Arched Center Dormer Inspires Welcoming Arrival

The clients came to LaMantia requesting a more grand arrival to their home. They yearned for a large Foyer and LaMantia architect, Gail Lowry, designed a jewel. This lovely home, on the north side of Chicago, had an existing off-center and set-back entry. Lowry viewed this set-back area as an excellent opportunity to enclose and add to the interior of the home in the form of a Foyer. Before Before Before Before With the front entrance now stepped forward and centered, the addition of an Arched Portico dressed with stone pavers and tapered columns gave new life to this home. The final design incorporated and re-purposed many existing elements. The original home entry and two steps remain in the same location, but now they are interior elements. The original steps leading to the front door are now located within the Foyer and finished with multi-sized travertine tiles that lead the visitor from the Foyer to the main level of the home. After After After After After After The details for the exterior were also meticulously thought through. The arch of the existing center dormer was the key to the portico design. Lowry, distressed with the existing combination of “busy” brick and stone on the façade of the home, designed a quieter, more reserved facade when the dark stained, smooth cedar siding of the second story dormers was repeated at the new entry. Visitors to this home are now first welcomed under the sheltering Portico and then, once again, when they enter the sunny warmth of the Foyer.