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Follyn Builders | Chicago and Northshore Custom Home Builders

Chicago and Northshore Custom Homes and Renovations | Luxury made simple.

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March 5, 2016 By Admin

Paint picking (better than other kinds of picking)

So things are moving along pretty quickly and now the fun stuff starts. THE FINISHES!!! You know, trim and tile and light fixtures and door knobs. But first comes… the paint.

The thing everyone loves to hate. Picking out the perfect paint color.

Walk into a paint store and hyperventilate from all the color choices. So, first step? Take a breath.

Next step, narrow it down.

Eliminate all those oranges and yellows and baby blues that are just not going to work for you. If you know you love a neutral gray – head for the grays. Now think about undertones. Blueish gray? Or beigeish gray? Or whiteish gray? That will help you narrow down the possibilities in a big hurry.

Now take your 2 or 3 contenders and bring the samples home.

Do not paint a 2 inch x 2 inch square on the wall and run with it. Wrong!

Paint multiple big patches – like 2 FOOT x 3 FOOT swatches. Now label that patch (you think you will remember, but you won’t). Now do the same thing in 2 other places in that room. How the color looks will change even in the same room depending on proximity to windows and lights and other furnishings.

Now, pick the color you love best in EVERY location and get painting.

See? Easy. Now do that in all the other rooms and we can move on! It is your custom home – make it your custom colorsa (or wallpaper, I am loving wallpaper).

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: 2-flat deconversion, 2-flat to single family, andersonville gray stone, andersonville new home, Andersonville new homes, chicago custom home builder, Chicago new home builder, Chicago new homes, chicaog custom home builder, custom build, custom home builder, custom homes chicago, design build, follyn builders, new home, new home builder, new homes chicago, new homes lincoln square

January 16, 2016 By Admin

Whole Lotta Fixin Going On!

Well folks, things have moved into hyper-drive on this custom home in Andersonville. I visited this “old home to new home” project this past week and could not believe the amount of activity and the number of contractors all working at the same time. If I saw it on TV I would think it was staged! How they don’t all bump into each other I do not know, but they were all there working hard and listening to 80’s rock. I kid you not.

Honestly — so much was going on I think I will have to break it into 2 posts. Hey, if it worked for the Harry Potter movies it can work for me.

By my quick count this is the list of contractors in the house on Friday, some on Saturday and one on SUNDAY last week:

  • the fearless general contractor (aka the hubby)
  • the hardwood floor installers
  • the HVAC contractor
  • the painters
  • the electrician
  • the tilers
  • That my friend is a whole lot of action! So let’s take a look at the hardwood floors.

As previously mentioned this is an old grey stone 2-flat in Andersonville that is in the process of becoming a new single family home. So for a lot of years it was 2 separate units, with 2 kitchens, 2 baths, 2 bedroom upstairs, 2 bedrooms downstairs, etc. And throughout both units were hardwoods floors.

The plan was to keep those old hardwood floors. As with many things in life – it was a great idea but not so good for implementing. Once we got in there and started removing walls and rearranging fixtures, it became apparent; those old floors were not something we could salvage. They were too damaged and too thin. New hardwood floors throughout were ordered. Install is almost complete and they look stunning!

Next up is the HVAC systems. Who knows what that is? Anyone? Anyone? The heating air conditioning and cooling systems. Again when this was 2 separate units, it had 2 separate (and really old) heating and cooling systems. Not only do you need newer, more efficient heating and cooling units, with all new walls and floors – you need all new duct work.

One of the most important piece of any HVAC system is making sure it is properly balanced. Having units that are too big or too small for your home is going to cost you every month in heating and cooling bills. Make sure everything is sized accurately for maximum efficiency. Not glamorous, but every month when you pay that gas bill you will thank me for your spray foam insulation, good quality windows and efficient, properly sized HVAC units. And you are welcome.

I think that is enough custom home information for this post (I know most of you are saying TMI), next up we have electricians and painters and tilers…oh my!

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: 2-flat conversion, 2-flat deconversion, andersonville new home builder, chicago custom home, chicago custom home builder, Chicago new home builder, Chicago new homes, custom build, custom home builder, custom homes chicago, design build, follyn builders, general contractor, new home, new home builderchicago

October 1, 2015 By Admin

Amazing Roscoe Village Home

An amazing, modern custom home in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood.  Effective collaboration between the homeowners and Follyn Builders results in a beautiful custom home.  A true testament to the difference a talented Chicago new home builder can make to every project.

Click on our potfolio page to see our full photo gallery.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: custom build, design, follyn builders, new home, roscoe village new home, roscoe village new home builders

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