Custom cabinets for Lake Bluff's cottages and estate houses

Camp cottages, estates and postwar streets

Lake Bluff began in 1875 as a Methodist camp-meeting resort: 100 acres on the lake, cut into 25-foot lots, where a cottage could go up within 20 days of purchase. Summer visitors came for the beach and the ravines below the bluff that gave the village its name. After 1900, Chicago families built country estates here, including a 1926 summer house by David Adler, now on the National Register. After the war came the Terrace subdivision (1961), and Armour Woods and Tangley Oaks, laid out on a former estate to keep its woods and ponds. The village has a Historic Preservation Commission and an Architectural Board of Review.

Those three kinds of house ask for different cabinet work:

• Houses that began as camp cottages. If yours started on one of the 25-foot camp lots, every inch counts: cabinets to the ceiling, drawers in place of base doors, a pantry pull-out, a built-in bench with storage.
• Older estate houses. Butler's pantries and libraries, with trim we can match.
• Postwar houses, from the Terrace subdivision of 1961 on. If the kitchen is closed off, decide first whether it opens to the family room.

Permits in Lake Bluff

The village's building permit page says it "requires building permits for all projects resulting in an alteration or an improvement" to a property, and "In general, minor changes, such as painting and property maintenance, do not require a permit." Painting and maintenance are the village's own examples of minor changes; it does not name kitchens or cabinets, and it says "The best way to find out if your project requires a permit is to call the Building Division". Inspections are scheduled through the City of Lake Forest. (Village of Lake Bluff, as read 2026-10-28; confirm for your address.) We confirm with the village whether your job needs a permit, and we pull it ourselves when one is needed.

Work we have done in Lake Bluff and other towns

• In Lake Bluff, one house: a kitchen, five vanities and three closets.
• Lake Forest: a kitchen, a built-in vanity, wainscoting and a staircase we rebuilt in full.
• Evanston: a kitchen and a grey flat-panel butler's pantry with a white counter, in one home
• Northbrook: a taupe vanity and tall cabinet with gold pulls.

Planning a kitchen in a Lake Bluff cottage or estate house

• A house on a narrow lot. Tell us about access: the door, the stairs, where a truck can park. On a tight lot, delivery is part of the plan.
• An older estate house. East of Sheridan Road, the traditional houses have driven the village's interest in preservation. Decide what woodwork stays before the drawings.
• Review boards. The village has a Historic Preservation Commission and an Architectural Board of Review. Ask whether your project goes in front of either.
• Storage for the beach. A bench by the door with cubbies for towels and sandals keeps the sand out of the kitchen.
• A whole house at once. Our Lake Bluff job was one house: a kitchen, five vanities and three closets. If several rooms need work, one plan and one set of finishes saves time.

Vanities, closets and more for Lake Bluff homes

• Vanities for every bathroom: we built five in one Lake Bluff house.
• Closets, three in the same house, planned around each room.
• Window seats with storage, fitted to cottage windows.
• Butler's pantries and libraries for the larger houses.
• Mudrooms for beach gear.

How a Lake Bluff job runs

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. Lake Bluff is about 40 minutes from the shop; the visit and consultation are free.
2. The design package, with drawings, one major revision and the final price.
3. The permit, where the village requires one; we pull it.
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, usually 1 to 3 days for a full kitchen, less for a vanity or a single built-in.

East of Sheridan Road to Tangley Oaks, and nearby towns

East of Sheridan Road are the older houses near the bluff and the ravines; the postwar neighborhoods include the Terrace and Tangley Oaks. We serve all of Lake Bluff. Nearby, see our pages for Lake Forest and Riverwoods, or all the towns we serve. We also serve Libertyville.

Lake Bluff questions

Can you make a small cottage kitchen hold more?

Yes. We measure to the inch and build to the wall: tall cabinets, drawers instead of deep doors, and pull-outs in the corners and beside the range.

Can you build a window seat or bench with storage?

Yes. We build window and storage benches, fitted to the window and the wall. See custom built-ins.

Can you do every bathroom in the house at once?

Yes. In one Lake Bluff house we built five vanities, along with the kitchen and three closets.

Do you build closets for small older bedrooms?

Yes: reach-ins, wardrobe walls and built-in drawers, sized to the room. See custom closets.

Do you work east of Sheridan Road?

Yes. We serve all of Lake Bluff, east and west of Sheridan Road.

Do the vanities for several bathrooms have to match?

No. One set of drawings can give each bathroom its own finish, or keep them all the same.

Is Lake Bluff far from your shop?

About 40 minutes, inside our service area in Lake County.

Do I need design review for a kitchen?

The village has a Historic Preservation Commission and an Architectural Board of Review, and a Design Review Application among its forms. Ask the village whether your project goes to either.