By J. E. Kuyper
The Northwest Herald

(This article appeared in the November 15, 2003 edition of The Northwest Herald)

On any given day, Scot Begovich and Steve Case keep crews busy at eight construction sites.

That might not be remarkable if the homes they built were tract or semi-customs, but they are not.

Theirs are custom homes, each with distinctive features and unique designs.

"It makes for some long and busy days," Begovich said.

Begovich is president of Burnham Custom Homes and oversees the business and customer relations side of the business.

Case is the field supervisor and, as a skilled carpenter with 15 years experience in the new-home industry, keeps an eye on progress at the various construction sites.

In 2004, they plan to build 15 to 20 custom homes with a substantial number of them in McHenry County.

"We have several projects under way in McHenry County, one of them a $639,900 custom home in Johnsburg, several more planned or under way in the Martin Woods subdivision of McHenry in the $375,000 to $500,000 range, and two more custom projects planned for Lakewood in the $750,000 range.

"We will break ground on the Lakewood homes, probably in April 2004," Begovich said.

Another home in Lakewood has been completed and is one of two Begovich has entered in this year's New Home Holiday Tour continuing today and Sunday and Nov. 21-23. Begovich's tour home in Lakewood is a 4,300-square-foot, $859,900 two-story custom home.

It has a four-car garage and lookout basement on more than an acre of land at 7570 Galena Road.

"It is a spec home and, at this point, nobody has bought it, but about a dozen people have been through and so there is consideration out there. What's interesting is that we thought the home would appeal to a move-up buyer from the area, but, so far, most of the visitors have been transferees with families hoping to locate in the Crystal Lake school district," Begovich said.

Indicative of custom touches are the Brazilian cherry hardwood floors in the great room, dining room and the home office.

The office has a French door connecting it to the rest of the house and a separate door to the outside, presumably, for business purposes. People can come and go and not interfere with household activities.

The office has built-in cabinets, a counter area for serving, coat room and prewiring for a data network and video system.

The four-bedroom, three-bath home has a master suite on the first floor with a window seating area, trey ceilings, 100-square-foot walk-in closet, center island in the closet, whirlpool tub and shower with bench in the bath.

The bath also has granite countertops, dual vanities and a heated floor.

Upstairs each of the three bedrooms has a 16-by-14-foot walk-in closet and are prewired for data network, telephone and video. One bedroom area called the princess suite has a full bath.

The other two bedrooms share a bath and a laundry chute to the first floor and one of them has a view of the back yard.

A brick fireplace in the vaulted great room shares space with a built-in bookshelves and a bank of Pella windows.

Begovich regards the herringbone fireplace as special. "You have the brick, the firebox, the mantle and above the mantle, an arch with the edges protruding a bit. Inset there is the herringbone design," he said.

The chimney extends into the unfinished basement for a two-sided fireplace.

The open floor plan of the dining room includes accent lighting, the hardwood floors, ceiling inlay trim and a butler's pantry.

On the other side of the butler's pantry is the kitchen with its own dry goods walk-in pantry. The kitchen décor includes porcelain floors, custom cabinet s, under cabinet lighting and granite countertops.

Begovich said practical features include Viking stainless steel appliances (food and beverage refrigerator, cooktop, range hood and double oven with warming drawer), food preparation island with salad sink, cooktop backsplash with flexible water nozzle and a peninsula countertop that separates the kitchen from the family room, a staircase to the second floor (the main stairway is in the two-story foyer), 100-square-foot hexagonal breakfast area with a conical ceiling and an area for a wire rack and wine refrigerator.

A supplier warranty covers appliances for three years.

Other features include three-piece crown molding on the first floor, garage with finished walls and three doors, copper flashings, brick finish with quoin corners and landscaping front and rear, a screened-in porch finished in cedar with vaulted ceiling and fan, paver stone patio, built-in gas grill, copper flashings and a sprinkler system for the lawn.

Burnham Custom Homes also has entered the $639,990 Johnsburg house in the holiday tour.

The Johnsburg house is on a three-quarter acre lot and has many of the same features as the Lakewood model but is smaller at 3,600 square-feet.

For information, call (630)742-2785