News

What is the Property Tax Assessment Freeze and How Can it Benefit Historic Homeowners?

Executive Spotlight: Edward Twohey

Meet Erin Morgani

2024 Summer Project Tours

Meet Nick Moorhouse

Habitat Build Day 2024

Meet Monica Musialowski

Can I Lower My Floor to Improve My Basement?

Columbus, Indiana Trip

Bricks, Inc Tour + Demo

Mentoring Millwork Design

Celebrating 30 Years of Inspired Spaces

Collaborating on Luxury Kitchen Trends

Finding Famous Architecture in a Cemetery

BBA Architects Continue to Educate

Don’t Demolish that house. Dismantle it.

Habitat for Humanity Build Day 2022

Modern Luxury Interiors North Shore

Aspire Design and Home Magazine

Historic Shaw Remodel

Modern River Cottage

Creating Outdoor Spaces

Deconstruct & Re-Use

Tribute to Broad Shoulders 2022

Lincoln Park Transformation

High Gables

Allison Henry Interiors Alliance

Elmhurst Historic Preservation Commission

New Homes on the Boards in 2021

Should You Hire an Interior Designer?

Employee Spotlight - Erica Blawat, AIA

Pool House

Classicist, No. 16.

Meet Maggie Willse

De-code Electronics In Your Home

North Side River Home Taking Shape

bba Architects Habitat Build Day

Building Code Undergoing a Major Change

Meet Jack Callahan

Golf Course Home Update

Building a Traditional Jewel Box

Tudor Kitchen Renovation

Building at the water's edge

North Center Craftsman

Employee Spotlight - Jennifer Hense, AIA

Renovate or Detonate

Luxury remodel of Lake Geneva home

Raising the Roof

1880’s Historic Queen Anne

Home in Berlin, Germany Comes to Fruition.

Beer Tasting + Design Presentation

Urban Deep Dig #1

An Excellent Italian Adventure

BBA News Blog

(See full archive

June 2025

May 2025

April 2025

March 2025

February 2025

Building a Traditional Jewel Box

Gary Beyerl on Mar 12, 2020

Kyle Cole and Edith Juarez came to us with a piece of property in West Town and an intriguing vision.   They had seen BBA’s previous work on Houzz.com, our website, and local job signs. They became particularly enamored with our Georgan Rowhouse, and our award-winning Classic Georgian. They fell in love with this look, but did not have the budget for a 5,000 SF house.  They wanted to explore whether we could create a home with a similar feel in a smaller package.

"Not only was this our first build, but it is our first home. We needed partners that would be patient, incredibly experienced, great listeners, set a high standard of quality, and lead us through this process step-by-step." - Kyle Cole.

We embraced the challenge.  Continuing our focus on creating extraordinary spaces, we designed a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home of roughly 2,400 square feet of living space, with a 600 SF, 2 bedroom/1 bathroom garden apartment on the lower level, that allowed the Owners to increase their budget beyond their initial pro-forma.  We also designed a plan to convert the apartment into living space (a generous guest bedroom and media room) in the future should they desire more living space.

"BBA helped create our dream concept design, determine material and detailed plans of the space, conduct a financial feasibility project, introduce us to a number of trusted general contractors to select from, and provide ongoing construction administration throughout the build." - Kyle Cole.

The main floor plan was kept as open as possible to create a feel of a much larger home.   Duplicative rooms were eliminated in favor of larger spaces that will be used every day.  Privacy can be achieved by closing large pairs of 4’ wide by 8’ high pocket doors hidden in the wing walls of the large cased openings between the main living spaces.

Finishes were of typical BBA quality, with an eye towards keeping the most expensive items where they would make the most impact.    Cabinetry was designed on a standard 3” module and encased within a niche in order to give it the look of a custom kitchen.  Trim was designed in the same manner as a typical project, but with an eye towards simplicity in installation with different shapes and sizes created by combining the same pieces.  An efficient collaboration with Allison Henry Interior Design and Piotr Filipek of Progress Builders completed the process of creating a smaller, but extraordinary, jewel box of a home. See the fInal Portfolio Page here.

"We trusted BBA—we trusted their experience, their skill, their standard for quality—and they did not disappoint. They gave our family an elegant, timeless, and comfortable space to call home for generations to come. (P.S. - and we had a lot of fun throughout!). "- Kyle Cole.

Previous Post Next Post