Name: Cooking Light 2007 Fit House
Location: Lincoln Park
Size/Type: A gazillion sq. ft. single family home
Years lived in: For sale, never lived in
Not a real house tour, because this isn't a "real" house. It is on the market, so perhaps someday soon a real live family will call this place home. But for now, it is a fundraiser house, put together by Cooking Light magazine and raising money for the Women and Lung Health Initiative.
We made our donation, entered, snapped the attached photos and had a fine time, but we had a lingering feeling of unease...
...perhaps it is because we are so used to shooting House Tours in real homes, where the belongings have been loving chosen or collected over time.
But, we know that was not really it - it was the feeling of excess that permeated the space. So much square footage - intended for a single family in the city - just didn't sit right with us. A screening room, private gym, four separate cooking areas, a temperature controlled wine cellar, a sauna, a floor-through "zen"/party space, televisions throughout, the list goes on and on...it all just felt like TOO much.
The promotional materials that we picked up described the project as a concept home that "respects the environment and promotes healthful living". Many of the materials used are eco-friendly, and we were pleased to see the emphasis shift to that as a priority. More power to making decisions based on what is better for the earth - but it was the balance of the lifestyle being promoted here which felt somewhat at odds with the materials used that threw it out of balance for us.
So in the end, while I don't feel entirely comfortable editorializing too much on a project that is raising funds for a good cause, I must say, this didn't feel "light" or "green" to me at all...it felt like a dinosaur.
That said, there were (as there are in every home) beautiful touches and nice ideas and that is what we aimed to focus on in our slideshow.
We do salute Cooking Light for making the fundraiser possible and urge you to consider stopping by and making a donation if you are so inclined. The 2007 Fit House is open for self-guided tours through September at 1235 W. Belden.
too much beige.
view KBinBC's profile
Wow, I'm feeling a bit cramped lately in my wee apartment. I wonder what I'd suddenly do with too much space? Probably have a heart attack. Can I just have one of the kitchens?
view lisbet's profile
I like the pink bedroom but find the rest rather bland looking.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
Oh man. As I write this from my 300 sq.ft. live/work studio, the green eyed monster rears its ugly head. Not that its at all my style, but I'd give my left arm for that much space. Even just the outdoor space...
view aesargent's profile
OK, what a pain in the butt that chalk board over the stove would be...first of all who would actually write a recipe up there? You'd have to get up over the stove and write it out...unless you have one of you servants do it of course. Then if you actually cooked anything, grease and splatters would get all over it and it would not come out making the chalk board streaked , ugly and unusable.
view labchick's profile
I had the exact same reaction when I saw it in their magazine. If I remember correctly it was well over 4000 sq feet. I will applaud their efforts to use green materials, but excess is excess.
In the same vein, my husband and I live in a 1700 square foot home in the Midwest and I am often shocked how our house is considered a starter home or a small house. We plan to live in it for many years and add children to the mix all in our "small" house.
view JenCoMo's profile
JenCoMo: I agree. I felt uneasy when I saw the home in Cooking Light's mag. All the talk of "green building" was completely erased by the sheer size of the space. At over 4000 sq ft, that gives a family of 4 1000 feet apiece! Yikes. And, while I'm lucky enough to live alone (w/ super-huge dog) in a 1000 sq ft apt in a 2 flat, my parents, brother, 2 dogs and I shared exactly the same space when I was growing up.
I was also dismayed by:
The lack of green space. Instead, the builders decided upon entirely too much hardscape outside.
The inclusion of a sauna, a temp controlled wine cellar, AND a screening room. Generally, those items are not very energy efficient. Sacraficing one (or two) of those thing would've been just fine.
The lack of ceiling fans for circulating fresh air (open your windows, people!).
It seems very dated already - a monument to our very "keeping up w/ the Joneses" mentality.
view lfw1031's profile