Home selection can also be lifestyle choice

By Sherry Giewald
Daily Herald Correspondent

As flowers peek from the earth with new life, a new season is upon us -- and a new season is a time of change.

Do you want to change your lifestyle from "ho hum" to "wow" at one of these new home communities? If you want to live among nature, if you'd like to live in a waterfront home, or if you're into sustainable living, it's time to live your dream, live your passion.

Someone once said to be in love with your life, find a beautiful place and get lost. You'll want to unplug and get lost in these communities where the outdoors is your playground.

You can live the life you've only imagined in an upscale home, a charming cottage or a house on a farm, each with scenic surroundings that will bring your enjoyment of life to a whole new level.

Here are some communities that offer a new lifestyle choice.

Serosun Farms

Excitement is blooming at Serosun Farms with its grand opening celebration set from noon to 5 p.m. May 16 along with its lilac festival. The event will feature a tour of its luxury model home showing green technology and a geothermal heating and air conditioning system, said Jane Stickland, owner of the development.

"We will have a golf cart tour of the property and trails, farm garden and a live concert for the public. There's a lot going on; it's awesome.

"We recently had a celebration with the Kane County chairman and commissioners because the special zoning for the combination of a residential and agricultural community is the first of its kind in the country," Stickland said.

Amid suburban sprawl, Serosun Farms in Hampshire offers a sustainable community that blends peaceful pastoral living with today's conveniences.

Centered on a 16-acre working farm, Serosun Farms is a progressive rural oasis where residents will enjoy hundreds of acres of open space with restored prairie and woodlands.

"This is an unusual opportunity for families to live, and for children to grow up, on a farm," said John DeWald, president of John DeWald & Associates, developer of Serosun Farms. "Most professional people don't have the time or money to run a farm; here we do it for you."

The development offers educational programs and several ways to take an active role in the community, such as in the demo gardens, prairie restoration or building birdhouses.

Residences -- from smaller cottages to country estates -- will sit in clusters on 114 distinctive one-acre lots. The developer adheres to design guidelines and other requirements for green building and partners with architects and builders that share the dream and vision for the community, DeWald said.

Other community amenities include a community center with swimming pool and fitness center; jogging, hiking and biking trails; tennis and basketball courts, stocked fishing pond, a bar and grill and meeting/event facilities.

Also, a world-class equestrian center facility is on-site with eight miles of trails developed by Stickland, DeWald's sister, who lives on the property and is his business partner. An international trainer also lives on the site.

https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150327/entlife/150329576/