Lifestyle Inspiration: Vacation Home Architecture and Design

Elissa Morgante, AIA

Elissa Morgante, AIA
Founding Partner at Award Winning Chicago Architects, Morgante Wilson

Jan 14, 2014 - 5 min read

Lifestyle Inspiration: Vacation Home Architecture and Design

As residential architects, there’s a special thrill that comes with a vacation home commission. We find our clients in Chicago and along Lake Michigan shores are a bit more adventurous, a bit more relaxed, and a bit more open-minded in terms of allowing us to design a vacation home that will accommodate their family and guests in comfort and style. Here, some inspiration for your own vacation home – or at least, your vacation home dreams!

This large, open room is typical of many vacation homes we design. Not only will it easily accommodate large groups of people with plenty of space to spread out, most of the furnishings are quite versatile. Need an extra chair around the fireplace? Just pull one in from the dining table. How easy is that?

This custom bar exemplifies the personality and character many of our clients seek in a secondary residence. Custom-crafted to resemble a “found” piece of furniture, this bar actually secrets a refrigerator and icemaker. Inside, guests will find everything they need to assemble their favorite beverage without bothering their hosts. Now that’s hospitality!

As welcoming for a family of four as it is for a parade of visitors, this dining area is the ultimate in instant versatility. Four tables separate or join together as needed to seat up to sixteen people for dinner, puzzles, or Monopoly. Push them together and the entire extended clan can share Thanksgiving dinner. Pull them apart, and Mom, Dad, and the kids each have a place to engage in their favorite individual pursuit while staying close.

This Michiana bunk room easily accommodates a gaggle of girls for lakeside sleepovers. A trio of beds ensures sweet dreams – and plenty of pillow-fight fun – for a weekend, a week, or an entire summer.

A single, large open space is comfortably furnished with plenty of put-your-feet-up upholstered seating. A nearby dining table ensures the whole gang can enjoy each other’s company whether eating, reading, watching television, or playing.

Designed to maximize connection between indoors and out, this house was designed from the outset to marry architecture and landscape in beautiful style. The stunning oval garden design is informed by the home’s curved shape. Lemonade, anyone?

This vacation home's dining area evinces our belief that everyone wants to be in the kitchen. This dining area connects the cook to guests, as well as the outdoors.

To see more of our portfolio, please give us a call. Whether by mountain, lake, pool, or beach, the architects at Morgante Wilson love nothing more than to dream up the ideal vacation home!

Elissa Morgante, AIA

Elissa Morgante, AIA

Founding Partner at Award Winning Chicago Architects, Morgante Wilson