Kitchen & Bath Renovations
The most-lived-in rooms in a home, drawn with the same artistry and structural rigour as the architecture that holds them.
Kitchens and baths are the rooms a home is measured by, where the day begins, gathers and quietly closes. At Martire Custom Homes, they are shaped by Courtenay Martire from the pre-construction phase onward, considered not as standalone projects but as part of a larger renovation in which cabinetry, stone, lighting, plumbing and tile move in concert with the architecture around them. The result is a room that feels inevitable rather than installed.
Considered from the studs outward
A kitchen or bath is only as resolved as the decisions made before a single surface is chosen. Working in the pre-architect and pre-construction phase, we read how a household actually lives, how it cooks, hosts, bathes and unwinds, and let that reading shape the plan: where light falls, how plumbing and ventilation run, how a sightline carries from the range to the garden or from a soaking tub to the morning sky.
Because Courtenay carries the artistic direction across the whole renovation, these rooms are never designed in isolation. Cabinetry proportions, stone selections, lighting plans and tile coursing are drawn together with the home's wider language, so the kitchen and the principal bath read as of a piece with everything around them.
Materials chosen, not specified
The character of these spaces lives in the materials and in how they meet. Stone is selected slab by slab for movement, vein and tone; cabinetry and joinery are designed to the millimetre and built by long-standing artisan partners; tile is laid out by hand on paper before it ever reaches a wall. Lighting is planned in layers, task, ambient and accent, so the room performs as beautifully at dusk as it does at noon.
Plumbing fittings, hardware, finishes and fixtures are curated to belong to one another and to the homeowner's story, never assembled from a catalogue. Each detail is directed, sourced and overseen as part of a single, coherent vision rather than chosen in the moment.
Part of a larger transformation
Our kitchens and baths are conceived within whole-home renovations, additions, custom homes and lakefront residences, where they can be planned with the structure rather than worked around it. This is where the principal-led, design-led approach pays its fullest dividend, one hand holding plan, millwork, materials and finishes from first sketch to final styling.
We take on a stand-alone bath only for a former client, or as part of a wider project already in our care. It is a quiet way of ensuring that every room we touch receives the full depth of attention it deserves.
A complete, considered scope.
Engaged as your design lead, Martire carries the work across disciplines so nothing falls between trades.
- Custom cabinetry and joinery design
- Natural stone and surface selection, slab by slab
- Layered lighting plans for kitchen and bath
- Plumbing fixture and fitting curation
- Hand-planned tile layout and detailing
- Hardware, finishes and fittings
- Spatial planning and sightlines
- Full artistic direction and project oversight
Good to know.
Do you take on a kitchen or bath as a stand-alone project?
As a rule, our kitchens and baths are designed within a larger renovation, addition or custom home, where they can be planned alongside the architecture rather than retrofitted into it. We will take on a stand-alone bath for a former client, or where it forms part of a wider project already in our care. This allows us to give every room the depth of attention it deserves.
When is the best time to bring Martire in?
As early as possible, ideally in the pre-architect or pre-construction phase. Many of the most consequential decisions in a kitchen or bath are made before construction begins, in how light, plumbing, ventilation and sightlines are planned. Engaging early lets Courtenay either select and work alongside your architect or help shape the plans directly, carrying one vision from the first sketch through to the final styling.
What does the renovation cover?
From the design direction through to delivery: spatial planning, custom cabinetry and millwork, stone and surface selection, layered lighting plans, tile, plumbing fittings, hardware and finishes. Courtenay holds the full artistic direction and project oversight throughout, and our long-standing artisan partners execute the joinery and fabrication to a bespoke standard.
Where do you work?
We serve Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Barrington, Park Ridge, Lake Forest, Winnetka and the North Shore, along with lakefront communities in Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, with select availability nationwide for the right project.
If your renovation begins in the kitchen or the bath, we would be glad to hear the story behind it.