A Storied Barrington Hills Home Gets a Second Chance at Life
Kathryn (Kat) and Bill Linville had been living in Lincoln Park, a well-known Chicago neighborhood near Lake Michigan, when they decided to move out towards the suburbs. The two grew up in Indiana—Bill in Speedway, and Kat in Noblesville—and met on a Ball State semester abroad program at London University in England. They’ve been together ever since.
They were in the Barrington area looking for property, seeing the beautiful and modern dwellings, when one home made a lasting impression. Ironically, it wasn’t a ready-to-move-in option. The historic Andrew Dallstream home and land on Brinker Road was somewhat of a discouraging sight for a property. Built in 1930 and neglected since 2017 when the Dallstream family moved out, over-grown bushes and shrubs crowded the 90-year-old home’s exterior, and the layout of the home, and while a grand, 6,000 square foot home with a four-car garage, it would need to be significantly updated. For some, this property would be seen as a tear-down.
Great Expectations
They looked over the property two or three times and went through a lot of soul-searching before making their decision to buy it in August 2017. During construction, Kat and Bill rented an apartment in Hoffman Estates. They managed to finish the majority of the work and move in by Thanksgiving 2018.
They knew that the home was designed by Robert Work, the architect for Barrington Hills Country Club. Another buyer might decide to tear the home down. Yet Kat and Bill saw a country dream home for their retirement, and for the whole family. Kat could have her organic vegetable and flower garden. There could be a swimming pool, and treehouse for the youngsters. They would feel honored as stewards of the land’s virgin oak savanna. Their two grown sons and grandchildren would have a place to join them. Their imagination was a new foundation for this home. This would become the project of a lifetime and eventually, a dream come true.
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