Located in Glencoe, Illinois, Two Gables is a light-filled custom home designed for a couple who previously lived in an 1850s Victorian house. The brief for the Wheeler Kearns Architects team included balancing intimate spaces with areas for gatherings and a minimal palette to highlight curated furnishings and art.
The home, located on a 1-acre wooded ravine site, is positioned within existing trees to maximize picturesque views of the surrounding nature. Two crisp, vernacular-inspired gabled volumes—one for sleeping and one for living—are connected by a glazed breezeway. The gables are composed of nickel-gapped Accoya siding, zinc-colored standing seam roofing, and deeply inset wood clad windows.
Angled away from the street, the home creates an eccentric approach that delays frontal views and enhances privacy for the homeowners. Insulation was a priority to mask the noise from cars and trucks, while glazing in the facade was minimized. The included glazing was laminated to help reduce breakthrough noise.
The living gable is hollowed out, featuring full-height glazing that is inset and framed by the wood cladding. In the inset, a covered terrace provides views of the backyard, pool house, and nearby ravine. Conversely, the southern, sleeping gable projects a quieter, low-glazed bay into the serene landscape.
The project aims to connect the interior living space with the outdoors. The breezeway features floor-to-ceiling glass doors and an exterior wood shell that slides inside on both ends. The heart of the home is a whitewashed, volumetric double-height “coffee house” that celebrates the gable form. The coffee house features a banquette, built-in seating, and millwork carved into the walls as well as a centered fireplace and a rotating message board.
Project Details
Award: Merit
Category: Custom Home: More Than 5,000 Square Feet
Architect: Wheeler Kearns Architects
Builder: Power Construction
Location: Glencoe, Illinois
Size: 8,697 square feet
