Building a Custom Home

  • Consider our trademarks of Timing, Communication, Service, Craftsmanship and Value to bring your project to life.
  • Create the ideal space for your current and future needs.
  • Incorporate your personal style and taste.
  • Leave the logistics to the experts—municipal requirements and approvals are ours to manage.
  • Rely on Orren and team’s decades of proven success in the luxury, custom homebuilding industry.
  • Enjoy the peace of mind that working with an award-winning team offers.

Finding the Perfect Location for Your Custom Built Home

  • Love the Neighborhood? Our complete service includes all logistics required to tear down an outdated structure to make way for your custom dream home.
  • Need a Change? Let our team help you search for the ideal site whether you’re looking for a specific school district, proximity to transportation or other features. We are experts at finding the perfect space for your family whether it is in Glencoe, Winnetka, Hinsdale or Highland Park.
  • Prefer a familiar realty professional? Many homeowners have established productive relationships with local real estate agents; we welcome an opportunity to work with them to evaluate potential properties for siting, setback requirements, floor area ratio, etc.

Building On Your Own Lot

Want to build on your own land? We can help you and your broker with virtually any aspect of lot selection, including:

  • Determining if a lot you’ve chosen is appropriate for your needs
  • Deciding between remodeling or teardown/rebuilding on your existing lot
  • Choosing between potential lots
  • Finding an appropriate lot

Whether you’ve already found a lot that you love or need help deciding on the perfect lot for your new custom home, Orren Pickell Building Group can help to build on your own lot.

Preparing Your Site

Your Pickell team is experienced and fully prepared to address site challenges and municipal requirements, including:

  • Soil tests
  • Grading
  • Village setback and height requirements
  • Variance processes, as needed
  • Architectural Review Boards

Designing Your Custom Home

  • Bring your enthusiasm to each design meeting—we assure you that we’ll bring ours!
  • Know that every project is unique and we approach each meeting with open minds and fresh ideas.
  • Indulge your fondest wishes when considering the luxury features and elements for your new custom home
  • Collect photos, samples, magazines and populate your Houzz ideabooks to illustrate your “likes” and “dislikes.”
  • It’s okay to change your mind. We provide updated drawings throughout the process to track all revisions.
  • Contact your design team any time with questions, concerns and suggestions; we strive to educate our clients throughout the process so decisions are made with knowledge and understanding.
  • Celebrate the completion of your final working drawings, the last step before construction on your new custom home begins.

Making Your Selections

  • Take advantage of our buying power— Visit our recommended showrooms for fixtures, flooring, and more. We can order materials for your project to secure favorable pricing through our long-standing relationships with leading suppliers. Our clients are also free to choose their own providers.
  • Manage your project’s schedule by making timely selections; we provide advance communication when critical decisions are needed.
  • Delayed selections may add time and cost to your project, but we work diligently with you to eliminate this possibility whenever possible.

Presenting Your Contract

  • Confirm each selection and design decision to help finalize your contract documents.
  • Review each detail in the completed documents that will govern the construction phase of your project.
  • Our team at Orren Pickell Building Group is committed to helping each of our clients understand each and every aspect of your contract.

Building Your Dream House

  • Meet your Project Superintendent, a highly experienced professional who serves as your supervisor, advocate and the guardian of your plans throughout the construction phase.
  • Attend regular meetings with your Superintendent to continually ensure that your home plans are executed from the largest to smallest detail.
  • Communicate openly; we want to hear all your questions and concerns so that that every revision is addressed and implemented.
  • Watch the progress at your custom home site. Photographs will be posted to your personal, secure website regularly so that you can share the construction process with your friends and family.

Move Into Your New Custom Home!

  • Join your Superintendent and the Orren Pickell Maintenance Group Manager for a final walk-through of your new home.
  • Identify any items that may need extra attention.
  • Trust that the experienced, courteous technicians of our Maintenance Group will complete each outstanding item to your complete satisfaction.
  • Arrange additional walk-throughs at 60 days and one year from your home closing.
  • Engage the annual preventive maintenance services following the completion of your included one year warranty to validate your “limited lifetime warranty.”
  • Count on the Orren Pickell Maintenance Group to keep your home in optimum condition, inside and out, for years to come.