OPEN HOUSES

The tradition continues! The 2023 Winnetka Community House Home Tour returns next Friday, May 19, and tickets sold out as we were going to press. Four beautiful homes will be open for touring in Wilmette, Glencoe, and Winnetka, and each offers a unique window into why the North Shore is home to some of the most sumptuous properties in the Midwest, if not the country.

Launched last year to continue a legacy of North Shore home tours that goes back generations, the event raises funds to supplement programs run by the Community House, including its children’s theater program, fitness center, and educational programs. The Community House has been providing services to local residents for more than a century. The Home Tour is the brainchild of the Women’s Board, who saw an opening last year to take advantage of the long-standing tradition of home tours on the North Shore. The Women’s Board sponsors the Home Tour and other fundraising event for the Community House.

Winnetka resident Kate Kligora is this year’s Home Tour chair and also sits on the Women’s Board. She says just like other nonprofits that don’t receive public funding, the Community House relies on donations from the community, corporations, and the funds raised during the Home Tour and other fundraisers.

“There’s no nonprofit in the community that has the breadth of programs that the Community House has,” Kligora says.

Amy Skalinder has been Community House’s President since November of 2019, and helped steer the organization through the pandemic. Though it’s a fundraiser, Skalinder says the Home Tour is aligned with the organization’s mission, which is to connect the community.

“The thing that I really love about the Home Tour and really all of the events that the Women’s Board does for Community House is a lot of what we do is bring people together,” Skalinder explains. “The kids have so many foundational experiences at the Community House. They find their confidence for the first time when they step out onto that stage and take on a role.”

They also might develop a love for basketball which can become a lifetime hobby, she says, and develop friendships during preschool, some of which remain today.

“All of those things are foundational experiences. But I would also say that these kinds of events that really bring our community together are part of the connective tissue of the community of the North Shore, and the Community House itself,” Skalinder says. “When people are coming to go and visit all these beautiful homes, enjoying the day, and we’re meeting designers and architects, it’s a wonderful experience. Part of the wonderful experience is coming together with your friends and neighbors and having a great time connecting with each other.”

Skalinder touches on one of the features of the Home Tour. It’s not just about touring the homes but meeting the architects and designers who helped create them. Design sponsors include BBA Architects, Pam Maher Design, Next Level Custom Builders, Alexandra Kaehler Design, Red Spade Environments, JenMarie Interiors, and Abt.

Home sponsors include Aaron Wealth Advisors, Compass, Studio 41, Kohler, and Terrazzo & Marble Supply Company. Luncheon sponsors include Wintrust Mortgage, Northern Fork, and Burdeen’s Jewelry.

“We have two historic houses on the tour this year. One of the houses was built in 1914 by Otis and Clark. They were renowned Chicago architects back in the day,” Kligora says. “It has been updated for a fresh, modern appeal while still keeping the bones of the historic house.”

The Otis and Clark house in nestled at the top of one of the most desired streets in Winnetka and boasts beautiful landscaping and a unique barrel ceiling in the foyer that draws visitors into the home. Dramatic color and geometric design patterns are used throughout the house to highlight historically significant details.

A stunning English country style home built on Skokie Country Club’s golf course is another highlight of the tour, Kligora says. The estate embodies understated elegance with generous warmth. Treasured artifacts collected while the owners were living abroad in Asia are a decorative highlight in the home. Large windows flood the house with light and offer exceptional views.

“The house that was previously on the property was torn down, but its slate roof was preserved and is used on the new home, so it doesn’t look like typical new construction,” Kligora says. “They had to add some to the roof, and it all matches amazingly.”

A once overlooked home in Winnetka that has been entirely transformed into a sophisticated family abode is also included in the Home Tour lineup. The interior designer who bought the home and served as her own client undertook an exercise of creativity and curating limitless options. Inside and out, the home has been completely renovated to reflect the homeowners’ vision of livability and style for their young family.

“It’s a little jewel box,” Kligora says. “The home was built in 1938 and there was not a lot going on in the ’30s architecturally. But this designer took it and has really made it into a sophisticated but really livable house for her and her three young kids.”

Rounding out the tour is a home built in 1907, an elegant three-story brick Georgian manor. The historic local landmark in Wilmette was originally on the lakefront and now offers beautiful views of the Baha’i Temple. Lovingly restored in 2022, its revival includes impeccable attention to original architectural details, with exceptional modern amenities for family living.

The tour runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with check-in from 9:15 to 1:30 p.m. at the Community House. A luncheon will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “It’s a wonderful event and I’ve got to tell you, I love working at the Community House,” Skalinder says. “I feel so fortunate to get to be there every day. It’s a great community and a great job and I’m very fortunate.”

For more information about Winnetka Community House, visit mycommunityhouse.org.