At Jack Home Construction, we understand that a home should be more than just a living space—it should tell a story. One of the most captivating interior design trends today is Dark Academia, an aesthetic that brings together moody sophistication,…
Continue ReadingRecent government policies, including an executive order boosting U.S. lumber and timber industries and new tariffs on imports, have raised questions about the future of home construction. While change can feel uncertain, these developments actually create opportunities for homeowners and…
Continue ReadingAs we step into 2025, interior design is embracing a balance of functionality, sustainability, and bold aesthetics. At Jack Home Construction, we’re here to help you bring the latest trends into your home with expert craftsmanship and innovative solutions. Whether…
Continue ReadingWe had the pleasure of building this beautiful home on the Lake of Egypt Peninsula. The design features a spacious elevated deck that wraps around the back, along with a second-story balcony that offers stunning views of the surrounding forest…
Continue ReadingWe recently built this finished basement. This basement is complete with a wet bar and a living area with an entertainment center. Let’s take a closer look at some of features of the space. The Entertainment Center We built this…
Continue ReadingThe French Country style is a charming blend of rustic and refined elements, inspired by the homes in the French countryside. Here are some key characteristics. Natural Materials Wood and Stone: These materials are commonly used, often in their natural,…
Continue ReadingThe foundations are laid, the basement is complete, and the framing for the first floor is up. This elegant two-story home will feature an elevator connecting the basement to the top floor, ensuring convenience and accessibility. A standout feature of…
Continue ReadingIn today’s fast-paced world, convenience and security go hand in hand. Kwikset, a trusted name in residential locks, has revolutionized home access with its smart lock technology. These innovative locks combine wireless connectivity, digital authentication, and user-friendly interfaces to provide…
Continue ReadingWe are excited to announce the finished construction of four AirBNB cabins near Little Grassy Lake! Each cabin is designed to be small and comfortable, featuring a bedroom, bathroom, and a small kitchen area. There are three different floor plans…
Continue ReadingIn the realm of home design, some trends come and go with the seasons. However, amidst the trends, many features resurge in popularity, captivating homeowners with timeless charm. One such feature is the butler’s pantry. Once a staple of grand…
Continue ReadingElegance Illuminated: The Timeless Allure of Transom Windows Welcome to the world of architectural sophistication. Here our focus is on the captivating world of transom windows. We just received an order of transom windows for a new home we’re building.…
Continue ReadingAt Jack Home Construction, we’re always on the lookout for materials that bring together durability, aesthetics, and ease of installation. One such standout in the realm of siding is LP Smart Siding, gaining traction for its unique combination of treated…
Continue ReadingThe chilly fall weather is here, and winter is just around the corner! It’s important to make sure your home is prepared for the colder months. Here are some tips and advice to help winter proof your home. These will…
Continue ReadingA trend that is currently growing in popularity is incorporating a standalone bathtub into your bathroom. We’ve recently installed several of these tubs for our clients. Adding a freestanding tub to your bathroom not only enhances its style and elegance,…
Continue ReadingWafer lights, also known as slim LED recessed lights, have become increasingly popular in new residential homes due to their slim and low-profile design that allows them to blend seamlessly into ceilings and walls. These lights are typically made with…
Continue ReadingAt Jack Home Construction, we have a great appreciation for the architecture and history of Southern Illinois. We would like to draw your attention to another interesting piece of local history: Pope County Courthouse. We invite you to join us…
Continue ReadingWe finished building this beautiful home built in the scenic Peninsula subdivision at the Lake of Egypt in May 2021. This one story home is complete with three bedrooms and two baths, a mud room, and a utility room. There…
Continue ReadingLVT, or luxury vinyl tile, has become one of the most popular flooring options for commercial spaces such as airports, hotels, schools, hospitals, and more. More importantly, its use in the residential market has increased dramatically in recent years. We…
Continue ReadingDuring these cold winter days you might be thinking about cozying up to a new fireplace in your home, whether you’re remodeling or about to build a new home. At Jack Home Construction and Remodeling, we believe that a fireplace…
Continue ReadingWe recently finished building this new home on the Peninsula on the Lake of Egypt. This home has two stories, which include a main floor and a finished walkout basement. It’s complete with a three car garage, upper deck, a…
Continue ReadingBackground To This Series In this series of blog posts, we are using the design patterns found in the book Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design by the authors Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow. All three of…
Continue ReadingBackground To This Series In this series of blog posts, we are using the design patterns found in the book Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design by the authors Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow. All three of…
Continue ReadingWe built this shower in one of our new homes on the Peninsula area near the Lake of Egypt. This shower has a clean, modern look, with white subway tiles accented by small hexagonal tiles in the shower shelf and…
Continue ReadingBackground To This Series In this series of blog posts, we are using the design patterns found in the book Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design by the authors Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow. All three of…
Continue ReadingSpring is here and summer is around the corner! Maybe you’re thinking about building that deck you always wanted. But what type of wood should you choose for your deck? The type of wood you choose can have an affect…
Continue ReadingBackground To This Series In this series of blog posts, we are using the design patterns found in the book Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design by the authors Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow. All three of…
Continue ReadingSince we at Jack Home Construction have a combined interest in both architecture and in the history of Southern Illinois, we’d like to take a look with you at another historical building of Southern Illinois. Thebes Courthouse was the original…
Continue ReadingBackground To This Series In this series of blog posts, we are using the design patterns found in the book Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design by the authors Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow. All three of…
Continue Reading[Update: See the finished house in this post here!] This is a home we are currently building in the Peninsula at the Lake of Egypt. It is a three bedroom house with three baths, a mud room, and a utility…
Continue ReadingThese are pictures of the finished kitchen of a home that we completed in 2020. It is an open layout where the kitchen, dining table, and family areas are all in one large room. The can lights are strategically placed…
Continue ReadingWhen thinking about redesigning your kitchen, it can be helpful to understand what your style is. Then you can narrow your search for kitchen elements to be within the category that you know you like. There are three basic categories…
Continue ReadingThis is the second post in our “Designing Your Home” series. This series is about helping future home owners know what elements to keep in mind when designing their new home. The same principles apply for remodeling or adding on…
Continue Readingabove image source: https://www.customblind.com/ If you have bad associations with vinyl flooring, now’s the time to take another look! Vinyl has come a long way and only continues to improve. Most people can’t tell the difference between modern vinyl flooring…
Continue ReadingLast week, after two days of heavy rains, a large tree fell on the home of a long-time customer! Back in the 1990’s, we built a 5,000 square foot addition on to this historic home in Marion and have been…
Continue Reading“We should have done this 10 years ago!” That was what our customers said to us after we finished this beautiful deck in Herrin, Illinois. This deck and pergola were stained using Cabot Semi-solid deck stain in two colors: Driftwood…
Continue ReadingWe just completed building this new home in Marion! Here you can see the foyer, living room, and kitchen area. Some notable features are the beautiful floors, shiplap on the foyer walls, a farmhouse style kitchen sink, a stunning backsplash…
Continue ReadingThe job of designing a new home can seem a difficult and daunting task. Many of our customers come to us not sure where even to begin. In order to help you with this, we’re creating a series of posts…
Continue ReadingIn the category of unusual projects, we were hired to replace the columns of this porch on a home in the country just south of Carbondale. The home sits on a beautiful piece of land. The house was built in…
Continue ReadingSometimes customers ask us to do unusual things. One customer, whom we have worked for over 25 years, asked us to restore and relocate an old train bell. This bell belonged to a friend of her father’s. The bell sat…
Continue ReadingWe have already completed two basement remodels this year. Basement remodels are a common job for us. Depending on the size, these kinds of remodels usually take anywhere between 2 to 5 weeks to do. Basement remodels are fun because…
Continue Reading[main image source devolkitchens.co.uk] There are a lot of factors to consider when purchasing a new sink, but today we are going to focus on sink material. Sink material affects things such as the price, durability, maintenance, and style of…
Continue Reading[above image source St. Louis Patina] Since we at Jack Home Construction have a combined interest in both architecture and in the history of Southern Illinois, we’d like to highlight another historical building of Southern Illinois. Today we’d thought we’d…
Continue Reading[featured image source: familyhandyman.com] So you have been picking paint colors for rooms in your home, but you’re not sure what kind of paint finish to use? Flat? Gloss? How do they look, and what is going to last? Let’s…
Continue ReadingHave you been thinking about installing an entertainment center in your home? We recently finished building a large, floor-to-ceiling entertainment center. It’s complete with plenty of shelf room and multiple storage cabinets. You can see here some of the detailed…
Continue ReadingWe at Jack Home Construction have a combined interest in both architecture and in the history of Southern Illinois, where our family has lived since the early 1800’s. Today we’d thought we’d take a look with you at one of…
Continue ReadingWant to add some color and interest to the design of your kitchen? Backsplashes are the perfect way to do just that! Need some inspiration? Take a look at these unique and beautiful backsplash designs, and you’ll soon be on…
Continue ReadingAt Jack Home Construction, I am sort of the family genealogist. In my research I discovered that the Jack family has been here since 1837. That is when my fourth great-grandfather named John Jack and his three sons came to…
Continue ReadingYou may be thinking about doing some home improvements. Perhaps you want to update your kitchen or add a new bathroom or put on an addition. And you may be wondering what improvements would add value to your home. By…
Continue ReadingTime to Update Your Home! A survey was conducted by a kitchen and bath specialty retailer named Hausera. They found that eight out of ten homeowners renovated a kitchen or a bathroom or the laundry room within the past two…
Continue ReadingAre you trying to decide what colors to use for the next painting project in your home? If you are looking for some ideas, you might try looking at the colors that have been chosen as the colors of the…
Continue ReadingWe have done a lot of bathroom and shower remodels here at Jack Home Construction. Today, we saw some great ideas for small bathrooms on Houzz.com that we thought we’d share with you. There are several things you can do…
Continue ReadingHere at Jack Home Construction we have an interest in old, historical buildings. Today we thought we’d take a look at the Johnson County Courthouse. The courthouse is located in Vienna, IL at the Courthouse Square. It was built somewhere…
Continue ReadingWe just completed a new bathroom project! This shower is finished with popular white subway tile. It’s accented beautifully with a black floral pattern on back of the shelves, which matches the entire floor of the room. Once the floor…
Continue ReadingWe have been working on refurbishing the exterior of a pre-Civil War home. The Willis Allen House, located in historic South Market St. in downtown Marion, IL, is the first house built in Williamson County. It was built by Congressman…
Continue ReadingThis sixth post in our “Tile Showers” series hopefully gives you ideas for your shower. There are lots of options in a tile shower other than tile size and color. The main ones to think about are (1) the size…
Continue ReadingThis is our fifth post in the “Tile Showers”series. We hope this gives you more inspiration for your tile shower. There are lots of options in a tile shower other than tile size and color. The main ones to think…
Continue ReadingThis is the fourth post in the “Tile Showers”series. Hopefully you’ll love these ideas this Valentine’s Day. There are lots of options in a tile shower other than tile size and color. The main ones to think about are (1)…
Continue ReadingThis is the third post in the “Tile Showers”series. With this series, we hope you’ll get some inspiration for your new shower. There are lots of options in a tile shower other than tile size and color. The main ones…
Continue ReadingThis is the second post in the “Tile Showers”series. We’ll be showing you some of the showers we have done over the years in hopes that these will give you some ideas for your tile shower. There are lots of…
Continue ReadingWe have done several tile showers over the years. We thought that we would show a few examples for you in a series of blog posts. Hopefully, these will give you some ideas for your tile shower. There are lots…
Continue ReadingFeatured for display on our blog today is one of the homes we completed this year. Located just south of Benton, Illinois, this small 1800 sq. ft. house will make for a comfortable life after retirement. With two bedrooms and…
Continue ReadingHappy Thanksgiving from all of us at Jack Home Construction!
Continue ReadingOur first completed home this year was for a single man in Campbell Hill. A custom designed country home with a walkout basement and a wrap-around rear deck. The first floor on top of the basement includes a full kitchen,…
Continue ReadingWe are sometimes called upon to restore a deck that has suffered some damage due to mold and mildew. Pictured here is a 4 year old deck that is almost completely in the shade and has a tendency to stay…
Continue ReadingThe couple we built this house for just moved to the area. They wanted their new house to be the same layout as their old house was. So they gave us the plans from their old house, and we rebuilt…
Continue ReadingWe’ve recently finished designing and building both this mantle and hearth. Artistic pieces like this are a lot of fun to build!
Continue ReadingWe’ve just completed one of our projects! This little 264 sq. ft. of luxury can almost be considered a house, except for the fact that it lacks a shower and kitchen. We built this on our customer’s property a short…
Continue ReadingTake a look at this article. Could this be the future of roofs? Tesla’s Solar Roof Will Be Cheaper, Tougher, and Better Insulating Than a Normal Roof http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/tesla-unveils-solar-roof-and-powerwall-20-pictures-specs/#/4
Continue ReadingUnfinished Basements In Part 3 of this series How To Build With Us, we began to look at how to design a house with a budget in mind. We discussed how a home has both areas of expensive and…
Continue ReadingIn Part 2 of this series we talked about what the process is when you build with us. Now we will talk about the different ways you can save money when designing your home with us. So, you are…
Continue ReadingNow that you have learned from Part 1 of this series that the designing of your home with us is without charge, you’re probably wondering what’s next. What is the process of designing your home with us? How To Begin…
Continue ReadingNote: post updated 7/15/2024 If you need help with your house plan, we will help you design your home for free. That’s right, free. It is a free service that we have cheerfully provided for our customers for fifty-five…
Continue ReadingIn addition to building new custom-designed homes and remodeling projects, we sometimes take unusual jobs. These are jobs that sometimes require a little extra care and creativity in order to get them done. We had one such job this past…
Continue ReadingSaw this article online today and thought it was interesting… the future of countertops! Goodbye, Granite: The 6 Hottest Countertop Finishes http://dishwashers.reviewed.com/features/goodbye-granite-the-6-hottest-countertop-finishes?utm_source=TB_paid&utm_medium=cpc
Continue ReadingSo you have this nice patio that no one uses and its under an upper deck. You really wish that patio space was another finished room that you can walk into from your house. BUT, you don’t want to lose…
Continue ReadingWe were hired by a customer on the Lake of Egypt to build a deck last week. It took us about four days to build. She wanted to be able to step off of the existing rear deck. She wanted…
Continue ReadingOne of our jobs this summer involved closing in the underside of a deck. The home belongs to a long time customer of ours that we have had the privilege of servicing for years. The deck runs the full length…
Continue ReadingWe finished installing the solid oak flooring at a home in The Peninsula this past week. What a difference a finished wood floor makes. It takes a lot of hard work to work a floor this size and a lot…
Continue ReadingThis was an interesting project that involved our trim skills and some furniture making skills. An entertainment center for the family room. This was built in place one section at a time. First I set the base cabinets and attached…
Continue ReadingThe Peninsula at the Lake of Egypt is a very large and beautiful development. We have been building there since the Fall of 2012. Like most lots on the waterfront at the Lake of Egypt, it can be difficult to…
Continue ReadingSome more complicated than others! My brother, Darek Jack, installing a porcelain tile shower. The shower is approximately 5×6 with curved corners and a curved seat and two nooks. There was nothing there before. It was completely framed…
Continue ReadingIt has been a busy November for us. I list here many of the services that we have had the privilege of providing our customers. Perhaps you see something here that we can do for you!? Services Provided with Thanksgiving…
Continue ReadingSometimes we are given a project where we are given some artistic license. These are the fun ones where we get to be creative as we build. The subject of this post is one such project. The customer asked us…
Continue ReadingReplaced fluorescent lights and ballasts at Mid Country Bank in Marion. Ran electricity to a boat house on Lake Arcadia. We installed GFI protected outlets and lights. Painted interior trim and doors in a vacation house on Lake of…
Continue ReadingThe concrete pad between the new deck and the pool was in pretty bad shape. The solution here was to fill in the area with a thick layer of gravel and then set paving stones on top of the gravel. …
Continue ReadingWe designed this deck for the board of the Marion Country Club. We design or help design almost all of the decks we build. The first major task is to frame all of the basic structure. You have to keep…
Continue ReadingWe began working on the new pool deck for the Marion Country Club in the second week of April. This project begins after weeks of design and re-design work. The framing is done with treated lumber and the decking and…
Continue ReadingWe started a house this week on some property near the Lake of Egypt. It will have a walk-out basement, which means a basement that is partially underground with one side completely out of the ground. The side out of…
Continue ReadingThis is an unusual job for us in that almost all the lumber is “homemade.” Pastor George took trees that had fallen on his property during the May 8, 2008 storm and had them milled into rough lumber. That is…
Continue ReadingToday was a nice cool, dry day to work. It was a day to make some real progress! Water Drainage The way to keep water out of a structure can be seen in what we did at the George Barn…
Continue ReadingToday, we started construction on an additional bay to a standing barn on the George property. Wyatt George is the recently retired pastor at Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Carbondale. In his retirement years, he plans on harvesting trees on his…
Continue Reading
