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Bannockburn residents welcome weekend visits to their home
Ray and Andrea Moreland's "At Home Getaway" in Bannockburn features a floor to ceiling shower and vintage bath off the master bedroom. | Photos by Laura Pavin
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Updated: October 31, 2012 11:44AM
BANNOCKBURN — Ray and Andrea Moreland don’t have to walk very far to escape the monotony of everyday life, because their Bannockburn home also functions as a vacation getaway.
And this weekend, the Morelands and renowned building group Orren Pickell are inviting the public to experience the getaway home for themselves.
The family’s “At Home Getaway” will be open for touring from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 3 and 4. The weekend tours — visits also were offered last weekend — are offered at no cost to the public, but unused and unwrapped toys may be donated at the door for the Toys for Tots Foundation.
Located at 27 Aberdeen Court, At Home Getaway was inspired by a similar home Orren Pickell had built in the Bannockburn’s Tarns of the Moor subdivision, called The Scottish Manor.
Orren Pickell is a 37-year-old company whose custom homes have been built throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The Morelands, along with their two young children, had toured more than 50 homes around Chicago’s North Shore before finding Orren Pickell’s Scottish Manor and deciding that it would become the muse for their new home.
Influenced by the Manor’s blend of formal and informal, the Morelands collaborated with Orren Pickell to design a luxurious home that would offer the ideal combination of comfortable living and laid back vacationing.
The building group ultimately helped the Morelands craft their 30-plus-room dream home, complete with a cigar patio, outdoor kitchen and a master suite with a Zen bath, late night kitchen and private balcony. Built on more than two acres, each floor was built to allow almost every room a view of either the sizeable yard in the back or the picturesque neighborhood in the front.
Because of their two young children, Orren Pickell and the couple decided to add a sleeping porch for the family’s at-home camping trips and a wide yard for outdoor play.
The basement was completed with an exercise room, children’s game room, billiards room and a family pub.
“There are formal and informal sides to the home — it makes me smile everywhere I go,” Andrea Moreland said.
More 300 people visited the home for its first set of tours Oct. 20 and 21.
Those touring the home found all aspects of the house equally impressive. Some highlighted the kitchen’s French white oak flooring, cabinets and large walk-in pantry; the master bath’s floor-to-ceiling shower and vintage tub; the foyer’s spiral staircase; and the master bedroom’s fireplace, nearby coffee bar and walk-in closet.
Libertyville residents Rick and Jan Mittelman said both the basement and kitchen were original and well-done.
“That’s the concept — you have different areas where you can get away,” Rick said.
The Mittelmans added that they had friends for whom Orren Pickell designed a home years back, and that they’ve enjoyed looking at the group’s work ever since.
Judy and Jim Young of Inverness held similar opinions about the home.
“It’s amazing; Orren Pickell’s homes are always first-class, unique and imaginative.” Jim Young said. “It’s stuff you wouldn’t be able to think of yourself.”
For more information about the home and touring, visit www.pickellbuilders.com and click “visit our latest concept house.”
