Where the Home Meets Its Land
Facades, exterior renovation and landscape direction conceived as one composition, so the house and its grounds belong to each other.
A home is read from the street and the garden long before anyone steps inside. Martire Custom Homes treats the exterior and the land as one continuous composition, facade, massing, materials, entry sequence and grounds resolved together rather than handled by separate hands at separate times. Principal-led by Courtenay Martire and engaged best in the pre-architect, pre-construction phase, the work begins by reading the land itself: its light, its slope, the way it wants to be approached. From there we shape an exterior that carries the same intent as the interior life within, in collaboration with trusted landscape partners so the home arrives at its setting as though it had always grown there.
Reading the land before the facade
The most lasting exterior decisions are made early, where the home sits on its site, how it is approached, where the light lands and how the architecture answers the ground beneath it. Engaged in the pre-construction phase, Martire shapes those choices from the outset rather than dressing a finished shell afterward.
We begin by listening to the land: its orientation and grade, the views worth framing and those worth screening, the rhythm of arrival from gate to door. That reading becomes the brief for the exterior, so facade and grounds are working toward the same idea from the first sketch.
Facade and exterior renovation
An exterior renovation is an exercise in proportion and material restraint. Martire reworks facades, entryways, rooflines, fenestration and elevations so the home reads as composed and quietly confident, refreshing a tired exterior or reconceiving it entirely, always in keeping with the home's architecture and the character of its street.
We direct the exterior material palette with the same care given to interiors: stone, masonry, cladding, millwork, lighting and hardware chosen as a family rather than a list. Drawing on long-standing artisan and trade partnerships, the result is an exterior built to endure the Midwest seasons and to age with grace.
Landscape direction, in concert with the home
A home and its grounds should feel inseparable. Martire provides landscape direction, composing entry sequences, terraces, plantings, hardscape, exterior lighting and the transitions between inside and out, so the threshold between architecture and garden dissolves rather than divides.
We do not replace your landscape architect; we direct alongside them. Holding the through-line between house and land, Martire ensures the planting plans, materials and lighting agree with the facade and the interior vision, so every element belongs to a single, coherent whole.
One vision, from street to threshold
Exteriors succeed when nothing is left to chance, when the approach, the facade, the lighting and the grounds all speak the same language. Within a larger renovation, custom home or whole-home transformation, the exterior and landscape are never an afterthought but part of the original idea.
Courtenay carries full artistic direction across it all, from the first reading of the site through finishes, planting and final styling. The aim is a home that meets its land with intention, balanced, rooted, and unmistakably its owner's.
A complete, considered scope.
Engaged as your design lead, Martire carries the work across disciplines so nothing falls between trades.
- Pre-construction site reading and land orientation
- Facade, elevation and entryway renovation
- Exterior material, cladding and stone direction
- Rooflines, fenestration and exterior detailing
- Landscape direction with trusted partners
- Entry sequences, terraces and hardscape composition
- Exterior lighting plans and material palettes
- Indoor-to-outdoor transitions and threshold design
Good to know.
Do you replace our landscape architect, or work with one?
We work alongside them. Martire provides landscape direction rather than horticultural plans, composing the grounds, hardscape, lighting and transitions so they agree with the facade and the home's interior vision. If you have a landscape partner you trust, we collaborate with them; if not, we draw on long-standing relationships to bring the right one in.
Can you take on an exterior renovation without changing the interior?
Often, yes. We reconceive facades, entryways and grounds as their own composition. That said, our work is most rewarding when the exterior is part of a larger renovation, custom home or whole-home transformation, where the home and its land can be resolved as a single idea from the start.
When should we bring Martire into an exterior project?
As early as possible, ideally in the pre-architect, pre-construction phase. The decisions that matter most for an exterior, such as siting, approach and how the home meets its grade, are made early. Engaging at the outset means the facade and landscape are designed together rather than reconciled later.
Do you work on lakefront and waterfront properties?
Yes. Lakefront and waterfront homes ask a great deal of their exteriors and grounds, framing the water, weathering the elements, composing the approach. Martire directs facades and landscape across Chicago, the affluent suburbs and the lakefront regions of Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, with select availability nationwide.
If you would like your home to meet its land with the same intention as the rooms within, we would be glad to begin the conversation.