Blog Posts

3/10/2025

The Journey - Pt. II

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It Takes A Village to Build a Home

The Homeowner's Journey - Part II

Now for an answer to last month’s question: where do you start? Logic would dictate that one starts by engaging a realtor, find a lot, then an architect, and finally, a builder. However, we started in a slightly counterclockwise manner by contacting several builders who were building homes in the area we were interested in. Luckily, we found one that led us to a lot in a great location, albeit one with a tear-down already in place.

With a lot obtained, we commenced the search for an architect. We selected four firms to meet with; two were recommended by friends, one was referred by our builder, and the fourth I found through a web search. In preparation for our meetings, we put together a list or perhaps a small book—it was a four-page document, after all—of the things we wanted in our new home. We also asked for bids from each of the architects. Our final choice was neither the lowest nor highest bid, and we didn’t choose one of the architects recommended to us. As a quick disclaimer: Studio21 Architects gave me absolutely no direction on what to write. If you’re reading this in the first place, there’s a good chance that you might be thinking about using them as your architect, and I find it important to explain why we chose Studio21.

Our initial, unrushed meeting with Bill and his team went very well. The design process Bill explained and documented felt logical and well thought out, and we were impressed with how he stayed current not only on the latest in design concepts and code, but also the latest trends and technology used in constructing a house. While unquantifiable, it was equally important that we felt a high level of comfort during that meeting with Bill and his team. Now, looking back, our instincts proved to be spot on; the design process went smoothly, with productive discussions and never an ill word about our many change requests. Turnaround on design and questions was always very prompt—in fact, it was rare that an email went unanswered for more than 24 hours.

There is a dark side to building a home: bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is very much dependent on the governing bodies (i.e. HOA, city, county) of where you’re building, and because of that, I will only speak to what I have personally been involved with: demolishing a home, annexing our lot, and permitting our plans in DuPage County and the City of Naperville. I have two takeaways from that experience; one: no one prepared us for the time, effort, and cost, and two: all the people we worked with in the city and the county were very professional and extremely helpful. You can certainly mitigate the effort if your builder handles some of these items, but you cannot reduce cost and time. The annexation took six months, and it could not have been done without an attorney. Permitting and demolition took three months each, and those were completed in parallel with the annexation process. While the steps are location-specific, my advice is independent of geography: understand all that is involved in getting from a design concept to breaking ground. We would have moved forward regardless of the time and expense, but it would have helped our planning, budgeting, and mental health had we understood these factors in greater detail.

My second bit of advice? It takes a village to build a home. You will undoubtedly need to select some professionals such as a realtor, lawyer, builder, designer, and architect to work with, but what I also discovered was that random people, both friends and new acquaintances, were very helpful. When you are building a house, it often comes up in conversations and people will relate by telling you about their experiences, which I found immensely helpful. Artfully slip into a conversation the fact that you’re building a home, and you are bound to get some useful information. And yes, Instagram and Houzz were very helpful, especially the former.

If you are building a home, good luck and, above all, remain calm.

Written By: Jeff Rudolph

We are delighted to welcome Jeff as a guest author in the Studio Pages newsletter, where he offers insight into the homeowner's perspective. He and his wife are working with Studio21 Architects to design their custom home, with the primary goal of aging-in-place.

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1/9/2025

Gingerbread 2024

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Something Sweet - Gingerbread 2024

There are many things that make us feel like the holidays are just around the corner: snow on the ground, holiday light shows, and perhaps even the occasional polar vortex! At the Studio21 Architects office, however, the marker of the holiday season is our annual Gingerbread Design Party. After eleven years of hosting this event for the families of Downers Grove and beyond, we have seen kids literally grow into fully-fledged adults with this party as a yearly holiday tradition. We have witnessed parents turning their kids’ designs into long-lasting holiday decorations (a testament to the magically long-lasting frosting we have created!).

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1/9/2025

Best of 2024

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Best of 2024

And just like that, we have entered 2025! It does feel like the last year flew by—a blink-and-you-miss-it type of moment—although I’m sure we have all said that about some year or another. This issue of Studio Pages has one foot in the present (2025) and the other in the past (2024) and because of this unique midpoint we find ourselves in, it seems only right to turn this article into a recap of the jam-packed year that was 2024. For Studio21 Architects, 2024 was filled to the brim with excitement, intrigue, bittersweet moments, and, of course, busyness. So, please join us on this walk down memory lane…

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1/9/2025

The Homeowner's Journey - Pt. I

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The Homeowner's Journey

Part One

I am Jeff Rudolph, married to Jill, and we are 68 and 67 years old, respectively. Currently, we reside in a two-story, 3,400 square foot home in Naperville which used to house us and our two children, who have since left the nest to the west and east coasts. Just over a year ago, Jill suggested we look for a home to age in place; until then, it had never dawned on me to even consider such a thing. After discussing the idea, it made a lot of sense, as such a home would allow us to stay in our own home in our own community, maintain a sense of independence and quality of life, and avoid (or at least put off) moving into a residential facility.

As it turned out, the timing of Jill’s suggestion was perfect, as we are both healthy and able to handle the demands of a move and—what is becoming more and more apparent—the long process of a home design project. So, in August of 2023, our journey began.

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11/7/2024

Re-Wright-Ing American Architecture

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Re-Wright-ing American Architecture

Picture this: it’s the late-nineteenth century, squarely amidst the Victorian era. You want to be fashionable, so you look to the current styles in Europe. You want to buy art that’s en vogue, so you purchase a painting or a sculpture that’s European. You want your home to look stylish, so not only do you furnish it with Italian marble and French textiles, but even the design of the home itself is derived from the newest buildings in––you guessed it––Europe. Seems like a theme of sorts is appearing, right?

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11/6/2024

Timeless Design: The Carlson's Passivhaus

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Timeless Design: The Carlson's Passivhaus

Project Spotlight

The perfect Autumn photo!

It’s fall, y’all! For many of us, this writer included, this is undoubtedly the loveliest time of the year. The air has a chill not yet bad enough to warrant a parka, and pumpkin spice flavor gets implemented in ever-changing, miraculous ways. And who can forget the array of colors in the changing leaves, albeit for what feels like mere days. The stars certainly aligned for us in this article, however, and we were able to take photos of this spotlight-worthy home at the peak of the autumnal colors. This fall edition of Studio Pages takes us up to River Forest, to a home whose design is nothing short of timeless and whose story will certainly pique one’s interest. Please join us in welcoming the Carlsons to our newsletter!

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11/6/2024

Discover...Design + Build Decoded

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Discover...Design + Build Decoded

A Note From Bill

Recently, I realized that the YouTube series I’ve been working on hasn’t been shared with you all with the fanfare it deserves. As this newsletter goes to print, we’ve uploaded nine episodes, and while that does mean this series is not exactly new, it is likely new to many of our Studio Pages readers. So, let’s officially welcome our not-so-new-anymore series, Design + Build Decoded!

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9/16/2024

Cheers to 21 Years, Manho!

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Cheers to 21 Years, Manho!

It’s always bittersweet to write these types of articles, where we say goodbye to an integral part of the Studio21 Architects team. A longtime member of our team, Manho, will be leaving us for Hong Kong and while we aren’t happy that he’s leaving, we are happy to share with you all an article that rounds up Manho’s greatest hits over the last twenty-one years!

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9/16/2024

Another Note...From Another Bill

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Another Note...From Another Bill

Dear home builders, Studio21 Architects, husbands and wives,

Around the globe, there is a serious problem developing within our own homes—so serious, that it is causing some folks to throw in the towel and even consider divorce. That problem is what to do with and where to display kitchen hand towels. Most men who use the kitchen enjoy having the towel easily available for the washing and drying of hands or for the drying of dishes during [...]

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9/13/2024

Creating with Character: The Brahmbhatt's Custom Home

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creating with character

project spotlight

As your friendly neighborhood Studio Pages writer, I can easily attest to the fact that the process of writing these Project Spotlight articles is the best part of my job. So much goes into the creation of these newsletters––not that I’m complaining (I promise!) ––especially the Project Spotlight articles, and I feel incredibly lucky that so many of our past clients, after many months of hard work and endless [...]

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STUDIO21 ARCHITECTS NEWS

The Journey - Pt. II

It Takes A Village to Build a Home

The Homeowner's Journey - Part II

If you are building a home, good luck and, above all, remain calm.

Written By: Jeff Rudolph

Gingerbread 2024

Something Sweet - Gingerbread 2024

Best of 2024

Best of 2024

The Homeowner's Journey - Pt. I

The Homeowner's Journey

Part One

Re-Wright-Ing American Architecture

Re-Wright-ing American Architecture

Timeless Design: The Carlson's Passivhaus

Timeless Design: The Carlson's Passivhaus

Project Spotlight

Discover...Design + Build Decoded

Discover...Design + Build Decoded

A Note From Bill

Cheers to 21 Years, Manho!

Cheers to 21 Years, Manho!

Another Note...From Another Bill

Another Note...From Another Bill

Creating with Character: The Brahmbhatt's Custom Home

creating with character

project spotlight

Categories

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get the newsletter:

home about us portfolio services resources firm news contact

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STUDIO21 ARCHITECTS NEWS

It Takes A Village to Build a Home

The Homeowner's Journey - Part II

If you are building a home, good luck and, above all, remain calm.

Written By: Jeff Rudolph

Something Sweet - Gingerbread 2024

Best of 2024

The Homeowner's Journey

Part One

Re-Wright-ing American Architecture

Timeless Design: The Carlson's Passivhaus

Project Spotlight

Discover...Design + Build Decoded

A Note From Bill

Cheers to 21 Years, Manho!

Another Note...From Another Bill

creating with character

project spotlight

Categories

Archives

get the newsletter:

home about us ﻿portfolio services resources firm news contact

5012 fairview avenue, downers grove, il 60515 · (630)789-2513 · [email protected]

home about us portfolio services resources firm news contact