the warm Summer nights before they are gone.
At BGD&C we love to provide beautiful and relaxing outdoor hardscapes, dining areas, fireplaces, and covered porches for our clients whenever possible. Living in the city where space is at a premium, sometimes means getting creative and utilizing rooftops for decks, loggias and pools. We then collaborate with the city’s top landscape designers to execute each client’s unique vision.
It seems everything in our homes, from refrigerators to doorbells, is getting smarter these days. Which is precisely why we decided to pick the brain of Sound Specialists’ Leor Elfassy to learn more about home automation and its impact on our lives. Sound Specialists is a full-service, lifestyle technology firm that offers consultation, design, installation, and programming services for both residential and commercial projects. For over two decades they have specialized in integrating innovative technologies into elegant, coherent solutions based on each client’s needs.
