Contemporary Modern Custom Homes
Clean lines, expansive glass, and a precise, disciplined build.
Contemporary Modern is the most demanding custom idiom Forest Heart Builders builds, because it hides nothing. Flat or low-slope rooflines, walls of glass, floating stairs, minimal trim, and crisp material transitions leave no room for imprecision. Every reveal, every miter, every plane has to be exact, because the architecture itself is the ornament.
This is a style that depends entirely on the quality of the build. The expansive glazing has to be detailed for the Chicago climate without visually compromising the lines. The flat roof has to be engineered and drained correctly. The minimal trim means the drywall, the millwork, and the glazing all meet on tight tolerances. Forest Heart Builders treats Contemporary Modern as a precision discipline the kind of work where an integrated, in-house team is not a convenience but a requirement.
Defining Features
01
Flat or low-slope rooflines with clean, resolved parapet detailing
02
Expansive glazing large fixed walls of glass, sliding glass systems
03
Floating or open-riser staircases as a sculptural centerpiece
04
Minimal trim and tight, deliberate reveal details throughout
05
Linear fireplaces and integrated, architectural built-ins
06
Flat-slab or rift-cut white oak European-style cabinetry
07
Strong indoor-outdoor connection flush thresholds, covered terraces
08
Mixed planar materials: smooth stucco, metal panel, stone, porcelain slab
The Material Story.
Contemporary Modern works in a tight, planar palette. Exteriors combine smooth stucco, metal panel, natural stone, and large-format porcelain. Interiors run to rift-cut white oak, flat-slab cabinetry, porcelain or stone slab surfaces, and concrete or large-format tile. Color is used sparingly and deliberately; the material itself does the work.
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Exterior | Smooth stucco metal panel stone large-format porcelain |
| Roof | Flat or low-slope resolved parapet |
| Windows | Large fixed glazing sliding glass systems minimal frames |
| Flooring | Rift-cut white oak large-format tile polished concrete |
| Millwork | Flat-slab cabinetry linear fireplace surrounds integrated built-ins |
40+
Across Our Service Area.
The Modern Farmhouse performs in nearly every market we serve — but it is especially at home on the larger, semi-rural lots of the Barrington area, Long Grove, Inverness, and the Fox Valley communities of St. Charles and Geneva, where the agrarian silhouette has genuine landscape to sit against.
On wooded or open-meadow lots, the steep gabled massing reads honestly; in established North Shore neighborhoods, a more restrained, painted-brick interpretation keeps the home in conversation with its neighbors.
Barrington
North Barrington
Long Grove
Inverness
Lake Forest
Highland Park
St. Charles
Geneva
Glenview
Northbrook
Building This Style with Forest Heart.
A Modern Farmhouse lives or dies on its millwork, and that is where Forest Heart Builders’ in-house millwork studio becomes the difference. The beamed great-room ceiling, the painted Shaker kitchen, the mudroom lockers, the window seats and the panelled hood are all built to the home rather than ordered to a catalog.
- Beamed ceilings and cabinetry designed to the home, not for a catalog
- Dedicated project team carries design intent from framing through finish
- Sympathetic site planning preserves mature canopy and landscape character
Frequently Asked.
Is a Contemporary Modern home practical for the Chicago climate?
Yes, when it is engineered for it. The expansive glazing must specify high-performance, well-detailed window and door systems, and the flat or low-slope roof must be designed and drained correctly. Contemporary Modern is fully viable in the Midwest; it simply requires a builder who details it for the climate rather than against it.
Why is Contemporary Modern considered a more demanding build?
Because it has no ornament to hide behind. Minimal trim, exposed structure, walls of glass, and crisp material transitions all leave tolerances visible. The architecture is the finish, so the build quality is on permanent display.
What is the difference between Contemporary and Modern?
In everyday use the terms overlap, which is why Forest Heart Builders uses “Contemporary Modern” together. The style is defined by flat or low-slope roofs, expansive glazing, minimal detailing, and an indoor-outdoor emphasis, regardless of which label a homeowner prefers.
Can a Contemporary Modern home still feel warm?
Yes. Warmth in this idiom comes from material rather than ornament rift-cut white oak, natural stone, the play of natural light across a planar surface, and a linear fireplace as a focal point. A well-built Contemporary Modern home is serene rather than cold.