Designing Barrington Lifestyles
The First Healthy Home Will Open to the Public
This November
Victoria Di Iorio, founder of Healthy Home Initiative and Anthony Di Iorio, co-owner of Dior Builders. The couple have been working together on healthy homes since 2009. They live in Inverness.
Setting a new precedent for green and healthful living, Dior Builders has partnered with the American Lung Association for Healthy Home 2017, the very first home in the nation built under the newly revised American Lung Association Health House™ guidelines. Created to showcase some of the highest standards of human health and environmental integrity, Healthy Home 2017 will be available for tours November 10–19, 2017. Tour tickets are $20. Tour proceeds benefit Healthy Child Healthy World. Visit www.HealthyHome2017.com to learn more.
The Healthy Home design team working with Project Director Victoria Di Iorio. In back, from left: Tricia Palm, Meredith Park. In front, from left: Kedra Pai, Ilene Chase, and Shauna Schurman. (Not pictured: Leslie Bowman and Brynn Olson.) Special thanks to Diane Kelleher for opening her home to us for these photos.
Constructed by Dior Builders and the next home in a series of real-life, interactive, and educational models for cleaner, greener, safer living—Healthy Home 2017 will be the first demonstration proejct in the country to be built under the American Lung Association’s revised Health House guidelines, featuring everything from energy efficient products and innovative technologies, to green building materials to non-toxic building materials and sustainable furniture and accessories. Consistently on the forefront of providing healthier indoor living environments, Dior Builders is setting a new precedent for healthful living with this program.
Founded in 1979 by Peter Di Iorio, Dior Builders is a leader in high-end custom homes. Today, Anthony Di Iorio is the construction manager and oversees all of Dior Builder’s Healthy Home Projects. Victoria Di Iorio, his wife, serves as the material building specialist for Dior Builders as a Healthy Home consultant serving architects, builders, interior designers, and home owners across the country. Healthy Home 2017 aims to significantly reduce if not eliminate thecauses of indoor air pollution. Victoria notes, “We are going beyond the notion of what is sustainable to create a real-life model of what a truly healthy home should be—a safe haven free from envirnomental stress.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cites that indoor pollutants can be two to five times higher than outdoors, while research indicates that people spend nearly 90 percent of their time indoors. “Exposure to indoor air pollutants—smoke, radon, dust, mold, and other pollutants—can pose serious health risks and can contribute to respiratory disease, asthma, and even lung cancer,” says Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association. “By following the American Lung Association’s Health House guidance, Dior Builders has significantly reduced, possibly eliminated, many causes of indoor air pollution in Healthy Home 2017.”
Victoria Di Iorio’s unique story begins with her mother, who taught her to read labels, avoid ingredients you can’t pronounce, shop locally, conserve resources, and recycle. These words of wisdom were reinforced years later when Victoria met Nancy Chuda, founder of Healthy Child Healthy World, the first Mom on a Mission. It was a pivotal moment in time that changed the trajectory of her life.
For almost a year prior, Victoria’s husband Anthony had been suffering from severe allergy attacks that he described as “seasonal allergies.” Strangely, his attacks could not be correlated to a season. Victoria’s epiphany came when she watched her husband cover his nose and mouth with the sleeve of his shirt to run inside a newly built home. He had only been in the house a minute or two, but when he came back outside, tears were streaming down his face and his eyes were bloodshot. At that moment, Victoria realized that he was having an allergic reaction to chemicals inside the home and his job was making him sick.
Thus began Victoria’s quest to find safer, non-toxic building products. A classic-style luxury residence in Barrington, Ill., Healthy Home 2017 uses state-of-the-art materials and methods to create a truly healthy living environment. The Healthy Home 2017 will be open for tours in November. Visit www.HealthyHome2017.com to learn more.
The lower level of Healthy Home 2017 is designed by Ilene Chase Design. Not to be confused with a basement, this lower level space was created to function as both a fun and relaxing family area and versatile entertaining space. The design concept is refined, rustic elegance that mixes timeless design elements with a cozy and comfortable feeling. The bar and lounge space showcases a custom bar by local craftsman Modified LLC featuring an antique mirrored wall and multilayered wood cabinet faces. Chicago South Side brick tile adorns the fireplace to add warmth and texture. Hammered metal details, live edge wood shelves, and organic natural fabrics create depth and interest in this lower level lounge.”
Featured Products
The “Manhattan” raised bar sink by Native Trails was selected for its linear design, blending the classic elegance of hammered copper with edgy modern style. Artisan crafted and forged of high-quality recycled copper, the distinct texture of the brushed hammered nickel finish exudes upscale sophistication. A sleek Gaggenau wine cabinet with glass doors replaces the wine cellar, offering space for up to 98 bottles in two independently controlled climate zones complete with energy saving LED lighting and door lock for safety and security. The electonic control system ensures constant temperatures ranging from 41to 68 degrees F, which can be set to the exact degree desired.
Inspired by the open-floor plan and the warm blue tones of the custom kitchen backsplash by Artisan Stone Tile, Kedra Chalen Design created this comfortable, modern yet classic family room as an extension of the kitchen. The DaVinci custom linear fireplace with marble surround is the true centerpiece of the room. Enhanced by classic moldings and trim, coffered ceiling and wood paneling, the room offers warmth and dimension through these decorative elements including an antique area rug from Organic Looms which anchors the space, creating a welcoming environment for the whole family to enjoy.
Biographies
Ilene Chase is the owner of Ilene Chase Designs (ICD) is a full-service interior design firm throughout the Chicagoland area. ICD primarily resides in Illinois, however, their work spans across state lines including Arizona, Florida, and Colorado, incorporating elegance and sensibility to both their residential and commercial projects. Eco-friendly composition represents one of ICD’s core missions coinciding with their adoration to synthesize genres of design. They consistently reuse material such as reclaimed wood or vintage hardware complimenting a contemporary foundation perfectly. Ilene is drawn to classic taste, reasonable transformations, and implementing a personal touch to her process. Ilene’s secret to success rests upon forming a close relationship amongst clients, allowing her to craft spaces indicative of their personality. She believes establishing a certain level of trust between clients facilitates the most effective outcome. Learn more at www.ilenechasedesign.com.
Kedra Pai is the owner of Kedra Chalen Design, LLC and Diamond Paint and Home Center, LLC. With over 14 years of design experience, Kedra has proven that success as a designer can be achieved in a very non-traditional way. Her love for design and construction began from her early childhood experiences ‘assisting’ her father at his retail kitchen and bath remodeling store in Des Plaines, Illinois. Kedra’s own career started in Boca Raton, Florida, flipping houses on shoe-string budgets while simultaneously attaining a degree in Business Marketing and an MBA from Lynn University. She is the proud owner of Kedra Chalen Design and Diamond Paint and Home Center. Kedra was honored to be a panel speaker at the 2016 Chicago Design Summit, and she regularly contributes to Inverness Life magazine. She is also an ASID member. Learn more at www.kedrachalendesign.com.
Meredith Park, a Principal Designer at Impeccable By Meredith Park, focuses on residential design. After a successful career as a management consultant, Meredith decided to follow her passion for designing interior spaces. She studied at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in its interior design program, and launched Impeccable by Meredith Park in 2012. Meredith’s work reflects her enjoyment of designing for clients whose style ranges from contemporary to traditional. She believes that beautiful and functional design brings about a wonderful range of positive emotions: peaceful, energized, happy, or relaxed. Meredith works diligently to understand her client’s personal style and preferences so that the space she designs reflects their personality and evokes the mood they seek. Her passion for hospitality drives Meredith to create spaces for her clients that evoke a sense of warmth and welcome for them along with their friends and family. For her website and blog, visit www.impeccablebymeredithpark.com.