My husband and I purchased a brick bungalow in Chicago. We wanted to create a more spacious home with an open floor plan, but also didn't want to just throw a big box addition on the top like other homes in the neighborhood. It was very difficult to find an architectural firm willing to do our project. Northlight was willing and equipped with the expertise in bungalows. Frank listened to our wants and needs and gave us some excellent options. He customized the plans based on our laundry list of preferences. We ended up doing a complete gut and expanding the existing addition. The layout of our house is beautiful, functional for our family and still respectful of the character of a home from that era. Frank handled the permits and communication with the city pre-construction. He was easy to work with and very professional in our interactions. I am so pleased with the design of our home. When I see other homes in our area being rehabbed I can immediately tell that they did not make the investment of working with a reputable architect. Every detail was really very well thought out, from large windows allowing light, adding a second floor furnace (which my husband did try to fight, but we are happy we did) to preserving the stained glass windows in the living room and brick wall in our back porch. There are bigger homes in the area, but people often comment on how spacious our home feels because the layout was so well thought out.
The main reason for 4 stars rather than 5 is because since this was a new home to us and extensive project we used a Homestyle Loan. only certain contractors are certified to work on this type of project which requires the bank to review the detailed estimates and send a consultant to regularly review the work and disburse funds, similar to a 203K. North-light had not worked on a project with this type of loan so was not familiar with the contractors we had to choose from. I think it's important to work with folks who have a relationship which might have saved my husband some back and forth between Northlight and the contractor (in fairness the contractor was not the greatest communicator and not always easy to get a hold of). I think this also impacted the potential estimates of cost Northlight made because they were not familiar with the contractor's costs. Not sure that it could have been helped since we hired Frank first because of his experience and knowledge of bungalows as well as endorsement on the historic bungalow site. This was our first renovation so again some of the hiccups were likely related to our inexperience. No complaints with the quality of the work, Northlight was super responsive to communication and got things done promptly when the city required alterations to the plan. In addition, unlike working with some other professionals throughout the process, we were never treated like our project wasn't a priority, despite the fact they had many others simultaneously.
We recommend Northlight, especially if you are particular like us and have an old home that requires creative design to update!
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