Chicago-Area Custom Builder Navigates a Small Lot and a Tight Time Frame With Stunning Results

Specializing in custom luxury homes, Chicago-based Integro Builders places a lot of emphasis on and investment in quality and durability, knowing that good architecture plus a great builder nets a higher price per square foot alongside a stellar reputation.

These stakes were particularly high for the builder’s latest home in Hinsdale, an affluent suburb west of the city. Their first development project in a number of years, the house had a target asking price of $2 million. Every product selection required a thoughtful approach, says Allyson Case Anderson, Integro’s founder and CEO. “We were very careful with building selections to make sure the quality of the build far surpassed anyone else on the market.”

Overcoming Obstacles While Standing Out 

Integro bought the existing property believing it would be a renovation and addition, but after purchasing it, they quickly realized that water drainage issues would necessitate a teardown and a full design/build project.

And they had to do it within a year or face steep permitting penalties.

The small parcel and regional considerations added more hurdles. The tight corner lot is unique to the neighborhood and required the front of the house to be the long side — so an eye-catching façade was even more important. They also had to work around an existing garage that could not be torn down due to budget.

The lot is in a flood hazard zone, and Chicago is in Climate Zone 5 with 110-degree temperature swings between summer and winter. “From a building quality perspective, we want to make sure everything is continuous, and due to the time constraints, we wanted it as simple as possible,” Anderson explains.

Exterior Stone Cladding Helps Address Challenges

The resulting robust wall system includes stone wool insulation, high-end energy-efficient windows, and sheathing with an integrated weather barrier. The façade combines engineered wood siding with Versetta Stone panelized stone siding from Westlake Royal Building Products on the bottom third of the first level and around the chimney.

Anderson says the decision to use Versetta Stone for the first time came down to both aesthetics and performance. “It’s really important to us that we had an elevated look, but also we needed materials that played well with our exterior wall assembly and didn’t kill the budget.”

It turns out, using a panelized stone product also addressed timing hurdles when façade installation was pushed from late summer/early fall into winter. “Versetta Stone was important now because you can’t do a masonry façade in the winter in Chicago, but we didn’t have time to wait,” Anderson says. “Versetta Stone really solved a lot of problems for us; because it installs like siding, and you don’t have to worry about mortar and curing times.”

“We looked at other stone siding options,” she adds, “but nothing came close to Versetta Stone. It looks and feels like masonry.”

To address the transitions between the Versetta Stone and the engineered wood siding, Integro worked with Westlake Royal’s installation experts to develop a custom flashing detail that still maintained the warranty.

Integro’s architecture team wanted a façade that had tonality, not harsh whites and blacks. The Versetta Stone Tight-Cut profile in Glen Canyon, a color blend of warm, earthy hues, helped meet that goal. “The Versetta Stone is not uniform, but it doesn’t have stark differences,” Anderson explains. “It plays nicely with the brownish, charcoal tones we had throughout. And the stone matches the neighborhood, but it still stands out. People can see that our house feels different, but they don’t necessarily know why.”

Interior Flexibility & Creativity

Accommodating the tight lot required even more ingenuity on the interior, where maintaining the five-bedroom, five-bath spec was key to achieving the target price point.

“I’m a believer that more square footage does not buy you more. It’s just wasted space,” Anderson says. “We leaned into the idea of contraction and expansion. The concept of having an area that closes in on you and then expands into the next room into a more open and elevated space. As you walk through, you get a mix of cozy and elegance.”

For example, the staircase, which runs from the basement to the third floor, is a focal point when you walk into the house. But the foyer ceilings are slightly lower than adjacent rooms, so it feels cozy, yet expansive.

Intentional window placement also has a role, combining with 9- to 10-foot ceilings to make up for any natural light lost by not having the soaring 15-foot ceilings typical of a home this size.

The result is a space that exudes a European-eclectic feel instead of an Americanized open concept, with a floor plan that meanders and provides ample privacy.

From the thoughtful layout to the eye-catching exterior to the high-performance wall system in between, “This build was about choosing what we invested in, what we could sacrifice and what would make people immediately feel like they’re at home when they walk in,” Anderson says. “Great architecture, solid interiors and a solid build will buy you more. They translate to more worth in your home.”

Want more project ideas? Visit our Inspiration Gallery.