Custom features, such as a walk-in wet bar with a publikeatmosphere or a loft entertainment center, can reflect the interestsof the owners and the individual character of the house.
These special effects, combined with architectural features,such as cathedral and sloped ceilings, make Wiseman-HughesEnterprises' Summerset model look like one of the most expensivemodels at the Cavalcade of Homes in Naperville.
In fact, it is one of the least expensive models.
(The model, priced at $220,000 with the extras on display at theCavalcade, will be available at the Fields of Naperville, a newsubdivision Wiseman-Hughes is planning. Without the Cavalcadeextras, it will cost $169,900, including the site.)
"Special effects" is a term often related to science fiction orhorror movies, but has quite a different definition when associatedwith interior design.
Special effects are custom extras that are not part of the basichouse, said interior designer Jean Zoller, senior vice president ofJLD Inc. in Buffalo Grove.
"Features such as extra cabinetry or a bar, or mirror treatmentsused in a model home, give buyers ideas they can also do in theirhome," Zoller said.
To achieve the specially-treated spaces designed by JLD,Wiseman-Hughes engaged master carpenters to provide a customized lookthroughout the home.
The single-family home, which has a traditional exterior, isfurnished with an eclectic mix of transitional upholstered pieces andfurniture made of strippped oak and accented with brass and glass.
The lavender, peach and cream tones used throughout the modelare vibrant and trendy. Yet, combined with the special effects, theinterior looks more period than contemporary.
Here are some of the special effects inside the Summerset: A classic niche, in a vacant corner of the living room and framedwith molding, displays an arrangement of silk flowers and twigs in atall, slender vase.
The niche is the first thing one notices after stepping into thefoyer and looking left toward the sunken living room with its vaultedceiling.
The ledge atop the custom corner niche is lined with live pottedivy plants with trailing vines. Nearby, a 40-year-old cream-coloredlacquered baby grand piano is topped with a brass candelabrum and adramatic arrangement of peach and purple flowers and lavenderbranches in a peach-tone contemporary vase.
The colors of the flowers complement an upholstered Frenchsettee and matching drapes, which are done in a large floral print oflilac, orchid and seafoam-green tones on a peach background. A second-floor loft, overlooking the living room, was decorated as aden/office.
The loft has an entertainment center on one wall that consistsof custom-built cabinetry and an eight-section shelving unit mountedin graduated step formations. The staggered shelving adds wallinterest and extra storage for books, stereo speakers andcollectibles. In the family room, lighting is concealed by apublike walk-in bar with a geometric design, custom-madestained-glass cornice board similar to a dropped soffit.
The bar was created in space that could be used either for autility room if a buyer chooses the model without a basement, or amud room adjacent to the attached garage.
The wet bar has overhead wine glass storage racks within easyreach, a wood counter with a mauve-colored laminated countertop, anda pair of fan-back almond-colored wrought iron chairs withseafoam-green upholstered cushions that match the dinette set in theadjacent eat-in kitchen. In a girl's bedroom, pink Victorian-style fretwork is mountedbeneath a wide paper border at ceiling height. The paper, decoratedwith the repeated name of "Danielle," is pink and purple on white.
A doll collection is displayed on two pink corner shelves andatop a custom built-in triangular structure behind the angle from thecorner bed, contributing to the feminine mood of a young girl'sbedroom.
The purple and pink bed coverlet has bow ties at the corners andis paired with a mauve dust ruffle. The room also has a white desk,matching caneback chair, a makeup area, a dresser, a hat rack and apersonalized bulletin board that would delight any high school-agegirl.
"In each case, the special effect was achieved without the addedexpense of major structural changes to original plans," said Sharon Mvice president of marketing for JLD.
"What that means is that with solid, upfront planning and alittle imagination, `custom' doesn't necessarily have to be expensiveor complicated."
The house also has special wood strip flooring, and a rear deckthat connects to a matching gazebo.
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