Orren Pickell Building Group

Orren Pickell Building Group We design, build, remodel, and maintain award-winning luxury custom homes. Contact us today to discuss your next project!

Orren Pickell Building Group manages every phase of custom home building and remodeling for clients throughout Chicagoland, Southern Wisconsin, and Harbor Country Michigan. With over 40 years of experience in the industry, we have a reputation built upon outstanding value, craftsmanship, and service. Our estimating, design, construction, home maintenance, and cabinetry experts offer the peace of m

ind homeowners should expect regarding all aspects of their new home or renovation projects. We believe in cost transparency, with current project pricing available on each customer's secure website.

Custom home or high-end renovation? Here's how to actually decide.It's not about budget. It's about four things:1. How y...
05/29/2026

Custom home or high-end renovation? Here's how to actually decide.

It's not about budget. It's about four things:

1. How your family lives today — and how that's changed.

2. Whether your current home's bones are worth saving.

3. What your site and zoning allow.

4. What you want the next 20 years to feel like.

A renovation is the right move when the location is exactly where you want to be, the architecture has character worth preserving, and the scope of change is contained.

A custom home is the right move when you want full control over layout, flow, and how every room connects to your life — especially if you're building on a new lot or want to take full advantage of views, natural light, or indoor-outdoor living.

Neither is better. The right answer depends entirely on your situation.

We guide families through this decision every day — on the Chicago North Shore and throughout Michigan.

If you're trying to figure out which path makes sense for you, the full breakdown is on our blog. Link in bio.

05/27/2026

Rob and Chris are realtors in Harbor Country. They know this market better than almost anyone.

And they chose to go through this process themselves.
That says a lot.

What stood out to them wasn't just the result — it was the experience of working through the decisions. The tradeoffs between budget and space, between what you want and what the land allows.

Having architects and designers who could help them navigate that honestly made all the difference.

The vision for the home was clear from the start — charming, timeless, with updated interiors that still have touches of tradition. That balance is harder to achieve than it sounds.

There's an awful lot that goes into planning these spaces. But working through those tradeoffs with the right team is what every custom home client goes through — and what separates a good experience from a frustrating one.

We're proud of how this one came together. And we can't wait to share it.

This home will open as a model in New Buffalo late summer / early fall. We'll share details on how to come walk through it when the time comes.

05/25/2026

This home was designed from the start to work for multiple generations under one roof.

That changes how you think about everything — including sound.

In the TV room, the television is being framed directly into the wall so there's no visible electrical or hardware. Clean, intentional, built-in.

But beyond the aesthetics, the ceilings are getting sound insulation clips and the walls are getting additional insulation to prevent sound from traveling through the home.

When you have different generations living together — different schedules, different spaces, different needs — that kind of acoustic separation isn't a luxury, it's a necessity.

It's the kind of detail that doesn't show up in the photos but makes a real difference in how the home actually lives.

Most people only see the finished home.This is what happens in between.Inside this Barrington Hills custom home, the fra...
05/23/2026

Most people only see the finished home.

This is what happens in between.

Inside this Barrington Hills custom home, the framing is complete and the rough-in trades are in full swing. Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC are all being run simultaneously — each trade carefully coordinated so nothing conflicts behind the walls once they close up.

Look up in these photos and you'll see exactly why this phase matters. Every duct run, every pipe chase, every wire path has to be planned and executed precisely. Because once the drywall goes up, it's all invisible — and it all has to work perfectly for the next 50 years.

This is the phase that separates a well-built home from one that just looks good.

Next up: insulation, drywall, and the finish phase begins.

05/21/2026

Sometimes it takes the right team to help you land on the right decision.

Rob knew the style he wanted — but it was the confidence of the local Orren Pickell team that helped them arrive at the final exterior color. That's the kind of thing that's hard to quantify but makes a real difference when you're making hundreds of decisions over the course of a build.

The exterior is Hardy board siding for low maintenance, with masonry along the walkway. Practical choices that still feel considered and intentional.

Out back — a large screened porch with plenty of room for seating and a dining table, all overlooking the marsh. Right next to it is a dedicated grill deck with direct access to the kitchen. The whole outdoor sequence just flows.

This is what it looks like when a home is designed around how you actually want to live in it.

We're planning to open this as a model home in New Buffalo late summer / early fall — come see it in person.

05/19/2026

"This is really kind of a dream for us."

Rob and his family have been intentional about every part of this home — and it shows in how they talk about it.

The kitchen is the heart of it. A large island, open flow, designed to connect to the rest of the home so that wherever the action is, you're never cut off from it. That's how people actually live.

The primary living is all on one floor — which in a home this size makes everyday life feel effortless. And the views from that main level? Rob put it simply — their previous home didn't have windows like this at all.

Upstairs there are guest rooms and office space. The lower level has a recreation area and a fitness room. Everything thought through, nothing wasted.

We're planning to open this one as a model home in New Buffalo late summer / early fall. It's going to be worth seeing in person.

There's a moment in every custom build when the vision stops being a drawing and starts being a home.We're at that momen...
05/15/2026

There's a moment in every custom build when the vision stops being a drawing and starts being a home.

We're at that moment on this Barrington project.

Slate tile roof complete. Warm stucco exterior on and painted. Natural stone detailing on the front entryway — cut and set by hand. Arched windows, oval accents, multi-pane grids throughout. Every exterior decision made with the same intention: a home that looks like it belongs exactly where it sits.

The deck is next. The interior is moving fast.

This one is worth watching.

05/13/2026

Rob said it best — people come to Harbor Country for the open space.

Beaver, muskrat, fox, deer, geese — it's all right outside. That's not a backdrop, that's the whole point of being here.

So the home was designed around it. A large screened porch for entertaining, dining, and just being outside without being exposed. And it connects directly to the indoor dining area and kitchen — so the flow between inside and out feels completely natural.

That's what a custom home in this area should do. Not just sit on the land, but actually connect you to it.

We're targeting late summer / early fall to open this home as a model in New Buffalo. Stay tuned — we'll announce when you can come walk through it in person.

05/11/2026

One of the things we love about the build process is what you discover once you're actually inside the space.

On this New Buffalo project, our architecture team spent a lot of time maximizing the glass on the view-facing sides of the home — making sure the clients could see exactly what they came here for.

But during construction, something else came up. A doorway in the lower level was originally planned as a narrower cased opening with a door. Once the framing was up, the clients and our superintendent walked the space and realized they wanted it open — wider, no door, so the view down into the rest of the lower level could breathe.

That kind of adjustment happens on every custom build. And it's one of the reasons having the right team on site matters. Someone has to notice it, and someone has to be empowered to say something.

Next visit — electrical rough-in complete, insulation inspected, drywall going up. It starts looking like a home.

We're targeting late summer / early fall to open this one up as a model home in New Buffalo. If you've been curious about what a custom build looks like up close, this will be your chance to walk through it in person.

Twenty years of trust — and it finally led to this.This client has been with Orren Pickell's maintenance team for two de...
05/09/2026

Twenty years of trust — and it finally led to this.

This client has been with Orren Pickell's maintenance team for two decades. We've kept her home running at the highest level since day one. So when she was finally ready to reimagine her primary bathroom, there was only one call to make.

What you're seeing here is the before — and the in-between. A dated space, fully gutted and rebuilt from scratch around the way she actually lives today.
New layout. New plumbing. New electrical. Every decision made with intention.

Stay tuned — she'll be sharing her own thoughts on this project, and the final reveal is coming.

This is what a 20-year relationship looks like when it finally walks through the front door.

Address

444 Skokie Boulevard
Wilmette, IL
60091

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+18474238199

Website

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