A stone-faced Irish pub could be the most popular room in the house at the Wyndermere Estate by DJK Custom Homes, Inc.The economy being what it is, the sponsors of the Cavalcade of Homes could hardly have been faulted if they had opted not to host the popular home show this summer.
In fact, last year's show never did come together. The last time suburbanites flocked by the thousands to the single site mecca for humongous houses, wish-list decorating ideas and way-cool construction trends was in 2006.
They need wait no longer, however, as the 2008 Cavalcade of Homes, sponsored by the Northern Illinois Home Builders, opens Saturday and runs through July 20 at Stewart Ridge, a new development in the outskirts of Plainfield. Located south of Route 30 and west of Heggs Road, it is still surrounded by farmland but visitors will pass plenty of brand new neighborhoods along the way.
Cavalcade - Coolest pix 2008 Cavalcade
Where: Stewart Ridge, Plainfield. Heggs Road, north of 127th Street When: June 28 to July 20.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday-Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 4.
Tickets: $12; children under 12, free. $2 coupons available online.
More information and directions: (630) 978-9000; www.cavalcadeofhomes.com.
They need wait no longer, however, as the 2008 Cavalcade of Homes, sponsored by the Northern Illinois Home Builders, opens Saturday and runs through July 20 at Stewart Ridge, a new development in the outskirts of Plainfield. Located south of Route 30 and west of Heggs Road, it is still surrounded by farmland but visitors will pass plenty of brand new neighborhoods along the way.
This year's show is a little smaller than past shows. Rather than the usual 10 to 12 homes, there are eight homes by six builders, priced from the $700,000s to $1.1 million. The homes are beautiful, of course, and fully decorated with the grand opulence that visitors expect: amazing faux finishes, natural stonework, handscraped flooring and patios to die for, not to mention the furnishings, floral arrangements and whimsical children's rooms.
Newer this year, though, are several trends that regular folks can plan for some day:
••Environmental consciousness is everywhere, including in a St. Thomas Homes house that is only the third in the nation to earn Gold certification from the National Association of Home Builders national green building program.
••Mud rooms that have evolved way beyond mud into functioning transitional spaces that offer a place for mail sorting, crafts, storage and more.
••Form that follows function, with less space wasted on cathedral ceilings and wide overlooks and more devoted to built-in storage, study space or entertaining.
••Technology and gadget fun, including a plasma TV that faces out to the patio and a whole house sound system based on an iPod docking station.
Plainfield has hosted the Cavalcade in years past, and despite the crunch in the home building industry, continues to grow so fast it has special censuses every few years. As of 2007's special census, the village has 37,334 residents, said community relations director Amy DeBoni. That figure is up from 30,000 in 2005 and just 13,000 in the year 2000.
This year may turn out to be the lowest growth year in the past 11 years. While in 2003, the village issued 1,449 housing permits, last year the number was down to 404 and this year will be around 300, according to Jim Testin, community development director for the village. Even with the downward trend, the village's number of homes grew more than 3 percent last year, more than many municipalities.
The village is working hard to keep up with the influx of newcomers, added Testin, and is in the middle of rerouting highway traffic around the quaint downtown area, which has been badly congested in recent years. The village has tapped into Lake Michigan water, built a new village hall, and is developing a Naperville-like riverwalk along two miles of the DuPage River that runs through downtown.
Plainfield Consolidated School District 202, one of the fastest-growing school districts in the nation, will open a fourth high school this fall, Plainfield East.
Though this is a slow building year, it was easier to find builders this year than last year, said Frank Bogdan, chairman of the NIHB's Cavalcade. "These builders think the market is going to turn," he said. "They wanted to get their models up."
They won't have much competition -- the 2008 Cavalcade is the only single-site home show of its size in the state this year.
