Image Source:
17 Ft Lvl Beam Home Depot
April 17, 2013|By Ashley Rueff, Chicago Tribune reporter
Image Source:
The abundant allowance central Mike and Judy Lembke's Orland Park home reflects their adulation of the outdoors. (Handout, Realty Executives Elite)
From the custom elk afford chandelier blind in the antechamber to the archery ambit in the basement, every inch of Mike and Judy Lembke's massive Orland Park home is crafted to bout their family's adulation of the outdoors.
"We're actual outdoorsy bodies so the abode is actual abundant that way," said Judy, 46.
Hunting and fishing enthusiasts, the brace said they congenital a home that would advice them feel like they were in the wilderness alike while active in the suburbs. As a aftereffect of that adventuresome nature, the brace says they are attainable to move on now that their four boys are grown.
"They're not actuality anymore," she said. "We're still accomplishing actuality and we're activity to see them … so what the heck do we charge this abode for?"
The home in the Silo Ridge subdivision has been on the bazaar for about three years and is listed for $2 million. Christine Wilczek with Realty Executives Elite, said the Lembkes invested about $4 actor in the house.
The character of the home, which has been featured in Chicago annual and Balk Anatomy Homes magazine, additional the poor apartment bazaar agency the Lembkes ability accept to delay a while afore the appropriate client comes along, said Mike Wilczek, 49.
Image Source:
"You accept to accept somebody that appreciates it," he said. "We apprehend there are alone a few bodies in the apple that may appear beyond this and go, 'Hey, that's awesome. I'd adulation to alive there.'"
The about 20,000-square-foot abode was congenital with a balk frame, which agency abundant of its exposed, center-cut red and white oak beams band the ceilings and walls.
"Originally we capital a log home, but that's absolutely affectionate of too abolitionist for this area, so this was the compromise," Mike said.
Still, Judy Wilczek said the huge abode doesn't absolutely fit into their gated subdivision and admiring a fair bulk of absorption aback it was activity up.
"Everyone anticipation we were architecture a church," she said.
Its asperous exoteric with bean and balk gives alone a aftertaste of the able wilderness affair begin abaft its abundant advanced doors. Inside, an absorbing antechamber opens up into a two-story abundant allowance with 36-foot-tall beams, a beam of reclaimed barn copse and a bank of bottle that looks out into abortive acreage abaft the subdivision.
"We can sit actuality and watch the geese fly by," Mike said. "You break in blow with the things we love, which is the outdoors."
Image Source:
For a time, the abundant allowance was additionally abounding with the boodle of the family's hunting and fishing expeditions, including taxidermy bears and adhesive castings of angle they bent and threw back. At the advancement of their absolute acreage agent, however, they confused the items into accumulator to accomplish it a little added attainable to abeyant buyers.
"They anticipation it was a little confusing aback bodies absolved through," Judy said.
In 1995 aback the two were active in Homer Township with four boys amid the ages of 4 and 8, they bankrupt arena on their dream home. Their plan was to accept aggregate they ability charge appropriate at home, from a fettle room, to an alfresco retreat in their backyard, to a handcrafted walnut table area they can host holidays with their continued family.
Four years later, they confused in. The activity took best than accepted and it appropriate an army of craftsmen to complete. Not alone is the home different because of its admeasurement and lodge-like appearance, but aggregate about it is custom-made.
Giant rugs that trace the curvature of the walls are blooming with images that were aboriginal corrective by duke on canvas afore actuality transferred to the rugs.
"Everything from the aperture handles to the handmade bottle in the doors to the doors themselves," Mike said. "There's annihilation actuality that you can go and buy at your bounded Home Depot or Lowes."
In part, that's why the abode comes with the furnishings, Mike said, which were congenital to the rooms' dimensions. A annular table in the breakfast allowance is fabricated of reclaimed copse from old Chicago homes and allegedly includes pieces from Al Capone's home, Mike said. It was fabricated to fit the arced allowance and is abundant so it can bench up to 25 guests.
Image Source:
Judy said aloof like their boys, two of whom comedy NCAA Division I football, aggregate in the home is oversized.
"Everything is absolutely big here," she said.
Partly, that was by design. The Lembkes said they capital their home to accept ample spaces area they could calmly absorb time together.
Despite the actuality that their home so carefully mirrors their lives, the brace said they won't accept a botheration abrogation it behind.
"We'll be high-fiving anniversary other," Mike said with a grin.
"Wherever we are all at, that's home," Judy said.
The two accept already started planning their abutting home, addition timber-frame anatomy out west, but that's as specific of a area Judy was accommodating to give.
Image Source:
"I can acquaint you it's in the average of nowhere," she said.
arueff@tribune.com
Image Source:
Image Source:
Image Source:
Image Source:
Image Source:
Image Source: