Orren Pickell crafts perfectly balanced homes from classic to contemporary
Founded over five decades ago, the Orren Pickell Building Group (Orren Pickell) is a custom home builder renowned throughout Chicago and the North Shore for luxury craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail. A family-owned and operated firm, Orren Pickell ensures that every element of a home meets exacting standards while tailoring architecture and finishes to each owner’s lifestyle. Managing the entire design–build process, including architecture, construction, custom cabinetry, and maintenance, the company delivers a seamless experience from first sketch through long-term care.
Lisa Pickell, President, reflects on where the company is today: “My father, Orren, started this business in the mid-1970s, and our second-generation leadership continues his focus on service, quality, and value. What sets us apart is how we integrate design, building, cabinetry, and maintenance under one roof, and how transparently we run projects for clients.”
The Orren Pickell difference
Offering full service under one roof, Orren Pickell is a true end-to-end design-build partner, providing architecture, construction, custom cabinetry, and a dedicated maintenance division to keep homes performing at their best. The company also champions open-book pricing and accurate forecasting, as clear budgets during design minimize surprises and align scope, schedule, and investment from the outset.
The company fully embraces technology like the Orren Pickell Portal™, a secure project website that centralizes drawings, schedules, selections, approvals, and progress photos for real-time visibility. Also, the dedicated punch-list, transition, and warranty teams complete the final details before handing the home to its new owners and they offer post-move in support with a responsive warranty and a smooth handover to the maintenance team.
With decades of recognition for design excellence and building innovation, clients can rest assured that their home is being built with award-winning design expertise. As a family-owned business in its second generation, the company’s leadership are grounded in integrity, pride, teamwork, curiosity, and quality.
Design range with a unifying principle
Orren Pickell’s portfolio is defined by its broad stylistic range, from crisp, modern forms to richly detailed Old-World architecture, united by disciplined proportion. Each residence is sited and composed for human-scale balance, so elevations, window patterns, rooflines, and overall massing read as a coherent whole within the setting.
“One of the most enjoyable aspects of working with us is that we do not limit ourselves to a specific architectural style,” Lisa shares. “Our team of architects work together in a genuine team environment, allowing each member to contribute their unique perspectives and ideas. As a result, we have the ability to adapt to different architectural genres. For instance, if a customer is interested in contemporary architecture, we can create beautiful, well-balanced designs featuring flat roofs and minimalist details. Conversely, if clients prefer a more Old-World aesthetic, we have successfully delivered that style as well. Our team’s ability to collaborate and flexibly shift between styles based on our clients’ desires is the key to our success. As we are completely custom-focused, our designs are centered around what resonates with our clients, given that each individual has different tastes and preferences.
“While our team excels at adapting stylistically, a common thread in all our work is a strong sense of balance,” she adds. “Oftentimes, balance can be overlooked in architecture, resulting in homes that feel mismatched with excessively large porticos, oversized windows, or disproportionately small roofs. In contrast, every one of our homes is designed to maximize natural light, taking into account the orientation of the house, the conditions of the lot, and solar exposure. We approach each project with a focus on architectural and proportional balance, considering the environment, human scale, and the overall massing of the structure.”
Investing in client experience
Continuing its legacy of innovation, Orren Pickell is modernizing its internal systems to enhance transparency and collaboration even further. With open-book budgets, accurate forecasts, and the Orren Pickell Portal™, clients can make informed decisions quality, maintain schedule momentum, and enjoy a stress-free luxury building experience.
“We’re currently focusing on continuing our legacy by embracing technology to enhance transparency with our clients,” Lisa states. “We’re in the process of revising and replacing much of our tech stack, which is our largest internal project and requires significant work. By the end of the year, we’re aiming to be better positioned to leverage new and innovative technologies.”
Orren Pickell’s custom homes exemplify versatility, craftsmanship, and service. By unifying architecture, construction, cabinetry, and maintenance – and backing it with transparent pricing, accurate forecasting, and dedicated post-close support – the company continues to elevate what luxury design-build can be in Chicago and the North Shore.