Custom kitchens, vanities and built-ins for Barrington homes

The railroad village, the frame houses and the estates

Pioneers settled the Barrington area in the 1830s. In the mid-1850s a civil engineer, Robert Campbell, platted a town along the railroad and named it after the Massachusetts hometown of several local farmers; the village incorporated in 1865. After the Chicago fire of 1871, grain merchants from the city built Queen Anne houses on its shaded streets, and in the early 1900s the area became a countryside retreat for wealthy Chicago businessmen. Large estates around the village kept out the dense housing that spread to neighboring towns in the 1950s and 1960s, though the village still grew after the Northwest Tollway opened about five miles south in the early 1960s. The Barrington Historic District went on the National Register in 1986; the village calls it "one of the largest frame-home districts in Illinois," with Queen Anne houses along Lake Street. Main Street holds three more National Register buildings: the Octagon House, the Catlow Theater and the 1898 John Robertson Jr. House, known as Barrington's White House.

About one Barrington home in eight was built before 1940, a third between 1940 and 1969, and the other half from 1970 on; the median year is 1971.

So the house sets the job:

• In a frame house in the historic district: painted framed cabinets or stained wood inset, and casing and baseboard matched to what is there. We make trim profiles that are no longer sold.
• In a house from the 1950s or 1960s: we start by asking what has to stay where. Our Barrington kitchen began as a dark galley.
• In a newer house: built from the house as it stands, or from your architect's or builder's drawings.

Barrington permits, and the historic district

Barrington's Permits & Inspections page lists "INTERIOR ALTERATIONS (EX. KITCHEN & BATH REMODELS)" among its permit types, and asks for the village's construction permit application, a "Detailed written description of proposed work" and "Detailed construction plans". The page has no list of work that needs no permit, and it does not name cabinets. Every contractor on a permit must be registered with the village first. (Village of Barrington, as read 2026-10-28; confirm for your address.)

For the historic district, the village's own answer is plain: "The Architectural Review Commission has no jurisdiction on the interior of historic properties, just the exterior." Outside changes in the Historic Overlay District need a Certificate of Appropriateness as well as a building permit. (Historic Overlay District, as read 2026-10-28.) We confirm with Development Services what your job needs, and we pull the permit ourselves when one is required.

Our Barrington kitchen, bath and bedroom, and work nearby

• In Barrington, one house: a white flat-panel kitchen with an island, a wall-oven column and a floor-to-ceiling pantry wall beside the refrigerator; the primary bath's double vanity; a full-height wardrobe wall in the bedroom; and a window bench with storage beside tall cabinets.
• In Barrington, also: a floating wood-look vanity with vessel sinks against black tile.
• Barrington Hills: a kitchen, a butler's pantry, a dry bar and a wine cellar room with wood wine racks.
• North Barrington: kitchens, built-ins and vanities, in Wynstone and in Biltmore.
• South Barrington: a closet, and new treads and railing on an existing stair.
• Inverness: a kitchen, built-ins, library shelving, two vanities and large garage cabinets, in two jobs.

From a dark galley to a white kitchen: planning a Barrington kitchen

• The layout. Our Barrington kitchen was a galley with dark cabinets. Now it is white flat-panel, with a full-height pantry wall and a wall-oven column. Decide early whether your walls stay. It decides the cabinet plan, and it is the first thing to ask Development Services about.
• Frameless or framed. The Barrington kitchen is European-style frameless with white melamine fronts, our specialty and the more budget-friendly way to a full custom kitchen, with a narrower color range than painted or stained wood. A frame house on Lake Street may want painted framed or stained inset doors instead.
• The pulls. Long bar pulls run across the drawers and doors in our Barrington kitchen. Pick the pulls before the drawings; they set the drawer layout.
• The rest of the house. That job took in the primary bath, a wardrobe wall and a window bench. Rooms planned in one set of drawings share their finish.
• Trim. Nearly every job we do includes it.

Vanities, wardrobes and more for Barrington homes

A kitchen, two vanities, a wardrobe wall and a window bench are our work on record in Barrington. Other work we take on, in the historic district or on the newer streets:

• Built-ins: bookcases, libraries, media walls and home offices.
• Mudrooms and laundry rooms, and a butler's pantry where the kitchen has room for one.
• Walk-in closets, planned like the wardrobe wall in our Barrington job: drawers, shelves and hanging space.
• Bars and wine storage.
• Stairs, mantels and trim matched to a frame house in the historic district.

A Barrington project, from the visit to the window bench

1. The visit. It starts with a visit. We measure, we listen, and we give you a straight number. If it works for you, we design it with you, and only then do we build. Barrington is about half an hour from the shop. Your first visit and consultation are free.
2. Drawings. Your architect's or builder's drawings, priced as given, or our design package, which ends with the final price after one major revision.
3. The permit, for an interior alteration when the village calls for one, and a Certificate of Appropriateness only if the outside of a historic house changes.
4. The build. Roughly 6 to 8 weeks from signed drawings for an average kitchen; built-ins and closets usually 4 to 6.
5. Installation. A full kitchen usually takes 1 to 3 days; a vanity or a single built-in takes less.

Lake Street, Main Street and nearby towns

Barrington is in Cook and Lake counties, about 32 miles northwest of the Loop. Main Street runs along the railroad with the Catlow Theater and the White House; Lake Street is the street of Queen Anne houses in the historic district. We serve all of Barrington. Around it, see our pages for Barrington Hills, North Barrington, South Barrington and Inverness, or all the towns we serve. We also serve Lake Barrington, Deer Park and Palatine.

Barrington questions

Do I need a permit to remodel a kitchen in Barrington?

The village lists "interior alterations (ex. kitchen & bath remodels)" as a permit type, with plans and a written description of the work. It does not name cabinets. Ask Development Services about your plan; we pull a permit when one is required.

Does the historic district review a new kitchen?

Not the inside, by the village's own answer: the Architectural Review Commission has no jurisdiction on the interior of historic properties, only the exterior.

Can you redo a galley kitchen?

Yes. Our Barrington kitchen was a dark galley. Now it is white flat-panel, with a pantry wall beside the refrigerator and a wall-oven column.

Do you build floating vanities?

Yes. In Barrington we built one with vessel sinks, in a wood-look finish. A floating vanity hangs on a rail or cleat fixed to the wall.

Can you build a wardrobe wall for a bedroom?

Yes. In the same Barrington house as the kitchen we built a full-height wardrobe wall. See custom closets.

How far is Barrington from your shop?

About 23 miles, roughly half an hour from Spring Grove.