The Kerrins’ recent renovation of their Oak Park home includes a basement playroom to suit the needs of their two children. JASON GEIL/Staff Photographer


As part of the renovation, the Kerrins added a physical therapy room to the basement for their son Riley with high ceilings to allow for nylon swings and a bouncy house.

When Karen Mullarkey Kerrins and her husband Marty Kerrins bought their stucco four-square on Wesley Avenue, they knew they had a major renovation project on their hands.

Veterans of the home-remodeling process — they had previously renovated a three flat on Oak Park Avenue, living amidst the work — the Kerrins jumped right into adding an ambitious three-story addition on their new home that would accommodate a child with special needs and add more room for a growing family.

Luckily, Karen and Marty didn’t have to look far for a contractor or work crew for their project, and they didn’t even need an architect.

"It was literally my husband and all of his firemen buddies working for months on our house," says Karen. "All of his friends have great experience, and one of his friends is a master carpenter with years of experience. We’ve been very lucky with all of Marty’s connections and the help of the fire department guys."

The addition began in the basement, where Marty and friends added a physical therapy room for the couple’s son Riley. The deeply dug-out room features 10-foot high ceilings and doubles as a unique indoor play area in the winter.

"Marty found someone in Oak Park who makes these nylon swings that are attached to the wall that are perfect for Riley’s therapy. His therapists can come down here to work with him, plus in the winter, with the high ceilings, we can fit a bouncy house in this room, which is great for the kids," says Karen while standing in the expansive basement. "For family parties, the kids just love to come down here."

The Kerrins also reworked the existing basement to make it a playroom and computer area, replacing a support post with a steel ceiling beam. Karen says that installing the beam was a serious undertaking.

"We’ve been quite the talk of the block," she laughs. "A large crane was required to put the beam in place, so when the neighbors saw the huge thing parked on our lawn, they were all wondering what we were doing in here."

On the main floor, Marty and his co-workers expanded the kitchen and created a warm family room. The new kitchen opens to an eat-in area with a granite-topped peninsula. The open concept plan makes this the hub of the home where the parents can keep an eye on their kids, while cooking or watching television.

Both natives of Oak Park, Karen and Marty wanted their home to have a certain Oak Park feel, and they worked hard to bring it into the house.

"Before we lived here, people took out the stained glass windows and a lot of the wood. If I could hunt them down, I would," says Karen. "We bought the living room fireplace mantle and another in the family room at an auction house. We’re trying to bring some of the charm of the house back.

"Marty and I both love antiques, and one thing I love about Oak Park is all the woodwork and stained glass. All of the woodwork in this house had been painted white, so we stripped it all. Luckily, the process has changed since I remember my parents doing it in their Oak Park house. Instead of applying a remover and heating it inch by inch with a hairdryer, there is a quicker stripper now that you can just paint on."

The addition on the second floor of the house provides room for a spacious master suite. Formerly a small bedroom and a tandem, the old space wouldn’t have provided a lot of room for the kids or the parents.

Marty and his friends reconfigured the old rooms and the addition to give the master suite a large, walk-in closet and a luxurious master bathroom. The bathroom has a separate steam shower, a Jacuzzi bathtub and double sinks. Karen admits that the kids use the Jacuzzi tub more than the adults and that the steam shower comes in handy when someone has a cold, but there is one added touch that she enjoys above the rest.

"My husband convinced me to put in a heated floor, so it’s never cold in here. That’s one little luxury we’re very excited about."

Another of Marty’s friends owns a kitchen and bath store, so he collaborated with the couple to create the final design in the bathroom. Karen notes, "I really wanted a certain tile for the shower floor and he helped us design the rest of the bath around that. Everything else, we’d coordinate back and forth with him."

Having the extra eye to help out on finishing touches was something Karen was thankful for.

"I don’t know how people can do it on a larger scale," she says. "It sounds like fun when other people talk about it, but then you get down to it and you’re choosing every knob and every light fixture. I will say that parts of it were fun, choosing what you like, whether it’s a steam shower or a Jacuzzi tub. When you’re used to Oak Park houses that are 100 years old, you don’t get any of that."

The three-story addition joins seamlessly with the original house, and without a tour, it would be hard to tell where old ends and new begins. Karen and Marty, who both love the old Oak Park aesthetic but wanted to update and expand for their family of four, are pleased with the final result.

"It was really nice that the guys were able to incorporate the old and the new so that you can’t really tell the difference," says Karen. "It all flows."

Return To Real Estate Articles